Charles Rocket

Charles Rocket (born August 24, 1949, Bangor, Maine) is an American film and television actor. After working in local TV news for a few years, he made his network debut on the popular program Saturday Night Live.

Related Topics:
August 24 - 1949 - Bangor, Maine - American - Saturday Night Live

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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 coveted role of anchor for the show's Weekend Update news parody, and was featured in many sketches.

Related Topics:
Lorne Michaels - Jean Doumanian - Bill Murray - Chevy Chase - Weekend Update

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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, with a majority of his sketches and Update bits garnering large laughs. Unfortunately, Rocket would eventually doom both his and Doumanian's tenures on the show with one word. An episode hosted by Dallas 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 "Dallas". Rocket was then shot in the chest by a sniper in the final sketch. At the end of the show, 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 Saturday Night Live at the time, and both Rocket and Doumanian were soon fired.

Related Topics:
Joe Piscopo - Eddie Murphy - Dallas - Charlene Tilton

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Rocket recovered from this early career setback and has since acted in many films, including Dances with Wolves and Dumb and Dumber, and as a recurring guest star on episodic TV. Rocket was particularly excellent as rival network president Ned Grossberg on the brilliant 1980s cyberpunk series Max Headroom.

Related Topics:
Dances with Wolves - Dumb and Dumber - Max Headroom

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