Charles Fleischer (born August 27, 1950) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, musician, and writer, best known for his recurring role as Carvelli in '' Welcome Back, Kotter'', and for appearing in films such as ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'', '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'', '' The Polar Express'', '' Rango'', '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'', and '' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story''. He made a cameo in '' Back to the Future Part II'' and also reprised the role of Roger Rabbit in the ''Roger Rabbit'' theatrical shorts. After beginning his career on the comedy club circuit, Charles Fleischer's first big break in comedy television came when he made an appearance on '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''.

Early life

Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C., on August 27, 1950. He studied medicine at Southampton College, then part of Long Island University, before transferring to study acting at Goodman School of Drama at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

(now at DePaul University).

Career

Fleischer is best known as the voices of Roger Rabbit, Benny the Cab, Greasy, and Psycho in ''

''. After the film's success, he continued to perform the voice of Roger in several

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

television and theme park appearances at several of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and in three follow-up shorts. Other voice roles for Fleischer include '' The Polar Express'' and '' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story''. Notable on-screen roles include '' Back to the Future Part II'' and '' Gridlock'd''. Fleischer had a recurring role on the 1970s TV series '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' as Carvelli, as Chuck on the ABC series '' Laverne & Shirley'', and on the Disney cartoon series '' House of Mouse'' as the voice of Benny the Cab. Fleischer's first ''Laugh-In'' appearance was on January 15, 1973, where he played his homemade musical instruments made from lead pipe and shower wands. He then landed a spot on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' on May 15, 1974. He was also a regular on '' Keep on Truckin'''. He guest-starred on '' The Weird Al Show'' as a guy in a band. He also appeared on the short-lived Saturday morning show, '' Wacko''. Fleischer is the originator of the quote "If you remember the '60s, you really weren't there", which has been widely mis-attributed to various other celebrities. He performed the role of a televangelist on "What God Wants, Part II", on

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

' 1992 album '' Amused to Death''. He is also a musician and songwriter. He performed as a guest on

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

with the group Blues Traveler at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on November 22, 1995 and from December 10 to 15, 2002 at the Improvisational theatre of Connecticut Avenue. From December 2010 to September 2011, he hosted his own weekly web show ''Fleischer's Universe'' on Ustream.tv, produced by Brad Wyman. Charles Fleischer was inside Tropicana Las Vegas, giving an improvised comedy along with Bob Golub and Nick Aragon at the Laugh Factory from January 17 to 20, 2019.

Personal life

Fleischer married Sheryl Strassman in 1977 and divorced in 2006. Together they have two daughters.

Filmography

*'' Barney Miller'' (1975) as Floyd Spears (credited) *''The Death of Richie'' (1977) as Brick (credited) *'' One on One'' (1977) as High School Student (uncredited) *''Crisis in Sun Valley'' (1978) as Shuyler *'' Sugar Time!'' (1978) as Lightning Jack Rappaport *'' Die Laughing'' (1980) as Charlie *'' Hill Street Blues'' (1981) as Malibu *'' The Hand'' (1981) as David Maddow *'' Night Shift'' (1982) as Prisoner *'' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as Dr. King *'' The House of God'' (1984) as Hyper Hooper *'' Deadly Friend'' (1986) as BB (voice) *'' Bad Dreams'' (1988) as Ron the Pharmacist *''

'' (1988) as Roger Rabbit / Benny the Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice) *'' Mickey's 60th Birthday'' (1988) (live-action & voice) as Stagehand Charlie / Roger Rabbit (voice) *'' Tummy Trouble'' (1989) as Roger Rabbit (voice) *''

Gross Anatomy Gross anatomy is the study of anatomy at the visible or macroscopic level. The counterpart to gross anatomy is the field of histology, which studies microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy of the human body or other animals seeks to understand the ...

'' (1989) *'' Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) as Terry *'' Dick Tracy'' (1990) as Reporter *'' Roller Coaster Rabbit'' (1990) as Roger Rabbit (voice) *'' Straight Talk'' (1992) as Tony *'' Carry On Columbus'' (1992) as Pontiac *'' Trail Mix-Up'' (1993) as Roger Rabbit (voice) *'' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' (1993) as Dweeb (voice) *'' My Girl 2'' (1994) as Cab Driver *'' Demon Knight'' (1995) as Wally Enfield *'' Bone Chillers'' (1996) as Arnie *'' Gridlock'd'' (1997) as Mr. Woodson *'' Ground Control'' (1998) as Randy *'' Permanent Midnight'' (1998) as Allen from Mr. Chompers *'' Rusty: A Dog's Tale'' (1998) as Bart Bimini *'' Genius'' (1999) as Dr. Krickstein *''Big Monster on Campus'' (2000) as Mr. Stockton *''Bel Air'' (2000) as Gus *'' G-Men from Hell'' (2000) as Martin / Pete *'' Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' (2000) as Monumentus (voice) *'' House of Mouse'' (2001) as Benny the Cab (voice) *'' Balto II: Wolf Quest'' (2002) as Boris (voice) *'' The Backlot Murders'' (2002) as Henry *'' The 4th Tenor'' (2002) as Alphonse *'' Pauly Shore Is Dead'' (2003) as Himself (uncredited) *'' Balto III: Wings of Change'' (2004) as Boris / White Mountain Postmaster (voice) *'' The Polar Express'' (2004) as Elf General (voice) *''Big Kiss'' (2004) as Berezovich *''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

'' (2007) as Bob Vaughn *'' Funny People'' (2009) as Himself *'' Chain Letter'' (2009) as Frank Wiggins *'' Rango'' (2011) as Elbows (voice) *''Negative Space'' (2011) as Harry *''Reality Queen!'' (2016) as Talk Show Host *'' Prop Culture'' (2020) as Himself, Episode: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" *'' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' (2022) as Roger Rabbit / Chipmunks TV Announcer (voice)

Video games

*'' The Universe According to Virgil Reality'' (1996)

Publications

"Can Sequentially Linked Gamma-Ray Bursts Nullify Randomness?"
(2012), paper submitted to Cornell University

References

External links

* *
"All things are Moleeds" (TED2005)
(18 minutes)
Charles Fleischer's Webshow ''Fleischer's Universe''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischer, Charles 1950 births 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians American male film actors American male songwriters American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American stand-up comedians Comedians from Washington, D.C. Living people Male actors from Washington, D.C. Songwriters from Washington, D.C. Southampton College alumni American male comedians