Mark Fickert: Pioneer in North Texas sketch & improv comedy, noted actor & anime voice artist

MARK FICKERT

Feb. 2, 1956 to Sept. 29, 2026

Pioneer in North Texas sketch and improv comedy, noted actor and anime voice artist, passes away from pancreatic cancer.

By Amy Martin

The world’s a far less fun place now that Mark Fickert has exited stage right for the final time. A founder of Dallas’s first sketch and improv comedy group, Random Scam, Fickert remained a major guiding force behind ensemble comedy in Dallas for decades as one of its most visible and distinctive voices.

Fickert was the Zelig of Dallas humor, having jumped on stage and even into the pages of Texas Monthly when barely out of high school due to Random Scam and appeared everywhere through various comic incarnations. With his Pythonish flair and expressive face, Fickert fused broad, physical comedy suiting his 6’4” frame — he often billed himself as “the world’s tallest midget” — with clever social commentary that sliced to the heart.

“He was a versatile sketch comedy writer, had numerous characters up his sleeve, and made the whole experience a joy,” said Judy Truesdell, an early member of Random Scam. “We collaborated on quite a few projects over the years. Any time I was lucky enough to be invited to share his stage, I knew I was going to laugh from start to finish.”

Fickert’s comedy career began at Richardson High School, where he made his name by streaking his Eaglette sister’s skit during the senior revue. His getaway car driver split, leaving him naked at the curb, where a football player tackled him. Remembered fellow student and artist Ann Huey, “We all thought it was awesome. Memorable at the very least. He’d probably have a good laugh to know how well and for what he will be remembered.”

RANDOM SCAM

In the late ‘70s, Random Scam blended scripted comedy with well-honed improv gags. Emphasizing Fickert’s witty wordplay, parody songs were a standout. Television ads were ripe for the poking. Songs and sketches were linked by exceedingly sharp blackout bits.

Random Scam members went on to populate Dallas and national theater and film, including Roy Barlag, Jerry Blackburn, Kay Bay, Kerry Cole, Pam Dougherty, and Van Kaplan. Stand-up Robin Abb got started in comedy with the group, as did journalist, author, and radio personality Judy Truesdell. George Mecca — who, with Truesdell, founded The Pezz and Calm Eddy’s, Deep Ellum’s first comedy club — went on to find big success in stagecraft. Noted satirist Tom Blackwood, who provided material to morning radio shows and other endeavors, was a prominent member. But Fickert was the sole continual member of Random Scam.

Random Scam, clockwise from upper left: George Mecca, Ken Polk, Mark Fickert, Kerry Cole, Van Kaplan, and Pam Doughtery.

“For some crazy reason, we became somewhat successful,” mused Van Kaplan. “I will never forget the lines around the block to get in. I’d have to turn off the phone ringer. It rang constantly for reservations. Oh, to have those days again.”

“Since there were no comedy troupes before Random Scam,” said Judy Truesdell, “it definitely paved the way. Made it possible for all the troupes that came after, like The Pezz, Guava Bomblets, and certainly the Docs” (more formally called Four Out of Five Doctors).

“Mark was a brilliant writer and had such a good look for comedy with his huge brown eyes and prominent facial features,” said early Random Scam member Robin Abb.

With its urbane spirit of carving a performance space out of anywhere, Random Scam laid the groundwork for inner-city entertainment in Dallas. The second floor of a barbecue on Commerce became Random Square Garden, located “high atop Sam’s in downtown Dallas.” The similar Manhattan Clearing House set up shop in Deep Ellum near Exposition. The group found a home for a while in the Balboa Café on lower Greenville.

“Mark is such a key figure in everything that I did in my early adulthood,” said George Mecca. “We were roommates in New York and performed in Catch a Rising Star at The Improv. We did the comedy conference that Pam Dougherty put together at the Haymarket Theatre in the old Olla Podrida. I could go on forever about Mark and how he was always late. What a pleasure it was just to laugh as much as we did together.”

4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS

Fickert joined the ensemble 4 Out of 5 Doctors, renowned for its current-events satire and elaborate musical parodies. Other members included Tom Blackwood, Vince Davis, Gary Walters, and co-founders Mark Walters and Ed Yeager. The ensemble found a home at Pocket Sandwich Theater. The group disbanded in 2012 after 25 years. Fickert remained the driving force behind its Holiday on Thin Ice show, which continued for some years after.

One review described Fickert as “the beating heart of the Docs. The one that always wants to play, a big dog of a comedian who’d improvise with a sketchy dude on a street corner if there were laughs to be had.”

“I was with Mark as a member of 4 out of 5 Doctors for over 20 years,” said Gary Walters. “Besides our public performances, the Docs also worked as corporate comedy writers and performers, and that’s where Fick really shined. We wrote numerous sketches together for otherwise humorless corporate events, where Mark never met a punchline he couldn’t use. His incredibly quick wit and uber-intelligence made the process all the easier.”

Mark Fickert in 4 Out of 5 Docs’ Jeopardy skit, with Mark Walters, far left, and Vince Davis, middle left. Photo courtesy of 4 Out of 5 Docs.

Carol Farabee Blackwood added, “Tom and Fick collaborated many, many times on corporate scripts that got the company’s messages across while making them loosen their ties and roar with laughter. Frito Lay hired them and many of the Docs to do these shows all over the country.”

Fickert also freelanced corporate comedy with Katie Maris: “It was always great fun to write with Mark, especially industrial scripts. Laughing our asses off at the jokes we were coming up with and then figuring out how to get to the next element. Mark was a master at that.”

STAGE ACTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

“While Mark is largely known for his comedy genius,” related actor Lisa Fairchild, “he performed roles at nearly every theatre in the DFW area that required vulnerability and emotional depth. I had the wonderful opportunity to portray his wife in two plays at Circle Theatre and watched him make audiences laugh hysterically one moment and unexpectedly break their hearts the next.”

Mark Fickert, bottom right, in *Becky’s New Car*. Photo courtesy of Circle Theatre.

Fickert had strong acting credentials and an extensive network of colleagues. He shared the stage with R. Bruce Elliot as Officer Kozlowski in Seven Keys to Baldpate at the Dallas Theater Center’s Arts District Theater. “We were lifetime friends from then on, and I did love him dearly,” said Elliot.

Fickert was a mainstay at Circle Theatre. In God of Carnage, critics praised his expert timing with Fairchild in the caustic comedy, and they described his role as her husband in Becky’s New Car as “gruff, strong, and lovable.”

Mark with Lisa Fairchild in *God of Carnage* at Circle Theatre.

“As for working with Mark, I could go on all day about his talent,” said actor Gil Glasgow.

Mark Fickert, middle, as Doyle Miller in *The Sports Page*. Photo courtesy of Circle Theatre.

Fickert played Lyndon B. Johnson in Circle Theatre’s second staging of Dead Presidents Club and Doyle Miller in the world premiere of The Sports Page at Circle Theatre. Also, the pragmatic hero Captain Bluntschli in Arms and the Man at Theatre 3 and the authoritative Sgt.Malcolm in Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class at Stage #1.

His last role was as Major Brinks, a misguided patriot, in CJ Critt’s Buzzed! at Theatre 3’s basement stage, Theatre Too. “Tommy Lee Jones meets Peter Sellers,” Critt commented, adding that two actors played the role in the musical’s prior incarnations, “but Mark instantly understood the role and the true evil of the character, while making him funny.”

Mark Fickert as Major Brinks in *Buzzed!* Photo courtesy of CJ Critt.

Kim Titus, the director of Buzzed!, shared: “Mark and I worked on many projects together over the last 40 years from the State Fair to Stage West. I directed his show Holiday on Thin Ice at Pocket Sandwich Theatre, and I was privileged to direct him in Buzzed! I appreciated his quick wit and comedic timing, but what I will miss are his kindness and his loyal friendship.”

FILM, VOICE ACTING, AND ANIME

“His voice was unmistakable,” said Tim Long, executive director of Circle Theater. “I’d find myself wondering, ‘What would Mark say?’ and could almost hear his answer in that distinctive tone.”

Fickert played roles in the Vietnam film dramas, Robert Altman’s Streamers and Phillip Noyce’s swordfest Blind Fury. In Richard Linklater’s biographical crime film, The Newton Boys, he excelled as Chicago Sergeant. He performed in The Dark Dealer and had a small but pivotal role as a panhandler in Hollywood Deadbeat. He appeared in three episodes of Dallas.

As an anime voice actor, he stood out as Blueno in One Piece, and also voiced Jean Ango, A.O., and Spoil. He voiced Albion (the Vanishing Dragon) in High School DxD, Barrygamon in Toriko, Klodoa (the Oración Seis’ walking staff) and Jackpot in Fairy Tail.

Mark Fickert, right, and as the anime character Blueno, left, in *One Piece*. Photo courtesy of Betzabenaranja.

THE BEST at BEING a FRIEND

“Mark was a generous friend,” shared Long, “and that generosity made him an even better performer. He always seemed ready to say yes. Actor alone doesn’t capture his range: he improvised, wrote, did voice work, scuba-dived, worked car shows, and I even remember him talking about being a truck driver. His ability to adapt was remarkable, as was his ability to connect with people.”

“He seemed to make friends wherever he went,” continued Long. “I’ll miss his voice and his contagious laugh. Both came from a real place in him — the same warmth and generosity that made him such a good friend.”

A young Mark Fickert, right, with long-time friend Tom Blackwood, left, at a send off for Alan Kaye on his first tour with Chicago. Photo courtesy of Alan Kaye.

“Mark and I met in the early ‘70s at Richardson High School. We shared a love of comedy and the Marx Brothers,” said Van Kaplan. “We spent hours watching their movies, Abbot & Costello, all the classic bits. We learned their routines and performed them for anyone who would listen. We figured out how to ace English reports by doing skits in class, with costumes and props, no less. I will miss you, Mark, and always remember ‘Who’s On First’!”

Mark Fickert, right, and Van Kaplan, middle, in Richardson High School theater production of *Thieves Carnival*. Photo courtesy of Van Kaplan.

When word of Mark’s impending demise raced through the community, members descended upon his hospital room at Baylor. Spirits high like at a reunion, the room rocked with tales of Mark, jokes he’d written, and sketches he’d thought up. Memories flew. Satirical songs were sung. Mark couldn’t respond, and his vitals on the monitor had been lagging. But that day, the monitor lines were dancing.

“Glad I got to share some memories with him at the end,” said actor Gil Glasgow. “We watched a lot of football and baseball together and partied like hell. He was a total Dallas Cowboys fan. We’d all gather for games at our place. One rule was that every time the Cowboys scored, we’d do a shot. I loved the guy. Mark was the best.”

Mark was then transferred to a hospice room. For the previous two days, working with Roy Barlag and others, we’d been trying to locate Mark’s beloved stepdaughter, Bailey, whom he’d lost contact with. Then we realized Bailey had changed her last name.

That night, we found Bailey’s work email but reached out anyway. A couple of hours later, she walked into the hospice room. She and Mark spent an hour together, deep and meaningful, communicating across consciousness. The reunion he’d longed for. By 4:15 a.m. that morning, he was gone, with close friend Vicki Welch by his side, his honor guard.

HIS BELOVED FAMILY

Mark is survived by his sisters Thayne Sterling and Merrily Fickert, and brothers Chris and Scott Fickert, plus stepdaughter Bailey Malone. He was preceded in death by his parents, Patti and Don Fickert. Mourners include close friend Vicki Welch and numerous friends, colleagues, and associates.

Photo of the “Fickert Five” siblings courtesy of Merrily Fickert.

HONOR MARK

Friends and fans can donate in his name to nonprofits supporting theater, comedy, pancreatic cancer research, and political activism. See the list and links.

A celebration of life for Fickert will be held at an area comedy club sometime in November. Monitor his Facebook page for details.

PS: PERSONAL CONNECTION

I launched the music coverage at Dallas Observer with the Street Beat column. Slowly, humor became a greater part of it. Mark guided me through Dallas’s comedy wilderness in the late 70s and early 80s, revealing to me the logic behind the laughs. He was the teacher-comic; I was his student-audience.

When I moved on to the Dallas Times Herald where I was able to focus at length on humor, he tutored me on how to be a comedy critic. Study these books, watch these performers, this is what makes good improv, sketches should unfold like this. He imparted to me an uncanny ability to discern talent. As a result, I caught a very early Bill Hicks and exposed him in print as a future force.

Yet it was more than just comedy between us. After I shattered my second vertebra six years ago, an injury called a hangman’s fracture that only 2% survive intact, Mark was there, finding his niche to help. He was my bootcamp buddy, helping me build leg strength after three months of recovery in a recliner.

I lost a quarter of my balance to the injury and essentially learned to walk again. Mark took me from shuffling along paved neighborhood streets to walking up to three miles — me, a short-legged 5’3”, trying to keep up with Mark at 6’4,” moving at warp speed.

We high-tailed it on mowed grass along a creek greenbelt. I had to lift my feet and maneuver curbs. When he’d hear me revert to shuffling behind him, he’d yell, “Pick up your feet!” He liberated me from my fear of falling and gave me freedom. Within a few months, I got the book contract for Wild DFW that involved around 50 miles of hiking, which I could do because of Mark. I miss him with all my broken heart.