Steve Viksten, who helped develop the 1990s Nicktoon Hey Arnold! and was the show’s most prolific writer, has died. Hey Arnold! co-creator Craig Bartlett posted a memorial to Viksten on Facebook yesterday, June 24, stating “Steve Viksten, who wrote many of my favorite Hey Arnold! stories, died yesterday. I was lucky to be near to so much talent for so long. RIP.” Viksten was 54.
>In addition to writing for Hey Arnold!, Viksten provided the voice for several of the show’s characters—most notably Oskar Kokoshka, the shiftless, con-artist-in-residence of Hey Arnold!’s central boarding house. True to the show’s understanding treatment of its characters, Oskar proved to be more than a selfish opportunist, a hidden warmth unearthed in Viksten’s sad-sack characterization. Oskar’s ambiguously Eastern European accent likely echoes through the memories of viewers who grew up with Hey Arnold!, a sleepy Yakov Smirnoff riff intoning “Look everybody, I’m petting the kitty” and “You keep the money” in moments long since clipped and posted to YouTube.
Steve Viksten dead at 54
>In addition to writing for Hey Arnold!, Viksten provided the voice for several of the show’s characters—most notably Oskar Kokoshka, the shiftless, con-artist-in-residence of Hey Arnold!’s central boarding house. True to the show’s understanding treatment of its characters, Oskar proved to be more than a selfish opportunist, a hidden warmth unearthed in Viksten’s sad-sack characterization. Oskar’s ambiguously Eastern European accent likely echoes through the memories of viewers who grew up with Hey Arnold!, a sleepy Yakov Smirnoff riff intoning “Look everybody, I’m petting the kitty” and “You keep the money” in moments long since clipped and posted to YouTube.
http://www.avclub.com/article/rip-nicktoons-writer-and-hey-arnold-voice-actor-st-206232