Comprehensive information and links about Charles Rocket

Charles Rocket See rationale on the talk page, or replace this tag with a more specific message. Editing help is available. (August 24, 1949 – October 7, 2005), was an American film and television actor born in Bangor, Maine, USA. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design in the late 1960s and was part of the Rhode Island underground scene in the 1970s. He made several short films and fronted his band, the Fabulous Motels. He later anchored the local news at Channel 12 WPRI. He made his network debut on the popular program .

Rocket was cast for the 1980–81 season, which followed the departure of the remaining members of the show's popular original cast and original executive producer Lorne Michaels. Singled out by new executive producer Jean Doumanian as the star of her new ensemble, Rocket was promoted as "kind of a cross between Bill Murray and Chevy Chase." Rocket was given the role of anchor for the show's news parody, and was featured in many sketches.

However, the new cast (save for Joe Piscopo and later Eddie Murphy) was not at all popular with audiences. Rocket was somewhat of a standout, though, due to his infamous "Rocket Reports" segments, despite the fact that he was not very successful as the "Update" anchor. (Viewers have noted, however, that his on Weekend Update was evidently later adopted by Dennis Miller.)

Unfortunately, Rocket would eventually doom both his and Doumanian's tenures on the show with one word. The February 21, 1981 episode hosted by star Charlene Tilton featured an ongoing joke in which different cast members would vow revenge on him for some reason, in a parody of the famed "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of . Rocket was then shot in the chest by a sniper in the final sketch. At the end of the show, there was some time to kill, so members of the cast appeared onstage with Tilton, who improvised and asked Rocket how he felt about being shot. A wheelchair-bound Charles audibly mumbled that he'd like to know "who the fuck did it", followed by the cast and audience reacting with shock and embarrassed laughter. The incident seemed to encapsulate all that was wrong with at the time, and both Rocket and Doumanian were soon fired (along with most of the writers and fellow cast members). Piscopo and Murphy were the only cast members to survive the ax, and new producer Dick Ebersol replaced most other cast members later.

Rocket recovered from this early career setback and acted in many films, including , often portraying the antagonist. On the small screen, he managed to secure a series of guest spots on several 1980s sitcoms and also played rival network president Ned Grossberg on the 1980s cyberpunk series .

As the 1990s wore on, beneficial roles were few and far between, as Rocket struck out in such box office duds as on the Fox network. Nevertheless, he found limited success in guest spots on many popular television programs in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s, including , the last of which marked his final appearance on network television. He also lent his voice to popular video game titles "Star Wars: Starfighter," "Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter" (as the character "Nym" in both games), "Descent 3," and "Age of Mythology."

His last role was in the 2003 movie , starring Sylvester Stallone and Melanie Griffith.

Sadly, Rocket never had the chance to experience A-list status as a celebrity. On October 7, 2005, his was discovered by police in his yard in Canterbury, Connecticut; his throat had been cut. The Connecticut state medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide. He was 56, and is survived by his wife Beth and son Zane.

Some fans were disappointed over the 'tribute' on the October 22, 2005, episode of SNL (hosted by Catherine Zeta-Jones). Declining to show even a short clip, the program simply displayed a brief title card on the way to a commercial; the card was not even shown on certain NBC affiliates. However after his death, radio personality and friend Brandon Vogt, gave Rocket a fitting tribute on WXCM-FM 97X Owensboro, KY. Vogt said, "Charles Rocket was a man who will be remembered for his great sense of humor and always someone of