
Jack Riley
Actor · 1935 – 2016 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA
John Albert Riley Jr. (December 30, 1935 – August 19, 2016) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was known for playing Elliot Carlin, a chronic psychology client of the main character on The Bob Newhart Show, and for voicing Stu Pickles, one of the parents in the animated Rugrats franchise. Riley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Agnes C. Riley (née Corrigan) and John Albert Riley. After attending Saint Ignatius High School and John Carroll University, he served in the U.S. Army. After being discharged, Riley became a popular radio personality in Cleveland, along with his radio partner and "straight man" Jeff Baxter; The Baxter & Riley Show on WERE (1300 AM) featured not only music but comedy sketches and a slew of offbeat characters that Riley and Baxter voiced. Riley gave up the radio show in the mid-1960s and moved to Los Angeles, where his Cleveland friend Tim Conway helped him obtain work writing comedy sketches, which later led to acting opportunities. First a semi-regular in the cast of the 1960s sitcom Occasional Wife, a short-lived show on NBC in which he played Wally Frick, Riley was perhaps most famous for playing Elliot Carlin, the neurotic, sour, and selfish patient on The Bob Newhart Show 1972–1978. In 1973, he was cast as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family Fun-House, then in 1979, he starred in ABC's holiday telefilm The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (a.k.a. The Night Dracula Saved The World) as Warren the Werewolf (Wolf Man) of Budapest. Riley then, in 1980, appeared in a comedy special for HBO called The Wild Wacky Wonderful World of Winter. He was a regular cast member in The Tim Conway Show, a comedy-variety show that aired on CBS from March 1980 through late summer 1981, acting in sketch comedy in each episode. In 1985, he reprised his Bob Newhart Show role of Elliot Carlin on St. Elsewhere, and did so again in a 1987 episode of ALF. Among his other TV credits are multiple appearances on such shows as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (parodying Lyndon Johnson), M*A*S*H, Barney Miller, Hogan's Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, One Day at a Time, Gomer Pyle, Diff'rent Strokes, and Night Court. He was also a favorite of Mel Brooks, appearing in several of his films: High Anxiety (1977), History of the World: Part I (1981), To Be or Not to Be (1983), and (cameo only) Spaceballs (1987). Riley often provided voiceovers for television and radio commercials, most notably in spots for Country Crock margarine. He also voiced the character "P.C. Modem, the computer genius" in radio commercials for CompUSA that aired in the 1990s. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Riley was known for voicing Stu Pickles (father of the main protagonist Tommy) in the animated series Rugrats. The franchise consisted of the TV series, the spin-off All Grown Up! and the film trilogy. He continued to make guest appearances during the 1990s in popular sitcoms, showing up in episodes of Seinfeld, Son of the Beach, Friends, Coach, The Drew Carey Show, That '70s Show, and, in a gag appearance, as an unnamed but obvious Mr. Carlin in a 1988 episode of Newhart. He made a cameo appearance on the November 23, 2013, episode of Saturday Night Live, as a subway passenger during the sketch "Matchbox 3". That episode would be his final acting role.
Movies24
Movie6.9ComedyScience FictionWhen the nefarious Dark Helmet hatches a plan to snatch Princess Vespa and steal her planet's air, space-bum-for-hire Lone Starr and his clueless sidekick fly to the rescue. Along the way, they meet Yogurt, who puts Lone Starr wise to the power of "The Schwartz." Can he master it in time to save the day?
Spaceballs
1987 · 3.5K votes
Movie7.6DramaComedyIn 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.
Boogie Nights
1997 · 3.7K votes
Movie7.2MysteryDramaA Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
The Player
1992 · 987 votes
Movie6.3AdventureAnimationThe Pickles family welcome a new arrival, Dil, whose constant crying and need for attention quickly exhaust the other toddlers. Seeking to return the "broken" baby to the hospital, the gang embarks on a journey in a Reptar Wagon that inadvertently veers off course, leaving them stranded in a vast, dangerous forest. While facing off against escaped circus monkeys and a predatory wolf, Tommy must overcome his own resentment to protect his brother and make it back home.
The Rugrats Movie
1998 · 660 votes
Movie7.4MysteryDramaIn 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
The Long Goodbye
1973 · 812 votes
Movie6.7AdventureAnimationA group of rambunctious toddlers travel a trip to Paris. As they journey from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, they learn new lessons about trust, loyalty and love.
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
2000 · 498 votes
Movie6.6FamilyAnimationThe school year is finally ending, and T.J. Detweiler is looking forward to summer. But boredom quickly sets in when his friends leave for camp — until T.J. uncovers an evil plot to do away with summer vacation! A crazy former principal, Dr. Benedict, is planning to use a laser beam to alter the weather and create permanent winter. Faced with the dire threat of year-round school, T.J. rounds up the RECESS gang and bands together with some unexpected allies — Miss Finster and Principal Prickly — in a nonstop adventure to save everyone's summer break.
Recess: School's Out
2001 · 380 votes
Movie6.4FamilyComedyWhen the Rugrats find themselves stranded on a deserted island, they meet the Thornberrys, a family who agrees to help them escape.
Rugrats Go Wild
2003 · 344 votes
Movie6.7WarComedyA WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.
Catch-22
1970 · 370 votes
Movie7.1DramaWesternA gambler and a prostitute become thriving business partners in a remote Old West mining town until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
1971 · 470 votes
Movie6.7ComedyWarA bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.
To Be or Not to Be
1983 · 241 votes
Movie6.4ComedyMysteryA psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.
High Anxiety
1977 · 418 votes
Movie6.5ComedyAspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio's creditors attempt to thwart them.
Silent Movie
1976 · 355 votes
Movie3.6FantasyScience FictionIn an alternate futuristic society, a tough female police detective is paired with a talking dinosaur to find the killer of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals leading them to a mad scientist bent on creating a new Armageddon.
Theodore Rex
1995 · 123 votes
Movie5.0WesternComedyBefore the adventures that made them legends, they were charming mastermind Robert Leroy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and crack-shot outlaw Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, soon to be known as The Sundance Kid. This is the 'prequel' of how they met, their first clumsy robberies, the heroic dangers that abound them together, the secret that nearly tore them apart, and the impossible train heist that made them notorious for life. Saddle up and ride with the showdowns, shootouts, bad guys and good times in the days before the fame when fun was the name of the game.
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
1979 · 43 votes
Movie5.1ComedyHorrorAfter a wave of reports of mysterious attacks involving people and pets being eaten by the traditionally docile fruit, a special government task force is set up to investigate the violent fruit and put a stop to their murderous spree.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
1978 · 351 votes
Movie6.7ComedyAn uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.
History of the World: Part I
1981 · 948 votes
Movie6.9DramaThe true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.
Frances
1982 · 128 votes
Movie7.5DramaRomanceAn alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.
Days of Wine and Roses
1963 · 216 votes
Movie6.5ComedyDramaCarefree single guy Charlie Waters rooms with two lovely prostitutes, Barbara Miller and Susan Peters, and lives to gamble. Along with his glum betting buddy, Bill Denny, Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search of the ever-elusive big payday. While Charlie and Bill have some lucky moments, they also have to contend with serious setbacks that threaten to derail their hedonistic betting binge.
California Split
1974 · 145 votes
Movie6.0CrimeThrillerAn Orange County teenager's carefree life of ditching class and skateboarding abandoned pools comes to a screeching halt when someone close to him dies. The cops rule the death a suicide, but the bereaved skater believes he was murdered. It's up to him to solve the case, with a skateboard.
Gleaming the Cube
1989 · 147 votes
Movie4.6HorrorThrillerA schoolteacher with a phobia of hospitals finds herself searching for her boyfriend inside one while teaming up with a man suffering the same ordeal that she's in.
Room 6
2006 · 71 votes
Movie5.6ComedyWhen frustrated movie studio mogul Adolph Zitz announces a talent search for a romantic leading man to rival the great Rudolph Valentino, thousands of hopefuls decend upon Hollywood. Rudy Valentine, a neurotic baker from Milwaukee, knows little about romance or acting. But when his wife leaves him for the real Valentino, Rudy goes to outrageous lengths to win the role of a lifetime and win back the love of his life.
The World's Greatest Lover
1977 · 36 votes
Movie4.3ComedyMelvin White, a neurotic, accident-prone cop who gets demoted to the night shift, secretly moonlights as the Unknown Comic, an anonymous stand-up comedian who performs with a paper bag over his head. When someone using the same guise commits a string of bar robberies in town, some begin to suspect that White is the culprit.
Night Patrol
1984 · 38 votes
Series24
TV5.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · 11 votes
TV8.1CrimeDramaColumbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
Columbo
1971 · 858 votes
TV8.2ComedyA stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.
Seinfeld
1989 · 2.4K votes
TV6.3DramaComedyPassengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.
The Love Boat
1977 · 199 votes
TV7.6FamilyAnimationFocuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies' imaginations. Adults in the series are almost always unaware of what the children are up to; however, this only provides more room for the babies to explore and discover their surroundings.
Rugrats
1991 · 772 votes
TV7.7ComedyAl Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.
Married... with Children
1987 · 1.3K votes
TV7.2Sci-Fi & FantasyDramaMonica, an angel, is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives.
Touched by an Angel
1994 · 188 votes
TV7.9ComedyFamilyCrank up the 8-track and flash back to a time when platform shoes and puka shells were all the rage in this hilarious retro-sitcom. For Eric, Kelso, Jackie, Hyde, Donna and Fez, a group of high school teens who spend most of their time hanging out in Eric’s basement, life in the ‘70s isn’t always so groovy. But between trying to figure out the meaning of life, avoiding their parents, and dealing with out-of-control hormones, they’ve learned one thing for sure: they’ll always get by with a little help from their friends.
That '70s Show
1998 · 1.7K votes
TV7.9War & PoliticsDramaThe 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.
M*A*S*H
1972 · 770 votes
TV7.7Comedy30-year-old single Mary Richards moves to Minneapolis to start a new life after a romantic break-up. There she reacquaints with Phyllis who rents her a room, and meets her upstairs neighbor and new best friend Rhoda. Mary unexpectedly lands a job as associate producer at the TV station WJM, where she works alongside her bristly boss, Lou; the comical newswriter, Murray; and the newscast's often-incompetent anchor, Ted.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
1970 · 89 votes
TV6.2ComedyAn anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
Love, American Style
1969 · 21 votes
TV7.6CrimeDramaCranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.
The Rockford Files
1974 · 133 votes
TV7.3ComedyAn eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban night court and all the silliness going on there.
Night Court
1984 · 149 votes
TV6.5ComedyDrew is an assistant director of personnel in a Cleveland department store and he has been stuck there for ten years. Other than fighting with co-worker Mimi, his hobbies include drinking beer and not being able to get dates. To make a few extra bucks he has a micro-brewery going in his garage with his buddies.
The Drew Carey Show
1995 · 186 votes
TV5.7DramaSt. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at a lightly-regarded Boston hospital who gave interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions.
St. Elsewhere
1982 · 93 votes
TV6.8ComedyFamilyA long-running dramedy centering on the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, and their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers.
Family Matters
1989 · 371 votes
TV6.7ComedyHayden Fox, the curmudgeonly coach of Minnesota State University's Screaming Eagles football team, tries to navigate his way through the sports world, fatherhood and family life without dropping the ball.
Coach
1989 · 66 votes
TV7.4ComedyTalk ShowThe Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.
The Red Skelton Show
1951 · 19 votes
TV7.0ComedyDramaAlice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to March 19, 1985 on CBS. The series is based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job working at a roadside diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the episodes revolve around events at Mel's Diner.
Alice
1976 · 63 votes
TV7.8Sci-Fi & FantasyComedyWhile on a mission, American astronaut Captain Tony Nelson is forced to make an emergency landing that will forever change his life. On a deserted South Pacific island, Captain Nelson happens upon a bottle containing a beautiful two-thousand-year-old female genie named Jeannie. Rescuing her from the bottle nets Tony the requisite three wishes, and then some, when Jeannie pledges total devotion to her new "master".
I Dream of Jeannie
1965 · 842 votes
TV7.6ComedyIn 1950s Milwaukee the Cunningham family must contend with Fonzie, a motorcycle riding Casanova.
Happy Days
1974 · 319 votes
TV7.3ComedyBarney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. Always sensible, he maintains order over a band of detectives who gamble, hit on anything in skirts, go to renaissance philosophy conventions for fun, and would really prefer to be writing. Nearly all of the action takes place in the squad room where citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.
Barney Miller
1975 · 62 votes
TV6.7DramaA.J. Simon is a polished fellow with a taste for classic cars and tailored suits. Rick Simon is his less refined (but still pleasant) older brother who has a taste for cowboy boots and four-wheel drive pickups. The two of them live in San Diego, where they own a private detective agency.
Simon & Simon
1981 · 99 votes
TV7.5War & PoliticsComedyFrom a German prisoner of war camp during World War II, Colonel Robert E. Hogan coordinates an international crew of Allied prisoners running a Special Operations group.
Hogan's Heroes
1965 · 193 votes