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Steve Viksten ("Hey Arnold!") dead at 54
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David
Jun 25, 2014, 7:15:31 PM6/25/14
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http://www.avclub.com/article/rip-nicktoons-writer-and-hey-arnold-voice-actor-st-206232
R.I.P. Nicktoons writer and Hey Arnold! voice actor Steve Viksten
By Erik Adams
Steve Viksten, who helped develop the 1990s Nicktoon Hey Arnold! and
was the show�s most prolific writer, has died. Hey Arnold! co-creator
Craig Bartlett posted a memorial to Viksten on Facebook yesterday,
June 24, stating �Steve Viksten, who wrote many of my favorite Hey
Arnold! stories, died yesterday. I was lucky to be near to so much
talent for so long. RIP.� Viksten was 54.
In addition to writing for Hey Arnold!, Viksten provided the voice for
several of the show�s characters�most notably Oskar Kokoshka, the
shiftless, con-artist-in-residence of Hey Arnold!�s central boarding
house. True to the show�s understanding treatment of its characters,
Oskar proved to be more than a selfish opportunist, a hidden warmth
unearthed in Viksten�s sad-sack characterization. Oskar�s ambiguously
Eastern European accent likely echoes through the memories of viewers
who grew up with Hey Arnold!, a sleepy Yakov Smirnoff riff intoning
�Look everybody, I�m petting the kitty� and �You keep the money� in
moments long since clipped and posted to YouTube.
With Hey Arnold! credits including �Arnold�s Hat� (in which the
protagonist�s lost headwear leads to the first onscreen reminisces of
his absent parents) and �Stoop Kid� (which deals with a Boo Radley
type ending his self-imposed detainment on the front steps of his
building), Viksten�s episodes were critical to forming the show�s
internal history and sense of inner-city lore. In addition to working
on Hey Arnold! (the movie adaptation of which he also wrote), Viksten
scripted episodes of Rugrats, Recess, and Duckman. In 2011, he
co-wrote the 12th episode of The Simpsons� 22nd season, �Homer
Scissorhands,� an effort that once more put his words in the mouths of
Dan Castellaneta and Tress MacNeille, who voiced Arnold�s grandparents
on Hey Arnold!
R.I.P. Nicktoons writer and Hey Arnold! voice actor Steve Viksten
By Erik Adams
Steve Viksten, who helped develop the 1990s Nicktoon Hey Arnold! and
was the show�s most prolific writer, has died. Hey Arnold! co-creator
Craig Bartlett posted a memorial to Viksten on Facebook yesterday,
June 24, stating �Steve Viksten, who wrote many of my favorite Hey
Arnold! stories, died yesterday. I was lucky to be near to so much
talent for so long. RIP.� Viksten was 54.
In addition to writing for Hey Arnold!, Viksten provided the voice for
several of the show�s characters�most notably Oskar Kokoshka, the
shiftless, con-artist-in-residence of Hey Arnold!�s central boarding
house. True to the show�s understanding treatment of its characters,
Oskar proved to be more than a selfish opportunist, a hidden warmth
unearthed in Viksten�s sad-sack characterization. Oskar�s ambiguously
Eastern European accent likely echoes through the memories of viewers
who grew up with Hey Arnold!, a sleepy Yakov Smirnoff riff intoning
�Look everybody, I�m petting the kitty� and �You keep the money� in
moments long since clipped and posted to YouTube.
With Hey Arnold! credits including �Arnold�s Hat� (in which the
protagonist�s lost headwear leads to the first onscreen reminisces of
his absent parents) and �Stoop Kid� (which deals with a Boo Radley
type ending his self-imposed detainment on the front steps of his
building), Viksten�s episodes were critical to forming the show�s
internal history and sense of inner-city lore. In addition to working
on Hey Arnold! (the movie adaptation of which he also wrote), Viksten
scripted episodes of Rugrats, Recess, and Duckman. In 2011, he
co-wrote the 12th episode of The Simpsons� 22nd season, �Homer
Scissorhands,� an effort that once more put his words in the mouths of
Dan Castellaneta and Tress MacNeille, who voiced Arnold�s grandparents
on Hey Arnold!
Obveeus
Jun 25, 2014, 7:38:06 PM6/25/14
to
On 6/25/2014 7:15 PM, David wrote:
> http://www.avclub.com/article/rip-nicktoons-writer-and-hey-arnold-voice-actor-st-206232
>
> R.I.P. Nicktoons writer and Hey Arnold! voice actor Steve Viksten
> By Erik Adams
>
> Steve Viksten, who helped develop the 1990s Nicktoon Hey Arnold! and
> Craig Bartlett posted a memorial to Viksten on Facebook yesterday,
> June 24, stating �Steve Viksten, who wrote many of my favorite Hey
> Arnold! stories, died yesterday.
Too bad. That was a fairly funny animated kid's show.
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