Gerard Parkes, the Dublin-born actor best known for playing the sole human character, Doc, on Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, died on Oct. 19 in his retirement home in Toronto, Canada. He was 90 years old. Parkes was born in Ireland in 1924, and he moved to Canada after World War II, starting his acting career in theater in 1948. Aside from Fraggle Rock, Parkes also acted in children's fare like A Muppet Family Christmas and Shining Time Station. Parkes won best actor at the 1968 Canadian Film Awards for his role as Uncle Matthew in the film Isabel, but it was the role of Doc...
- 10/21/2014
- PEOPLE.com
Gerard Parkes, best known for playing Doc on the Jim Henson children series “Fraggle Rock” died of natural causes on Sunday. He was 90. Born in Dublin, the actor relocated to Canada after World War II and launched his career on CBC Radio in the 1950s. He began acting in television with a 1960 appearance on the series, “The Encounter.” See photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2014 Parkes is also known for his role in 1999's “The Boondock Saints,” playing a bar owner (also named Doc) with Tourette syndrome. He was also seen in “The Littlest Hobo,” “Shining Time Station,” and “A Muppet.
- 10/21/2014
- by Ryan O'Connell
- The Wrap
Muppet site Tough Pigs reports that actor Gerry Parkes (sometimes credited as Gerard Parkes) has died at the age of 90. Parkes was best known as the beloved human character Doc from the Fraggle Rock TV show. He also had a recurring role in the Shining Time Station series from the 1990s.
In addition, Parkes appeared in more than 70 TV shows and movies, including The Boondock Saints. His last on-screen appearance was in 2009's The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.
Here's are clips from the final episode of Fraggle Rock. Doc and Sprocket are moving away but still have a connection to the underground creatures.
What do you think? Do you remember Parkes' work on Fraggle Rock or on other TV and movie projects? Have any favorite memories?...
In addition, Parkes appeared in more than 70 TV shows and movies, including The Boondock Saints. His last on-screen appearance was in 2009's The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.
Here's are clips from the final episode of Fraggle Rock. Doc and Sprocket are moving away but still have a connection to the underground creatures.
What do you think? Do you remember Parkes' work on Fraggle Rock or on other TV and movie projects? Have any favorite memories?...
- 10/21/2014
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Have “The Walking Dead” fans become numb to all the atrocities? "'The Walking Dead' has always lived in uncharted television territory, and you can’t say that viewers weren’t warned that this season was determined to go even further beyond Thunderdome,” says Jeff Labrecque, adding: "But is it too far? And is 'The Walking Dead' getting a free pass because its explicit depictions of violence are framed within a zombiefied landscape?” “The Real World" Season 30 is going with a "Skeletons” format The Chicago-set "Real World: Skeletons" will feature "skeletons" from the housemates’ past, who move in to "drum up secrets and dark memories.” “Gossip Girl’s” Penn Badgley will romance Mary-Louise Parker on NBC’s “The Slap” He’ll play her much-younger boyfriend on the NBC miniseries about a slap gone wrong. Click Read Full Post For More Ryan Murphy was wrong to claim he's...
- 10/21/2014
- by Norman Weiss
- Hitfix
Gerard Parkes, the Irish-Canadian actor who starred in the hit kids series Fraggle Rock during the 1980s, died Sunday in Toronto. He was 90. His agent, Gerry Jordan, told the Canadian Press news service that Parkes died from natural causes in a retirement home. Parkes played the eccentric inventor Doc on Rock — the only regular human character in Jim Henson's live-action puppet show for HBO and the CBC in Canada. He also appeared in ABC's A Muppet Family Christmas special in 1987. Parkes' other TV credits included playing Dr. Cobourne on The Littlest Hobo and Barton Winslow on Shining
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- 10/20/2014
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the most amazing things about the talented and long-missed Jim Henson is that he was always creating something new, exploring news forms of storytelling and puppetry. While he may have started out with single characters, such as Kermit, he went on to create characters that hawked cereal and interacted with humans on Saturday Night Live. In between, he also helped pioneer engaging and educational children’s television with Sesame Street’s inhuman inhabitants and created a universe of Muppets. When HBO was looking for original fare in the 1980s, it made perfect sense that they turn to Henson who whipped up a brand new universe of characters, the Fraggles. His Fraggle Rock lasted five seasons and 96 wonderful episodes.
Coming this week is Fraggle Rock: 30th Anniversary Collection, including every episode plus recently discovered behind the scenes interviews, a collectible Red plush keychain, and an all new exclusive...
Coming this week is Fraggle Rock: 30th Anniversary Collection, including every episode plus recently discovered behind the scenes interviews, a collectible Red plush keychain, and an all new exclusive...
- 5/12/2013
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
The definition of just what makes a cult hit has changed in the ten years since Troy Duffy made "The Boondock Saints". The ubiquity of the Internet and the coming-of-age of a generation weaned on the copious amount of very specific information it offers has given almost every piece of media, film or other, its very own cult following.
By information, I mean easier access and smaller audiences. When you say a movie earned itself a cult following by "word of mouth" in 2009, you're typically saying that it fostered early hype thanks to a small but vocal online community, further cultivated through viral marketing. "The Boondock Saints" was the real deal, one of the very last cult movies to find its audience through literal word of mouth.
Throughout 2000 and 2001, college kids and action movie nerds traded this movie around like a secret handshake, something cool shared by those in the know.
By information, I mean easier access and smaller audiences. When you say a movie earned itself a cult following by "word of mouth" in 2009, you're typically saying that it fostered early hype thanks to a small but vocal online community, further cultivated through viral marketing. "The Boondock Saints" was the real deal, one of the very last cult movies to find its audience through literal word of mouth.
Throughout 2000 and 2001, college kids and action movie nerds traded this movie around like a secret handshake, something cool shared by those in the know.
- 10/29/2009
- by John Constantine
- MTV Movies Blog
In some ways, the days of Fraggle Rock seem like such a thing of the past. It's been more than twenty years since the original Jim Henson series ended its run on HBO. Still, the happy little creatures have remained very popular in the Us as well as the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2006, it was announced that the characters were being revived for an all-new feature film. That's still in the works and now, a new spin-off is making its way to television.
Fraggle Rock is the 1983 brainchild of innovative genius Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets. In a world filled with lots of color and music, the Fraggles are happy creatures that live in an endless maze of underground caves. The series showcases the talents of Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Hans Helmut Dickow, Gerard Parkes, Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Kathryn Mullen, Karen Prell, and Henson.
The...
Fraggle Rock is the 1983 brainchild of innovative genius Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets. In a world filled with lots of color and music, the Fraggles are happy creatures that live in an endless maze of underground caves. The series showcases the talents of Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Hans Helmut Dickow, Gerard Parkes, Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Kathryn Mullen, Karen Prell, and Henson.
The...
- 4/8/2009
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
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