Actor Charles Rocket committed suicide

[GreenPartyVoter]

I'd had no idea he was born here in Maine.

FARMINGTON, Conn. (AP) - Charles Rocket, a comedian and actor who appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and had roles in a variety of movies and television series, committed suicide, the state medical examiner has ruled.

Rocket, 56, whose real name was Charles Calervie, was found dead in a field near his home in Canterbury on Oct 7. His throat had been cut, the medical examiner said.

"An investigation determined there was no criminal aspect to this case," State Police Sgt. J. Paul Vance said Monday.

Rocket was a cast member on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" during the 1980-81 season. He gained notoriety when he was fired from SNL for swearing on the air.

Here's an nice obit from his local paper: http://www.providencephoenix.com/features/p_and_j/documents/05030762.asp

http://imdb.com/name/nm0734236/

:( I found his pic. I recognized him from several TV appearances, such as on Quantum Leap and Star Trek. :cry:

[Crazy Guggenheim]

1. I remember him. Sad.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Yeah. What makes your life so bad you have to cut your own throat??

I can only imagine. :cry:

[Crazy Guggenheim]

5. I know! That is so strange!!

[DS1]

2. That's a hell of a thing, cutting your own neck

:wow:

[AlCzervik]

4. Thats so sad and what an awful way to end your life.

[bertha katzenengel]

6. No way. What a bummer.

I remember him from "Hocus Pocus." :(

[trogdor]

7. That sucks.

Almost as much as the post-Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time-Players cast of which he was a part. Got canned from SNL for saying "fuck" on the air, and that's what he's remembered for. God, that sucks.

[noonwitch]

10. That's what I remember him for-saying the f word on SNL

and getting fired for it.

[underpants]

8. ESPN's sideline reporter Adrian Karsten did too

-I heard this on Imus a few weeks ago-


Readers ask: Whatever happened to Adrian Karsten, who was most prominent as a college football sideline reporter during 20 years with ESPN?

The 45-year-old was found in the garage of his Wisconsin home Sept. 1, an apparent suicide, according to several reports. That was the day after he was scheduled to begin serving an 11-month prison term for income tax evasion.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031785338074&path=!sports&s=1045855934844

[soleft]

9. He played Bruce Willis's older brother on Moonlighting

[Barad Simith]

11. Ex-'SNL' player Charles Rocket a suicide

Monday, October 17, 2005
10:35 a.m. EDT (14:35 GMT)

FARMINGTON, Connecticut (AP) -- Charles Rocket, a comedian and actor who appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and had roles in a variety of movies and television series, committed suicide, the state medical examiner has ruled.

Rocket, 56, whose real name was Charles Claverie, was found dead in a field near his home in Canterbury on October 7. His throat had been cut, the medical examiner said.

"An investigation determined there was no criminal aspect to this case," State Police Sgt. J. Paul Vance said Monday.

Rocket was a cast member on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" during the 1980-81 season, a tumultuous year that followed the departure of the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" and founding producer Lorne Michaels. Rocket gained notoriety when he was fired from "SNL" for swearing on the air.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/17/comedian.suicide.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Wickerman]

12. sad

I have never heard of a suicide who cut his neck.

[Dora]

14. It does happen.

I know someone who attempted the same. He was quite troubled.

[shrike]

16. I did

The wife of a family friend. You never can tell about people. She did it out in the garage, apparently so she wouldn't bleed all over the kitchen floor. She was always very house-proud and very neat.

[Wickerman]

21. I suppose its a pretty certain way out

I did a lot of suicide research years back - heard so many methods - hadn't considered this one. Sorry for your friend, suicide is so devastating for family.

[politicat]

20. It used to be quite common.

In the 19th century, it was THE way to commit suicide, pistols being both difficult to procure and unreliable, drugs adulterated into ineffectiveness, poisons cowardly, and hanging the death of criminals. Bloodletting was the only honorable way to die and a straight razor was part of every gentleman's kit. With a good sharp one, the process is quick.

Not the way I'd want to go, but at least you go out knowing you've got courage.

[prolesunited]

24. No, true courage is living

and dealing with the demons you are facing.

My brother committed suicide and I in no way think he was courageous. I feel compassion for him and sad he felt that was his only choice. You make it sound so heroic. It is not.

If you have are in the end stages of a terminal illness, perhaps suicide (certainly not by throat slitting) is a humane option, but not when recovery is possible.

[politicat]

25. Sure - I agree with you. But in the mindset of the suicidal,

doing something that that person perceives as brave and daring as a final act allows zim to go out with a "last hurrah" so to speak.

I don't believe it is heroic; I believe that the person who chooses to do so believes that it is courageous. There's a huge difference there.

[CBHagman]

31. I am so sorry about your brother.

May he and this poor man have eternal rest.

I agree with the poster who commented on the mind-set of the suicide. While those of us who go on living don't understand or support the plan to take one's own life, we can imagine the depth of misery someone would have to be in to even attempt this.

[xmas74]

26. I have.

I had a call for one a few years ago.
From what I understand it was a nasty mess. The person had attempted before(slit wrists, hanging, OD) but was unsuccessful. Someone who does this wants to take no chances of failure.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

13. Whoa

how do you cut your own throat??

[Lerkfish]

17. I asked myself the same thing

if you were going to suicide, wouldn the wrists be an easier target?

I'm suspicious without more details.

[xmas74]

27. Some people cannot get deep enough.

Cutting your own neck isn't as hard as you think. You usually find a way to prop up the knife, extend your neck and plunge yourself into it(easiest way). The shock of doing that will, in many people, cause them to jerk, making the cut both deeper and wider.

[Shakespeare]

30. It's possible, and the neck is much faster.

A physician I'm familiar with (he was in the process of being booted from the medical staff of a SoCal hospital for being drunk on the job) went into meltdown mode, and his girlfriend called the police to tell them he was suicidal.

When they went to his house to check on him, he opened the door and had already cut his wrists. When he saw it was the police, he just looked at them, raised the knife to his throat and slit his own throat before the cops could even react (of course, a surgeon is going to have a better idea how to accomplish this than most people). He was dead before the ambulance arrived.

[JAbuchan08]

15. He cut his own throat?!?!

of all the ways to go that's got to be one of the worst.

[Inland]

18. That's real determination.

I would think that would be almost impossible.

[calico1]

19. I know! Couldn't he just take pills or something? n/t

[radwriter0555]

32. Awww, I worked with him on Moonlighting, he was a GAS! We LOVED

that guy! We had SO much fun with him, he really brought some genuine hilarity to the set.

What a real, real shame....

[GreenPartyVoter]

34. I didn't expect to find someone here who knew him personally.

I hate to use such a stupid cliche like "it's a small world" in such a sad situation, though.

[In_The_Wind]

22. I'm so sorry to hear that!

[Left Is Write]

23. No! He was the villain Mr. Andre in Dumb & Dumber.

And he did it so well.

[Poll_Blind]

28. He was Grossberg on Max Headroom!

He played one of the better TV villians in that series- god I hated him. Which means he was a damned good actor- I feel very badly that circumstances in his life should cause him to so painfully inflict a mortal blow upon himself. He, and I guess it goes without saying, must have been in a great amount of pain.

PB

[radwriter0555]

33. Egads, I forgot about that... I worked on that one too. My only two

network teevee shows, and he was in both.

I totally forgot about grossberg. Good memory there.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

29. His school band, the Fabulous Motels, influenced Talking Heads

...according to this touching and revealing memorial from his old classmates at Rhode Island School of Design:

http://www.providencephoenix.com/features/p_and_j/documents/05030762.asp

[kwassa]

35. I went to RISD with Charlie and the members of the Talking Heads

Charlie Rocket was hilarious and used to MC all the college events. His college band was the Fabulous Motels, and David Byrne and Chris Frantz were in a band called the Artistics. Tina was Chris's girlfriend.

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. That makes two people in here who knew him personally :^(