What happened to George Riddle?

The Fantasticks stage actor, George Riddle was reported dead by one of his longtime friends, Christie Wagner. She shared to the media that the actor died of duodenal cancer in North Plainfield, New Jersey, on Friday, June 2, 2023, at age 86.

He appeared in several movies and tv shows such as Arthur, The Innkeepers, The Kitchen, The Sopranos, Inside Amy Schumer, The Trial of Standing Bar, and more. He also played Civil War General George Crook in The Trial of Standing Bar in 1988.

One of his most notable works was on The Onion News Network, where he gained a good number of fans with his turn as the irascible, wildly opinionated Cressbeckler, whose predictions and political analysis were peppered with malapropisms and non sequiturs.

Riddle played the role of Major General in the Broadway revival of The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan. He also appeared in The Will Rogers Follies, Anything Goes, Stage Door Charley, and more.