http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/arts/television/gerard-parkes-actor-on-fraggle-rock-dies-at-90.html 2014-10-21 18:08:10 Gerard Parkes, Actor on ‘Fraggle Rock,’ Dies at 90 The actor who played the inventor on “Fraggle Rock” was born in Dublin and had lived in Canada since the 1950s. === Gerard Parkes, an Irish-Canadian actor who played the kind inventor Doc on Jim Henson’s live-action HBO children’s show His agent, Gerry Jordan, confirmed his death. Mr. Parkes appeared in scores of children’s television shows, including “The Littlest Hobo” and “Shining Time Station,” as well as theatrical productions, radio dramas and films like the cult crime drama “The Boondock Saints.” On “Fraggle Rock,” which ran for five seasons, Mr. Parkes’s Doc was the only human character in a show that revolved around fun-loving, shaggy-haired creatures named Fraggles, whose underground domain is just behind a hole in the wall of his workshop. Only Doc’s sheepdog, Sprocket, knows the creatures exist. “We would get loads of fan mail always asking for his picture,” Mr. Jordan said of Mr. Parkes in an interview on Monday. “It was one of those roles that hit a chord with kids and adults.” Mr. Parkes was born in Dublin on Oct. 16, 1924. He is survived by his longtime partner, Sheelagh Norman.