C. Martin Croker

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Clay Martin Croker
Croker in his home studio in Atlanta, 2001
Born(1962-01-10)January 10, 1962
Smyrna, Georgia, U.S.
DiedSeptember 17, 2016(2016-09-17) (aged 54)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation(s)Voice actor, animator
Years active1988–2016
Spouse
April Stephens
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2014)​

Clay Martin Croker (January 10, 1962 – September 17, 2016), generally credited as C. Martin Croker, was an American animator and voice actor.[1] He was best known for having provided the voices of Dr. Weird and Steve on the animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Zorak and Moltar in Space Ghost Coast to Coast, replacing Don Messick and Ted Cassidy, who originally voiced the characters in the 1960s series Space Ghost. He was also an animator for both productions throughout their runs.

Career

Croker began his professional career in animation in 1988 by providing animation of the Laser Show at Stone Mountain.[2]

Croker animated various "TNT Toons" promos for TNT in the early 1990s and helped animate and design bumpers for Cartoon Network in 1998. Croker also worked on various commercials and bumpers which often featured well-known cartoon characters.[3]

Croker is best known for providing the voices of Zorak and Moltar in the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim/GameTap animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast, throughout its entire run from 1994 until 2008. In addition to being the show's principal animator, it was also his idea to have Zorak and Moltar be Space Ghost's sidekicks. He also voiced Zorak on Cartoon Planet and The Brak Show and voiced Moltar as the host of Toonami from 1997 until 1999.[3][4]

Croker served as an animator for Aqua Teen Hunger Force and its 2007 feature film adaption Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. He also provided the voices for Dr. Weird, Steve, and various characters for the series.[3]

Croker provided the voice of Young Man and other various characters in Perfect Hair Forever.[4]

Filmography

Year(s) Title Role(s) Notes
1994–99;
2001–04;
2006–08		 Space Ghost Coast to Coast Zorak, Moltar, Various Animator
1997–99 Toonami Moltar Programming block
1995–98;
2012–14		 Cartoon Planet Zorak
1998 How Zorak Stole X-Mas Zorak Video game
2000 Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak Zorak, Wally Gator, Various Television specials
2000–03;
2007		 The Brak Show Zorak
2000–2015 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Dr. Weird, Steve, Various Animator
2004–07; 2014 Perfect Hair Forever Young Man, Various
2005 Sunday Pants Man Loving Lovers in Love segments.
2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Dr. Weird, Steve, Various Feature film
Animator

Death and tributes

Croker died on September 17, 2016.[5] Adult Swim honored him by re-airing the first Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode produced, "Elevator", on September 19, 2016, as a special presentation.[6] The tribute began with a brief description of Croker's contribution to Space Ghost and Adult Swim, with the words his character Zorak said in one episode: "Think of me when you look to the night sky", then the episode played. At the end of the episode, the screen shows "C. Martin Croker ". In the wake of the news of his death, Croker's friends and colleagues, such as his Coast to Coast friends and co-stars George Lowe and Andy Merrill, paid tribute to him in posts on social media. Adult Swim made almost every episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast available for free on their website in honor of him.[7]

On September 24, 2016, Croker was honored at the beginning of Toonami in a segment in which T.O.M. receives a transmission from Moltar saying he's returning to his home planet and will not be coming back, then boasting that he was the better Toonami host. T.O.M. wishes Moltar the best of luck and says "May your oven stay forever lit." An image of Croker was then shown, captioned "(1962–2016)".[8]

References

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003. Vol. 2 (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Company. pp. 767–769. ISBN 978-0-7864-2256-2. OCLC 57349103. Retrieved 24 September 2010 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ True Total Clips – Interview C Martin Crocker – with Sum Dude and That Guy. July 10, 2016 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c Barsanti, Sam (September 18, 2016). "R.I.P. Clay Martin Croker, Adult Swim Animator and Voice Actor". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b Lincoln, Ross (18 September 2016). "C. Martin Croker Dies: Voice Actor And Animator On 'Space Ghost Coast To Coast' And 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force' Was 54". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  5. ^ "C. Martin Croker". Obits.MassLive.com.
  6. ^ @adultswim (September 18, 2016). "We will be airing SGCTC Elevator at 12:30a in memory of our friend Clay" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "In memory of C. Martin Croker, every episode (that we could get our hands on) of Space Ghost Coast to Coast is available at adultswim.com. No log-in required". Facebook. September 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Adult Swim (2016-09-26). Moltar's Transmission | Toonami | Adult Swim. Retrieved 2016-09-26 – via YouTube.
Preceded by Actors portraying Zorak
1994–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Don Messick
 Actors portraying Moltar
1994–2016 		Succeeded by
Bernardo de Paula
Preceded by Actors portraying Brak
1994 		Succeeded by