Greg Finley, a beloved and passionate actor who was known for his work in the animated television series “Robotech,” as well as being a past board member and president of the Canyon Theatre Guild, has died at the age of 76, according to a statement provided by the family.
Finley was born in Los Angeles on May 8, 1947, to a family in entertainment: His father, Larry Finley, was a television and radio personality, and cousin, Rod Serling, was a writer and producer.
Finley graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1965, and afterward, served in the Army where he became a captain, as well as spending 18 months in Vietnam in the Special Forces.
He was married twice: His first wife was a widow with four daughters, and they had a son, Guy, in 1970. His first marriage ended in 1975, and he was remarried to Patti Finley, the ex-wife of Broadway star Ray Middleton, in 1982. They met while doing dinner theater in Granada Hills. Together, they had a son named Garrett in 1983.
Not only did Finley marry the “love of his life” in 1982, according to the statement provided by the family, but he also found success as a voice actor, as well, where he was a writer, director and lead character for “Robotech.”
Over the next 25 years, he would write hundreds of news reports, sports broadcasts and weather spots and perform them for television and film. After retiring, he occasionally worked as a voice actor in Hollywood and the Greater Los Angeles area.
The Finleys moved to Santa Clarita in the mid-1990s, devoting their time to their main passion: community theater. The family produced, directed and acted in hundreds of plays throughout the years, and their dedication was memorialized with statues in the Canyon Theatre Guild foyer in Old Town Newhall.
The Finleys moved to Boise, Idaho, in 2015 to be closer to their sons and grandchildren, while continuing to immerse themselves in local theater in Treasure Valley.
Finley is survived by his three brothers, six children, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
“Memorial services in Boise and Los Angeles will be held in early spring. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund,” according to the statement provided by the family. “Family and friends will be notified via Facebook or through signing the guestbook maintained at his memorial website here.”
The memorial website can be found at www.forevermissed.com/greg-finley.
