Career
Alaskey launched his professional life as a stand-up comedian and radio broadcaster in New York. His gift for mimicry brought him early attention: he was a noted impersonator of Jackie Gleason, and Gleason personally selected him in the 1980s to re-record dialogue for several lost episodes of The Honeymooners.1
His transition to voice acting became permanent with his first major film credit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in which he voiced Yosemite Sam and Foghorn Leghorn.3 When Mel Blanc died in 1989, Alaskey emerged as one of the primary voices carrying Warner Bros.' classic cartoon characters forward.1 He ultimately voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, and Speedy Gonzales across theatrical shorts, television series, and feature films.1
Among his long-running television roles, he played Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995) and Grandpa Lou Pickles on Rugrats (1997-2004) and its sequel series All Grown Up!.1 He voiced Stinkie in the 1995 feature Casper1 and Droopy the Dog in later Tom and Jerry productions.1 He also provided the voice of President Richard Nixon in Forrest Gump (1994).4
His most celebrated performance came with Duck Dodgers on Cartoon Network (2003-2005), where he voiced the title character, a futuristic reimagining of Daffy Duck. He received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 2004 for that role.1 Alaskey also appeared in the feature film Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), voicing Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.1
In the final years of his career he provided narration for the Investigation Discovery true-crime series Murder Comes to Town.2
Beyond voice acting, Alaskey was a published writer. He released an autobiography, That's Still Not All Folks!!, in 2009, along with a horror novel, Frater Dementis, and a short story collection, Queasy Street: Volume One, Eleven Tales of Fantasy.2
Extreme Ghostbusters
In 1997, Alaskey guest-starred on Extreme Ghostbusters, voicing the character Surt across three episodes:
Surt is drawn from Norse mythology as the fire giant who rules Muspelheim; his appearance in the series fit the show's pattern of drawing villains from world mythologies and folklore.
Death
Alaskey was diagnosed with cancer and died on February 3, 2016, in Green Island, New York, at the age of 63. His death was announced by his spokesperson via his official Facebook page.2 Tributes came from across the animation industry, with colleagues noting his ability to honor the legacy of Mel Blanc while bringing his own distinctive energy to characters beloved by multiple generations.5
