'Hey Arnold!' Moments In Memory of Steve Viksten

If you remember Oskar Kokoshka "petting the kitty" from Hey Arnold!, you've heard the voice of Steve Viksten. Viksten was a writer, producer, and voice actor for the classic Nicktoons show. Aside from show creator Craig Bartlett, Viksten wrote most of the series' episodes, and he was the voice of boarding house resident, the formerly illiterate, Eastern European opportunist Oskar Kokoshka. Viksten has died, and is being remembered by peers and Hey Arnold! fans alike. Bartlett posted a memorial to Viksten on his Facebook with a picture of a hatless Arnold and a caption that reads:

"Steve Viksten's first solo script for Hey Arnold! was 3A "Arnold's Hat." It's one of my favorites: funny and sad and cool, and we get our first glimpse into the mystery of his missing parents. Today Arnold is hatless as I remember Steve."

The 54-year-old Viksten created many things during his life, writing and working as a voice actor on cartoons like Rugrats, Recess, and The Simpsons. But Hey Arnold! was the show he did the most work on and makes up the biggest part of his legacy, so we remember him through some of his best moments on the show.

"Stoop Kid"

Even if you never watched Hey Arnold!, you probably remember the chant "Stoop kid's afraid to leave his stoop!" Stoop Kids becomes sort of an urban legend in Arnold's neighborhood, but the episode that bears his name shows that the kid is more human than myth and shows compassion for the kid and his stoop.

"Das Subway"

"Let's all hold hands, on the subway, 'cause we've been stuck here in the dark for way too long." The lone hobo bringing together the people stuck on the subway in this bottle episode more or less sums up the heart of Hey Arnold! It's a show that will show much of the grit and fear of city life, but at the end of the day it will always bring its characters together to hold hands on the subway.

"Oscar Can't Read?"

Oskar Kokoshka's most memorable episode is some of Viksten's best voice acting. Viksten shows the character's vulnerability in the episode where Arnold teaches Oskar to read, and creates the character's best episode.