Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor, voice actor, broadcaster, impressionist and stand-up comedian.
Alaskey was one of
Mel Blanc's successors at the
Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with
Jeff Bergman
Jeffrey Bergman (born July 10, 1960) is an American voice actor and impressionist who has provided the modern-day voices of various classic cartoon characters, most notably with '' Looney Tunes'' and Hanna-Barbera.
Bergman was the first to rep ...
,
Greg Burson
Gregory Lewis Burson (June 29, 1949 – July 22, 2008) was an American voice actor. He was best known as a replacement for voice actors Daws Butler and Mel Blanc following their deaths in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
Career
Burson was trained b ...
,
Jim Cummings
James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as t ...
,
Bob Bergen
Robert Bergen (born March 8, 1964) is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted the children's game show ''Jep!'', ad ...
,
Maurice LaMarche, and
Billy West in voicing Warner Bros.
cartoon characters such as
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...
,
Daffy Duck,
Porky Pig,
Sylvester
Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented ...
,
Tweety,
Elmer Fudd,
Yosemite Sam,
Foghorn Leghorn,
Pepé Le Pew,
Marvin the Martian
Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from Warner Bros.' '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a helmet and skirt. The character has been voic ...
,
Speedy Gonzales,
Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, ...
and
Taz, among many others. He also voiced
Plucky Duck on ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation a ...
'' from 1990 to 1995. Alaskey was the second actor to voice
Grandpa Lou Pickles on the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
cartoon ''
Rugrats'' (taking over after
David Doyle's death in 1997). He voiced Lou again in the ''Rugrats'' spin-off series ''
All Grown Up!
''All Grown Up!'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. It served as a continuation of the series ''Rugrats'', as explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles ...
''.
Early life
Alaskey was born in
Troy, New York, on April 17, 1952 to Joseph Francis Alaskey Jr. and Domenica "Dorothy" De Sorrento De Luca Alaskey.
At age 3, he was looking for a pair of sunglasses or people's cigar butts so that he could portray different characters.
Alaskey was interested in
archeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
at the age of ten.
After archeology, he was interested in becoming a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
and an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
.
Alaskey moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in the 1970s, where he worked in insurance while preparing to become an actor.
Career
After moving to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Alaskey began his show business career as a stand-up comedian and broadcaster. He was occasionally seen onscreen impersonating
Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
, with whom he shared a physical resemblance.
In the 1980s, Gleason personally chose Alaskey to re-record selected dialogue from the "lost episodes" of ''
The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...
'' found in Gleason's private collection.
After Gleason died in 1987, the project was shelved.
In 1985, Alaskey provided various voices for ''
Galtar and the Golden Lance
''Galtar and the Golden Lance'' is a 30-minute animated sword and sorcery television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired in syndication in 1985–86 as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera''. The show ran for 21 e ...
''. Alaskey was in several
television shows including ''
Night Court'', ''
Head of the Class'', ''
Back to the Future'', and ''
Spitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards''. His first major film was ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...
'' as Yosemite Sam.
Alaskey provided a vocal Gleason impersonation in the "Mighty's Wedlock Whimsy" episode of
Bakshi-Hyde Ventures' ''
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures'' in 1988, and a
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...
impersonation in "The Bride of Mighty Mouse" episode from the same season.
Although best known for his ability to successfully impersonate ''
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.[ ...]
'' characters, Alaskey did voice work for non-Warner Bros. characters as well. He has voiced Grandpa Lou Pickles on ''
Rugrats'' (inheriting the role after
David Doyle's death in 1997).
He voiced Lou again in the ''Rugrats'' spin-off series, ''
All Grown Up!
''All Grown Up!'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. It served as a continuation of the series ''Rugrats'', as explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles ...
''. He also created the voice of Thomas Timberwolf for the internet series ''TimberWolf'', created by animation legend
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, pro ...
. He was heard briefly as a voice-over announcer for the
Toon Disney channel (and sometimes Dcom extras on
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...
). He was the voice of
Curt Connors in the ''
Spider-Man 2 video game'' and
Doctor Octopus in ''
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe''. Alaskey was in the independent film ''
The Legend of Sasquatch
''The Legend of Sasquatch'' is a 2006 American computer-animated adventure film released by Gorilla Pictures that stars William Hurt and John Rhys-Davies. It was released on September 12, 2006 and was the first computer-animated film released by G ...
'' and voiced
Mermaid Man in the video games ''
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!'' and ''
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab''. He voiced Stinkie in ''
Casper
Casper may refer to:
People
* Casper (given name)
* Casper (surname)
* Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque
* Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426
* Da ...
'' as well as that film's 1996 animated spin-off, ''
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper''. Alaskey played Beano Froelich in ''
Out of This World'' but left the show early in its final season, making only infrequent appearances in a few episodes. In the 1980s, he worked as the original announcer on the short-lived game show ''
Couch Potatoes'', hosted by
Marc Summers. Alaskey made several onscreen appearances, portraying the show's "next door neighbor". For the show's final weeks, he was replaced by
Jim McKrell and the "next door neighbor" concept was dropped. During this time, he was also a panelist on ''
The New Hollywood Squares'', hosted by
John Davidson.
In 2003, he took over the roles of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in the film ''
Looney Tunes: Back in Action''.
He also, at times, provided the voices for Sylvester, Tweety, and other Looney Tunes characters.
Alaskey was the primary voice for Plucky Duck on ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation a ...
''.
In 2008, Alaskey participated in a unique interview conducted by
Logan Leistikow and released by TheYellowMic.com. He answered questions and told his story, then went out onto Hollywood Boulevard and talked to people on the street who wanted to hear his famous voices. This was the first time Alaskey had performed in public in this manner.
In 2014, Alaskey started narrating the television documentary series ''Murder Comes to Town'', which airs on the
Investigation Discovery Network.
Alaskey's only
leading role
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...
in a live-action film was as
lovable loser Ron Douglas in the
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...
''
Lucky Stiff'', directed by
Anthony Perkins and co-starring
Donna Dixon and
Jeff Kober.
Death
Alaskey died in
Green Island, New York, from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
on February 3, 2016, at the age of 63. Five days later, his wake was held at St Patricks Cemetery in Watervliet.
Filmography
Film
Animation
Video games
Live-action
Theme parks
References
External links
www.joealaskey.com/(archived copy)
*
Joe Alaskeya
TV.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaskey, Joe
1952 births
2016 deaths
Actors from Troy, New York
American impressionists (entertainers)
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Audiobook narrators
Comedians from California
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Male actors from New York (state)
People from Encino, Los Angeles