Jack Riley dies at age 80

[Tara]

http://deadline.com/2016/08/jack-riley-dead-bob-newhart-show-rugrats-mel-brooks-movies-1201806165/

Okay, so he wasn't exactly the most prolific voice actor ever, but he did voice a character in a show that practically defined my very early childhood.  Though he's done other roles and continued to make guest appearances on various TV shows, he was most well known for voicing Stu Pickles, the father of Tommy Pickles, on Rugrats, one of if not the most nostalgic shows for me.  He died on August 19 of pneumonia.

I always loved his take on Stu, and I always thought how even as cartoony and weird as the show obviously was, the way Riley voiced Stu made him sound believable as a man and as a father.  When you listened to his voice, you really got the impression that this guy could easily be your own father, which is what really helped make the more emotional moments of the series just... really tear-jerking.  I actually had no idea he was in his SIXTIES (and up into his early 70's)  when he was voicing the character.  I'd always assumed that Stu was played a relatively young man.  Someone in their 30's or maybe early 40's.

Anyway, I don't much about his other roles, so I can't really comment on them.  But with there being talks of Nick possibly reviving old franchises, including Rugrats, the show just won't be the same without him.

Rest in peace.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Gotta say, if this was the guy who voiced Stu Pickles, he brought a lot of great humor with his delivery of lines. While Stu is the only role I would know him from, Stu was one of the funniest characters on the show. Not to mention the more emotional moments. One of my favourite moments of the show is actually the part from the original Rugrats movie where Stu's trying to talk to Tommy about the responsibility of being an older brother, although I sadly can't find a video of that specific moment. So instead, here's one of my favourite Stu lines from the series.

Rest in Peace.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Best delivery.

[Big Panda]

Rugrats was one of THE shows of my childhood, one of the shows that I always looked forward to watching and still look back on fondly to this day. In a lot of these shows I watched I would always project myself onto the characters. I felt like Tommy was me, and Stu and Didi were my parents. So I always felt attatched to Stu and Didi just as much as I did to the babies, if not more.

Stu was an awesome parental guardian character in general (as a father to Tommy and Dil, or as an uncle to Angelica) and I honestly couldn't imagine any other voice coming out of his mouth. Jack Riley, as Tara already said, gave a heartfelt and genuine performance to the character that really made him feel like your own father.

I was also surprised upon finding out just how old he was, since he sounded exactly around Stu's age.

Farewell Jack, thanks for the cherished childhood memories.

[Hero of Legend]

Yeah his voice of Stu is very iconic to me also.

Really sad to see him go, I also was surprised at how old he was, I too would've thought he'd have been no later than his 50's. It's amazing what he was able to accomplish in his performance as Stu.

RIP Jack.

Also a reminder that we've also lost in recent years Christine Cavanaugh (Chuckie), Joe Alaskey (Grandpa Lou Pickles' 2nd voice), and Lou's original voice David Doyle before that back in 1997. At least, I haven't checked any of the larger cast, but still.

Should Rugrats ever come back, there's some big shoes to fill. Nancy Cartright already took over as Chuckie and does an awesome job (Christine was long retired). But who knows who could succeed Jack as Stu and Joe as Lou. Maybe Jeff Bergman could do Lou as he and Joe of course shared MANY Looney Tunes characters (Joe's most famous would be Daffy IMO). Stu though was one of a kind. Man this hurts.

[Tara]

Yeah, definitely agreed.  Don't know if I'll be able to watch a Rugrats revival with only a few of the original VA's, if any.  Some of these voices just had the most specific and perfect inflection, so it's really hard to see others being able to emulate it without sound like... well, an imitation.

[PC the Hedgehog]

On 8/20/2016 at 1:42 PM, Tara said:

I always loved his take on Stu, and I always thought how even as cartoony and weird as the show obviously was, the way Riley voiced Stu made him sound believable as a man and as a father.  When you listened to his voice, you really got the impression that this guy could easily be your own father, which is what really helped make the more emotional moments of the series just... really tear-jerking.  I actually had no idea he was in his SIXTIES (and up into his early 70's)  when he was voicing the character.  I'd always assumed that Stu was played a relatively young man.  Someone in their 30's or maybe early 40's.

Man, you really hit the nail on the head with this one. I found Stu Pickles to be one of the most realistic cartoon dads, like, ever. He had so many aspects to his personality, many of which remind me of my own dad. He could go from loving father to deadpan snarker to whiny baby at the drop of a hat, and Jack Riley pulled off the role to perfection. The guy had a voice smooth as butter (no pun intended, for you old timers who remember him from the Country Crock butter commercials). He will be missed.