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Clay Martin Croker (January 10, 1962 – September 17, 2016), generally credited as C. Martin Croker, was an American animator and voice actor. He was best known for having provided the voices of Dr. Weird and Steve on the animated series ''
Aqua Teen Hunger Force ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also branded with different #Alternative titles, alternative titles for seasons 8–11), is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late night progra ...
'', and Zorak and Moltar in ''
Space Ghost Coast to Coast ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American live-action/ adult animated hybrid television series created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and first broadcast in 1994. It takes the form of a surreal parody of talk shows, hosted by a reimagi ...
'', replacing
Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered voice roles include Scooby-Doo; Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ''The Flintsto ...
and
Ted Cassidy Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works, such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of Jeannie'', and he played Lurch on '' The Addam ...
, who originally voiced the characters in the 1960s series '' Space Ghost''. He was also an animator for both productions throughout their runs.


Career

Croker began his professional career in animation in 1988 by providing animation of the Laser Show at
Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...
. Croker animated various "TNT Toons" promos for
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
in the early 1990s and helped animate and design bumpers for
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
in 1998. Croker also worked on various commercials and bumpers which often featured well-known cartoon characters. Croker is best known for providing the voices of Zorak and Moltar in the Cartoon Network/
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
/
GameTap GameTap was an online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in 2006. It provided users with video games and game-related video content. The service was acquired by French online video game service Metaboli in 2008 as ...
animated series ''
Space Ghost Coast to Coast ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American live-action/ adult animated hybrid television series created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and first broadcast in 1994. It takes the form of a surreal parody of talk shows, hosted by a reimagi ...
'', throughout its entire run from 1994 until 2008. In addition to being the show's principal animator, it was also his idea to have Zorak and Moltar be Space Ghost's sidekicks. He also voiced Zorak on '' Cartoon Planet'' and ''
The Brak Show ''The Brak Show'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Jim Fortier, Andy Merrill, and Pete Smith for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. ''The Brak Show'' serves as a spin-off of the animated television seri ...
'' and voiced Moltar as the host of
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...
from 1997 until 1999. Croker served as an animator for ''
Aqua Teen Hunger Force ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also branded with different #Alternative titles, alternative titles for seasons 8–11), is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late night progra ...
'' and its 2007 feature film adaption '' Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters''. He also provided the voices for Dr. Weird, Steve, and various characters for the series. Croker provided the voice of Young Man and other various characters in ''
Perfect Hair Forever ''Perfect Hair Forever'' is an American adult animated television series created by Mike Lazzo, Matt Harrigan, and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. The series revolves around a young boy named Gera ...
''.


Filmography


Death and tributes

Croker died on September 17, 2016. He was cremated by
Neptune Society The Neptune Society, Inc. is an American funeral home-based provider of cremation services that was founded in Plantation, Florida. History The Neptune Society was established in 1973 and was incorporated in 1985. In 1999, the Neptune Societ ...
. His urn vault was buried near his parents at Arlington Memorial Park in
Sandy Springs, Georgia Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and a suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's 7th most populous city. It is the site of several corporate headquar ...
. Adult Swim honored him by re-airing the first ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' episode produced, "Elevator", on September 19, 2016, as a special presentation. The tribute began with a brief description of Croker's contribution to ''Space Ghost'' and Adult Swim, with the words his character Zorak said in one episode: "Think of me when you look to the night sky", then the episode played. At the end of the episode, the screen shows "C. Martin Croker 962-2016. In the wake of the news of his death, Croker's friends and colleagues, such as his ''Coast to Coast'' friends and co-stars George Lowe and Andy Merrill, paid tribute to him in posts on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
. Adult Swim made almost every episode of ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' available for free on their website in honor of him. On September 24, 2016, Croker was honored at the beginning of
Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...
in a segment in which T.O.M. receives a transmission from Moltar saying he's returning to his home planet and will not be coming back, then boasting that he was the better Toonami host. T.O.M. wishes Moltar the best of luck and says "May your oven stay forever lit." An image of Croker was then shown, captioned "(1962–2016)". His family hosted a memorial service for him at Carmichael Funeral Home in Smyrna, Georgia on October 1, 2016.https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/atlanta/name/clay-martin-croker-obituary-obituary?id=22488576


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croker, C. Martin 1962 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Animators from Georgia (U.S. state) American male bloggers American bloggers American male video game actors American male voice actors American male web series actors Male actors from Atlanta People from Smyrna, Georgia Cartoon Network people Deaths from sepsis in the United States