Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in ''

Meatballs A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types ...

'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

'', and for voicing King Koopa in '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' and Sam in '' The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police''.

Early life

Atkin was born 18 December 1942 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

to parents of Russian-Jewish descent. He developed his interest in acting while a student at Northview Heights Secondary School by performing in a high school production of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...

's one-act play ''The Rope'', for which he won an award at the Simpson's Drama Festival. Atkin initially worked at his father's

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

company. He then became a real estate agent, eventually transitioning to acting in commercials.

Career

Atkin played Morty Melnick in the comedy film ''

'' (1979), for which performance he earned a

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic m ...

nomination. Atkin had a role in

William Fruet William Fruet (born January 1, 1933) is a Canadian film and television director, playwright and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the drama ''Wedding in White'' (1972), based on a play he had also written. The film won Best Picture ...

's horror film ''

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'' (1980), as well as the role of Sam in '' The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police'', and also played

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the '' Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his c ...

's and

Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's mas ...

's archenemy King Koopa on

DiC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...

's cartoon version of '' Super Mario Bros.'' (notably, he was the first English voice actor for the character). Playing Koopa in all three Mario animated series, he was the only voice actor to appear in all three series as the same character. He voiced Mr. Mushnik on '' Little Shop'', loosely based on the movie ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptat ...

''. He also played characters in other series such as '' Beetlejuice'', '' Bad Dog'' and '' Ruby Gloom''. Atkin appeared in more than 75 films and on many television series. He did voice-over work in approximately 3,000 television and radio commercials, notably for the Leon's Furniture chain, for which he won three Clio Awards. He appeared in 95 episodes of ''

'' as Sergeant Ronald Coleman. Atkin played Judge Alan Ridenour in a recurring role on the television drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', a role he also played in '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'', and was the voice-over in Leon's and "Buy Israel Bonds" commercials in Canada. He also made a cameo playing a bus driver in the classic film '' Atlantic City'' (1980) starring

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

, and was the voice for Morty in the television series ''

Jacob Two-Two ''Jacob Two-Two'' is a series of children's books written by Canadian author Mordecai Richler: ''Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' (1975), ''Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur'' (1987) and ''Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case'' (1995) written by Mor ...

''. He made a guest appearance in 2010 as a rabbi on the CBC Television series '' 18 to Life''.

Personal life

Atkin married Celia Tessler in 1963. Together they had two children, and went on to become grandparents to five.

Death

Atkin died of a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secon ...

on 18 July 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 74.

Legacy

A re-animated version of the ''Super Mario World'' episode "Mama Luigi", commissioned and directed by animation artist Andrew Dickman within a year with over 227 animators and artists participating, was dedicated to Atkin alongside Tony Rosato (Luigi) who died earlier that year on 10 January. The video was released on 29 August 2017.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkin, Harvey 1942 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian male actors Male actors from Toronto Deaths from brain cancer in Canada