Christopher Lloyd

Renowned character actor Christopher Lloyd won over critics and audiences alike with the wide array of quirky, off-beat characters he brought to life on the big and small screens. A former Broadway actor, Lloyd seemed to spring from nowhere to earn a number of Emmys for his role as burnt out ex-hippie Jim Ignatowski on the acclaimed sitcom "Taxi" (ABC, 1978-82; NBC, 1982-83). Of the many times he portrayed mad scientists and inventors with unkempt hair and elastic facial expressions, his biggest legacy was that of bringing to life eccentric garage tinkerer Doc Brown in the blockbuster "Back the Future" film series. Lloyd's physical plasticity supported his penchant for the offbeat, unstable, unpredictable characters he embodied so memorably. In retrospect, it would be impossible to imagine anyone else inhabiting such iconic roles as Uncle Fester in "The Addams Family" film series or and the villainous Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988). Many actors tried their hand at playing "kooky," but Lloyd succeeded by always going beyond the half-mad stereotype to offer an appealing humanity that kept audiences laughing with his characters rather than at them.