A Tribute to Jack Riley and Marvin Kaplan

2016 has been a terrible year when it came to celebrity deaths.  While some have naturally passed on (like these two), others just suddenly at a young age died like Prince.  Today's focus are these two as they played among other iconic roles these two cartoon characters.  Riley was Stu Pickles on the Rugrats and Kaplan was Choo-Choo on Top Cat.

Jack Riley: I have heard great stories about the man.  He was an incredible nice guy with a great wit.  That type of wit got him the roles that he did on shows like Bob Newhart.  When playing Stu Pickles, I watched Rugrats on a regular basis as a kid (like many of you 90's kids).  It was a unique show.  A lot of haters complained that it was literally a baby show because they're babies, they have baby adventures, and all they do is poop and cry and all that other stuff.  Ehhhh.......no not really.....it was much more than that.  It wasn't this gross pooping and drooling show, it really was part adventurous, and part wit.  In fact, some of the earlier episodes were mostly about the parents trying to raise these kids, and most of the comedy came from them.  Grandpa trying to remember things, Dee-Dee trying to be the perfect mother, and Stu trying to be the perfect inventor.  What's great about Rugrats is that this show could be enjoyed by both kids and adults.  Kids will love the baby adventures of Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica.  Grown ups will love the stuff in between.  This is all stuff I never got as a young toddler, but today, it's great writing.

Some of the most memorable moments with Stu was when he and his brother Drew fighting.  In the episode, Sour Pickles, Grandpa tells the story about how they were fighting since they were babies.  Another episode, Ice Cream Mountain, has them fighting over a game of miniature golf.  Jack Riley sadly had not been well in recent years, and will be missed by many TV fans.

Marvin Kaplan: Here's a gentleman that was never a famous actor, but a humble and generous one at that.  This is a guy that's appeared in many TV shows and movies.  In Top Cat, he played the role of Choo-Choo.  He and other actors remember doing the show ensemble meaning that everyone all together recorded their lines as opposed to today where most shows it's when an actor can come in, record his or her own lines, then walk out.  Although it only lasted one season, the show is Hanna-Barbera's most sophisticated series ever produced.  

 Kaplan always had great stories whether it was working on Top Cat or movies such as It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.  It was this movie where he remembers people like Arnold Stang (voice of Top Cat) and folks like Jonathan Winters in the movie.  Always had that laugh and according to Stu Shostak TV historian, he had the kindness like he was an uncle to him.  In his final years of his life, though not getting around much, he would still do an occasional convention always caring about the fans, and every time when getting a compliment saying Thank You to the fans.  He passed away peacefully in his sleep.   

May both of these gentlemen rest in peace.