18 października 2005
The Rocket Report
Whenever I wanted to name an obscure Saturday Night Live alum, I would name Charles Rocket. Unlike, say, Danitra Vance or Melanie Hutsell, he barely lasted one season. He didn't go on to anything big like other short timers such as Amy Sedaris or Damon Wayans.Rocket came on board in the ill-fated 1980 season, replacing the legendary Not Ready for Prime Time Players. The group he came in with was talented, but who wouldn't pale in comparison to John Belushi and Gilda Radner at their best? The cast included Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo and Gilbert Godfried.
Rocket was supposed to be the big star, taking the place as anchor of Weekend Update that propelled Chevy Chase to stardom. It was not to be. The writing that season was poor, there were constant disputes between the network and the new producer, even the guest hosts sucked (Charlene Tilton?). The season ended with an ongoing spoof of "Who Shot J.R.?" entitled "Who Shot C.R.?" At the end of the episode, Rocket came out looking wounded in a wheelchair. He said "I'd like to know who the f*** did it." This gave the network a good excuse to pull the plug, fire the entire cast except for Murphy and Piscopo, and for the rest of the season air re-runs of classic Saturday Night Live episodes and a Canadian show called SCTV.
Rocket was basically blackballed and didn't appear on TV for years. He showed up in the occasional movie though, playing Geena Davis's husband in Earth Girls are Easy and a role in Dumb and Dumber most prominently. He later had a regular role in the series Tequilla and Bonetti and also showed up on an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, playing, as fate would have it, a suicidal criminal.
Rocket's body was found two weeks ago in Connecticut. His death has been ruled a suicide.
Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.
