Dana Carvey
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-->Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955 in Missoula, Montana) is known as an American actor and comedian best known for his work on Saturday Night Live and the spin-off movie Wayne's World.
Early Life
When Carvey was three years old, his family moved to San Carlos, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, and received his Bachelor's degree in communications from San Francisco State University.Career
First roles
Carvey's first movie role was a small part in the 1981 horror film Halloween II. He then costarred on One of the Boys in 1982, a short-lived television sitcom that also starred Mickey Rooney, Nathan Lane, and Meg Ryan. In 1984, Carvey had a small role in Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap film, where he played a mime, with fellow comedian Billy Crystal.SNL
In 1986, Carvey became a household name when he joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live. His breakout character was The Church Lady, the uptight, smug and pious host of "Church Chat." Carvey said he based the character on women he knew from his church growing up, who would keep track of his and others' attendance. He became so associated with the character that later cast members like Chris Farley referred to Carvey simply as "The Lady."Carvey's other original characters included Garth Algar (from "Wayne's World"), Hans (from Hans and Franz) and The Grumpy Old Man (from Weekend Update appearances). Garth Algar is actually an affectionate caricature of Dana's brother, Brad Carvey, an accomplished electrical engineer who invented the Video Toaster.
Carvey also became known for his impressions, most notably of George H. W. Bush during the 1988 campaign and after he was elected president. Other notable impressions included Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Carson, John McLaughlin, Keith Richards,Charles Grodin and Woody Allen. During the 1992 campaign, he did a dead-on impression of independent candidate Ross Perot; in a prime-time special before the election, Carvey played both Bush and Perot in a three-way debate with Bill Clinton, who was played by Phil Hartman.
Carvey left SNL in 1993.
In 1992, Carvey joined Mike Myers to bring their popular "Wayne's World" sketch to the silver screen with Wayne's World the movie. A sequel was filmed and released in 1993, titled Wayne's World 2. Carvey actually learned how to drum for his role as Garth, and has been seen performing well on the drums on various occasions since.
After SNL
NBC executives hoped to get Carvey to take over the 12:30 a.m. weeknight spot in the network's lineup in 1993 when David Letterman left his showLate Night for an 11:30 p.m. show on CBS. A big Letterman fan, Carvey rejected the offer, causing embarrassment for the network, which had publicly floated his name. The 12:30 spot eventually went to Conan O'Brien.
In 1994, he starred in Clean Slate.
In 1996, he reprised many of his SNL characters for The Dana Carvey Show, a critically acclaimed but short-lived prime-time variety show. The show was most notable for launching Robert Smigel's cartoon The Ambiguously Gay Duo.
In 1997, he underwent open-heart surgery for a blocked artery. Unfortunately, the doctors operated on the wrong artery. Carvey later sued for medical malpractice and was awarded $7.5 million. Carvey has had to undergo a total of five operations to correct his heart problems. Carvey stated in an interview with Larry King that he donated all the money awarded to him from the lawsuit to charity.
In 2002, he returned to the silver screen in the comedy, Master of Disguise, which was panned by critics, but managed around $40 million at the North American box office.
He is number 90 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
A very private person, Carvey withdrew from the limelight to focus on his family. He later said in an interview that he doesn't want to be in a career where his kids are already grown up, and he neglected all those moments beforehand.
Filmography
- Halloween II - 1981
- This is Spinal Tap - 1984
- Racing with the Moon - 1984
- Blue Thunder - (television series) 1984
- Tough Guys - 1986
- Moving - 1988
- Opportunity Knocks - 1990
- Wayne's World - 1992
- Wayne's World 2 - 1993
- Clean Slate - 1994
- The Road to Wellville - 1994
- Trapped In Paradise - 1994
- The Shot - 1996
- Little Nicky - 2000
- Master of Disguise - 2002
- Madagascar 2 - 2008
See also
External links
- [Dana Carvey] official website
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