[Rocco DiPippo]

I met Rocket (real name Charles Claverie) at a barbecue at a friend's house in Connecticut. My friend had known him for many years and had gone to school with him. He seemed like a nice enough guy until I mentioned that I liked George W Bush, who was the president at the time. He went absolutely nuts when I said that and began cursing me out and threatening me. The outburst was so sudden and so in my face that at first I stood there in total shock, but then snapped out of it and told him if he took one step closer to me I would beat his ass down. He backed off and then apologized. Yeah, he'd had quite a few drinks. Afterwards, we actually had a long, interesting conversation and he was totally cool.

The back story on his suicide: Got a call from my friend the morning after Rocket killed himself. That week, SNL had offered to send a limo to his house to pick him up for the 30th (or was it the 25th?) anniversary of SNL. The night before that was to happen Rocket walked out to a field behind his house and slit his own throat.

Man, to do something like that seems that you'd have to really hate yourself.

[PghBaldy]

He apparently worked regularly after about 1984, until shortly before his death. 86 credits on IMDb (Internet Movie Database)

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0734236/?ref_=nmmi_mi_nm