Jack Riley (Mr. Carlin) Article - Cincinnati Enquirer (11/3/1997)

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Monday, November 3, 1997

Mr. Carlin swept back to Newhart

BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Look who's back in counseling! It's crazy Mr. Carlin.

Bitter Elliot Carlin and his wacky therapy group from the old Bob Newhart Show, appear in CBS' George & Leo show tonight (9 p.m., Channels 12, 7) when George (Mr. Newhart) wins a free counseling session at a charity auction.

''It was like we've never left,'' says Mr. Carlin's alter ego, veteran actor Jack Riley.

''It doesn't seem possible we hadn't done it in 20 years. It seems like three weeks ago,'' the Cleveland native says about the scenes with John Fiedler (meek Mr. Peterson), Oliver Clark (insecure Mr. Herd) and the star.

In the sweeps stunt to top all sweeps stunts, George & Leo features 18 former co-stars who worked with Mr. Newhart or Judd Hirsch on Taxi, Dear John, Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show.

Leo (Mr. Hirsch), who wins a minivan at the fund-raiser, taxis his old co-stars around Martha's Vineyard, the setting for CBS' comedy.

But George has no interest in attending his free therapy session in an office next to his favorite dentist and saucy receptionist (Peter Bonerz and Marcia Wallace).

When he interrupts the doctor's (Peter Scolari) session to return the gift certificate, Mr. Carlin cracks:

''You just came over here to reject us, huh? Is that how you get your sick jollies?''

Mr. Newhart says the gang from The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78) and Newhart (1982-90) had a great time.

''The whole thing was just so surreal,'' Mr. Newhart says. ''Mr. Carlin is just as screwed up, if not more screwed up than he was on the (old) show. I really think Mr. Carlin has a malpractice suit - he was worse in the sixth season than he was in the first year.''

Springboard to success

But Mr. Riley has no complaints.

The counseling group, which was supposed to be a one-show joke in the 1972 pilot, became a recurring part on the series. Neurotic Mr. Carlin appears in half of the 142 shows.

For Mr. Riley, The Bob Newhart Show (replaying at 11:30 p.m. weekdays on Nick at Nite) led to roles on Happy Days, Night Court, M*A*S*H, Family Ties, Seinfeld, Friends, Drew Carey, Coach and two dozen films, from The Long Goodbye to the new Boogie Nights.

Tonight's Newhart reunion caps a busy year for Mr. Riley, whose comic talents have been rediscovered by Hollywood:

He's become a one-man repertory company for Jay Leno, appearing in 13 Tonight Show sketches since March. He has played Heaven's Gate cult leader Marshall Applewhite (six times), Mother Teresa, a crazy militia leader, a Rolling Stones roadie and the patient in an ER spoof.

''Jack's been great,'' says Mr. Leno, whose staff ''discovered'' that he looked like Marshall Applewhite while he was performing improvisational comedy with pal Fred Willard in March.

He's snatched a variety of guest parts - from Touched by an Angel (as an angry widower in Sunday's episode) to Baywatch (as a drunken fisherman).

He's also a regular on Rugrats, cable's No. 1 series. He plays father Stu Pickles on the animated Nickelodeon show (8 p.m. Saturday), and in the theatrical cartoon to be released a year from now.

For eight years, he has been the voice of ''computer genius P.C. Modem'' on Comp-USA radio commercials, and the husband's voice on Shedd's Spread margarine TV commercials.

''I like to say that the Comp-USA spots support my acting habit,'' he says. ''That's been a steady job for eight years. It's like an annuity. It's putting my daughter through college.''

Easy to drift away

Staying employed isn't easy for Mr. Riley and other older performers in Hollywood, where everyone is looking for new young talent, the next Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) or Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg).

''The secret in this business is to try to stay in it. You can drift out of it so easily,'' he says. ''The Tonight Show is a great career thing for me, because that and Rugrats give me something to point to.''

Like many, he was initially attracted to show business glamour. His first exposure came on a train ride to Cincinnati with the Cleveland St. Ignatius High School basketball team, en route to play St. Xavier High School in 1952. Also on the train was Jose Greco and his Spanish dancers.

''He taught us all flamenco dancing,'' Mr. Riley recalls. ''If I had to pinpoint when I fell in love with show business, it was on that train.''

Twenty years later - after graduating from Cleveland's John Carroll University, doing morning drive on WERE-AM and writing for Tim Conway and Mort Sahl - he became known as abrasive Mr. Carlin, one of TV's enduring characters.

Is he really like Mr. Carlin?

''We all are, I think,'' he says. ''It's the side we keep hidden - where you say what you really want to say.''

You know, he's probably right.

Hey, what are YOU looking at? Is this how you get your jollies? Go read somebody else's story.

On the air

What: George & Leo.

When: 9 p.m. today.

Where: Channels 12, 7.

Guest stars: Eighteen former co-stars who worked with Bob Newhart or Judd Hirsch on Taxi, Dear John, Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show appear: Bill Daily, Marcia Wallace, Peter Bonerz, Jack Riley, Oliver Clark and John Fiedler (Bob Newhart Show); Peter Scolari, Julia Duffy, Tom Poston, William Sanderson, Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad (Newhart); Marilu Henner and Jeff Conaway (Taxi); and Billie Bird, Jane Carr, Harry Groener and Tom Willette (Dear John).