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‘Gremlins’ Voice Actor Mark Dodson Has Passed Away
Best known for his contributions to the iconic Gremlins and Star Wars franchises, actor Mark Dodson has passed away this week at the age of 64, Deadline reports today.
Mark Dodson memorably voiced the character Salacious Crumb in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and he also did uncredited zombie voice work for George Romero’s Day of the Dead.
Dodson’s unique voice acting skills were put to excellent use in both Joe Dante’s Gremlins and sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, with the actor voicing multiple Gremlins characters.
It was Dodson’s voice work as Salacious Crumb in Return of the Jedi that led to him voicing the Gremlins, which were seen as being similar to the Salacious Crumb character.
Speaking of his work in the Gremlins franchise in a 2023 chat with the YouTube channel Diabolic Shrimp (watch the full video below), Mark Dodson explained his contributions:
“I love horror, so it’s fun to me. Gizmo is Howie Mandel and Frank Welker is Stripe, and then I’m pretty much all the rest of the Gremlins. It was all improvised.”
Dodson’s other roles throughout his decades-spanning career include TV shows, movies and video games such as Wishman (1983), Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985), Darkwing Duck (1991), Star Trek Online (2010), Painkiller: Hell & Damnation (2012), Arachnicide (2014), Killing Floor 2 (2015), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), and Ghostrunner (2020).
Stellar Appearances, Dodson’s talent agency, said in a statement, “Mark worked on dozens of movies, video games, commercials and advertisements adding his unique voice and sound to each character and script he touched. Mark truly loved his fans and enjoyed meeting them at conventions around the world. Mark was honored to be inducted into dozens of the local chapters of the Star Wars 501st Legions over the past several decades.”
Mark Dodson is survived by his daughter Ciara and his grandchildren.
All of us here at Bloody Disgusting are deeply sad to learn that The Blob director Chuck Russell has passed away at 74 years old.
Russell’s career began with his directorial debut, 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
The multihyphenate film director, screenwriter, and producer is best known for helming 1994 comedy The Mask starring Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner Eraser, and adventure spinoff The Scorpion King. The latter served as the first leading role for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The filmmaker left an indelible mark on horror with his ANOES sequel, 1988’s The Blob, and 2000’s Bless the Child.
Russell’s final film credit is 2024’s Witchboard remake starring Madison Iseman (I Know What You Did Last Summer), Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), and Jamie Campbell Bower (“Stranger Things”).
It marked Russell’s return to horror after a lengthy hiatus, and he shared sequel hopes to Bloody Disgusting in an interview ahead of the remake’s release: “I got to design the board with real mystical symbols and things that I know represent good and evil, and where that board takes us if the audiences respond to the film, and I hope they will; I know it’s out there for you guys, but the sequel is a world we’ll get to go a little further. That’s sure the intention.”
He also recently expressed interest in returning to the franchise that began his career.
TMZ notes that Russell passed away at his San Diego-area home.
We send our deepest condolences to Chuck Russell’s family, friends, and fans.
Director, Co-Writer & Producer Chuck Russell behind the scenes of the horror film, WITCHBOARD. Photo courtesy of The Avenue and Atlas Distribution
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