Joe Alaskey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joe Alaskey
Born	Joseph Francis Alaskey III (1952-04-17)April 17, 1952 Troy, New York, U.S.
Died	February 3, 2016(2016-02-03) (aged 63) Green Island, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor broadcaster impressionist stand-up comedian
Years active	1975–2016
Comedy career
Genres	Sketch comedy improvisational comedy clean comedy impressions observational comedy

Joseph Francis Alaskey III (born April 17, 1952 – died February 3, 2016) was an American actor. He was also a broadcaster, a stand-up comedian, and someone who was great at doing impressions of other people.

Joe Alaskey became one of the main voice actors for Warner Bros. Animation. He took over many famous cartoon voices after the legendary Mel Blanc passed away. He shared these roles with other talented voice actors like Jeff Bergman and Billy West.

Alaskey voiced many classic Looney Tunes characters. These included Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, and Tweety. He also voiced Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and Marvin the Martian. From 1990 to 1995, he was the voice of Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures. He also voiced Grandpa Lou Pickles on the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats. He continued this role in the spin-off series All Grown Up!.

Early Life and Interests

Joe Alaskey was born in Troy, New York, on April 17, 1952. His parents were Joseph Francis Alaskey Jr. and Domenica "Dorothy" De Sorrento De Luca Alaskey.

When he was ten, Joe was very interested in archeology. After that, he thought about becoming a priest or an English teacher. In the 1970s, Alaskey moved to New York City. There, he worked in insurance while getting ready to become an actor.

A Career in Voice Acting

After moving to New York City, Joe Alaskey started his career. He performed as a stand-up comedian and a broadcaster. Sometimes, he appeared on screen impersonating the famous actor Jackie Gleason. He even looked a bit like him!

In the 1980s, Jackie Gleason himself chose Alaskey. He wanted Joe to re-record some dialogue from "lost episodes" of The Honeymooners. This project was stopped after Gleason died in 1987.

Joe Alaskey voiced many characters in different TV shows. He was in Night Court, Head of the Class, and Back to the Future. His first big movie role was as Yosemite Sam in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Beyond Looney Tunes Voices

Even though he was famous for his Looney Tunes voices, Alaskey also voiced other characters. He became the voice of Grandpa Lou Pickles on Rugrats in 1997. He continued this role in the show's spin-off, All Grown Up!.

He also created the voice of Thomas Timberwolf for an internet series called TimberWolf. This series was made by the animation legend Chuck Jones. Joe Alaskey was also a voice-over announcer for the Toon Disney channel.

In video games, he voiced Curt Connors in the Spider-Man 2 video game. He also voiced Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe. Alaskey was the voice of Mermaid Man in the SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! and SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab video games.

He voiced Stinkie in the movie Casper and its TV show, The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper. In 2003, he took over the voices of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action. He also voiced Sylvester, Tweety, and other Looney Tunes characters in that film.

In 2014, Alaskey started narrating a TV show called Murder Comes to Town. This show aired on the Investigation Discovery Network.

His only main role in a live-action film was as Ron Douglas in Lucky Stiff. This movie was directed by Anthony Perkins.

Later Life and Passing

Joe Alaskey passed away in Green Island, New York, on February 3, 2016. He was 63 years old and died from cancer. Five days later, his funeral was held in Watervliet.

Filmography

Film Roles

Animation Roles

Video Game Roles

Live-Action Roles

Theme Park Roles

Web Series Roles

See also

In Spanish: Joe Alaskey para niños