Jack Riley, R.I.P.

The first thing you need to know about Jack Riley is that he was a brilliantly funny man. The second thing is that he was one of the nicest people it has ever been my pleasure to know.

You might guess the first one since up until health problems curbed his ability to work and walk, Jack was constantly in demand for comedy shows and the occasional drama. Everybody in the business knew him or knew of him and was aware of how much he could bring to any TV show or movie. If you knew him first as Mr. Carlin, the neurotic complainer on The Bob Newhart Show, you might be surprised (and pleased) to know that wasn't the real Jack Riley. He was not an asshole but he was good at playing one on TV.

Jack was from Cleveland where he spent years on the radio. Around 1965, he relocated to Los Angeles where fellow Clevelander Tim Conway recommended him for performing and writing work. Very soon after his arrival, Jack won a regular slot on a one-season NBC sitcom, Occasional Wife, and then segued to guest shots on dozens of other shows. He was a semi-regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, usually doing his great impression of President Lyndon Johnson.

Friends used to kid Jack about having too much work. His close buddy and occasional partner Pat McCormick once said, "Any time I go a week without seeing Riley on TV, I figure he's dead and start writing a eulogy." Jack also enjoyed (if that's the proper word) a vast unpaid career as an emcee at various Hollywood events, including a lot of funerals, including Pat McCormick's.

The last decade or so of Jack's life was marred by bad news and tragedies, including medical problems that put him in a wheelchair and eventually fogged his wonderful brain. It's sad when that happens to anyone and it's a particular heartbreaker when it's someone who was so generous and helpful to others, and so witty. Still, for a time he had that great, expressive voice and his spot-on delivery. He was heard on The Garfield Show a few times, usually playing a callous and uncaring attorney. More often, he played the role of Stu Pickles on Rugrats…and there was a decade or so there when you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing Jack in a commercial.

As I often feel when someone dies after a long period of suffering, I'm sorry to lose him but glad it's over. He died this morning at the age of 80 and the cause is being given as pneumonia. I've lost a wonderful friend and the world has lost a very kind, clever man.