Charles Rocket
From Saturday Night Live Wiki
Charles Rocket (born Charles Claverie, August 24, 1949-October 7, 2005) was a castmember of SNL in the 1980-1981 season, and was the Weekend Update/SNL NewsLine anchor.
Charles was touted by then-Executive Prodcer Jean Doumanian as "a kind of cross between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray", and his "Rocket Reports" were one of the only bright spots in an agreeably dismal season. He, Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo were the stars of the season, but things took a turn for the worse during the Charlene Tilton/Todd Rundgren, Prince episode from March 7, 1981. A recurring set of sketches throughout the episode included a parody of Dallas' "Who Shot JR". At the end of the episode, when asked by Charlene Tilton how he felt after being shot, he responded by saying "Oh, man, this is the first time i've ever been shot, and I'd like to know who the fuck did it". This utterance led to him, as well as Jean Doumanian and the rest of the cast (save for Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo) being fired.
After SNL, Charlie did some work in independant films and other projects, such as Dumb and Dumber and the SNL movie It's Pat!. Most recently, Charlie played a Reverend in the independant film Bleach and was in the 2003 movie Shade.
On October 7, 2005, Charlie unexpectedly took his own life for reasons currently unknown. Previously, there was debate over whether this was true (due to lack of media coverage after the story broke), but former castmate Denny Dillon confirmed our worst fears. Charlie's body was found in his Canterbury, Connecticut home, his throat had been slit. The Connecticut medical examiner ruled it as suicide.
Contents |
[edit] Impressions and Characters
[edit] SNL Career
- 1980-1981: Repertory Player
[edit] External Links
| Preceded by: Jane Curtin and Bill Murray | Weekend Update Anchor (November/15/1980 - January/10/1981) | Followed by: Himself with Gail Matthius |
| Preceded by: Himself alone | Weekend Update Anchor with Gail Matthius (January/10/1981 - February/21/1981) | Followed by: Himself alone again/Himself as SNL NewsBreak Anchor |
| Preceded by: Himself with Gail Matthius | Weekend Update Anchor/SNL NewsBreak Anchor (February/21/1981 - March/7/1981) | Followed by: Chevy Chase (Special Appearance)(one-episode) |
