Dana Carvey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dana Carvey
Carvey in 2009
Birth name	Dana Thomas Carvey
Born	(1955-06-02) June 2, 1955 (age 70) Missoula, Montana, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Education	College of San Mateo San Francisco State University (BA)
Years active	1978–present
Genres	Improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, character comedy, impressions, surreal humor, satire
Spouse	Paula Zwagerman ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2

Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is a famous American comedian, actor, and producer. He is well-known for his funny characters and impressions.

Carvey became very popular during his seven years on the TV show Saturday Night Live. He was on the show from 1986 to 1993. His work on Saturday Night Live earned him many awards. He even returned to the show recently to do impressions of famous people.

He has also starred in many comedy movies. Some of his popular films include Wayne's World and The Master of Disguise. He often plays funny and memorable characters.

Early life

Dana Carvey was born in Missoula, Montana. He was the fourth of five children in his family. His mother, Billie Dahl, was a schoolteacher. His father, William John Carvey, taught business in high school.

In 1957, his family moved to Anderson, California. Later, when he was three, they moved to San Carlos, California. This is in the San Francisco Bay Area. He went to Tierra Linda Junior High and Carlmont High School. He was even on the cross country team there.

Carvey studied at College of San Mateo. He then earned a bachelor's degree from San Francisco State University. In 1977, he won a stand-up comedy contest in San Francisco. This was an early sign of his talent.

Career

Early career

Dana Carvey started his acting career with small roles. In 1981, he was in the movie Halloween II. He also co-starred in a TV show called One of the Boys in 1982. This show also featured famous actors like Mickey Rooney and Meg Ryan.

In 1984, Carvey had a small part in the movie This Is Spinal Tap. He played a mime in that film. He also appeared in a music video and a TV series called Blue Thunder. His big break came in 1986. He co-starred with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster in the movie Tough Guys.

Carvey was almost the host for the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare. However, he decided to join Saturday Night Live instead. The hosting job then went to Marc Summers.

Saturday Night Live

Carvey in 1989

In 1986, Dana Carvey became very famous. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL). He and other new cast members helped make SNL popular again. People started calling SNL "must-see" TV.

One of Carvey's most famous characters was the Church Lady. She was an uptight and smug host of a segment called Church Chat. Carvey based this character on women he knew from church. He became so well-known for this character that other cast members called him "The Lady."

Carvey created many other funny characters too. He played Garth Algar from Wayne's World, who was based on his own brother. He also played Hans from "Hans and Franz" and the Grumpy Old Man. During the time George H. W. Bush was president, Carvey was the main person to impersonate him on SNL.

Carvey at the 1990 Emmy Awards

In 1992, during the US presidential election, Carvey also did a great impression of candidate Ross Perot. He even played both President Bush and Ross Perot in a special debate sketch. Carvey left SNL in 1993 after seven successful years.

In 1992, Carvey starred as Garth Algar in the movie Wayne's World. He made a sequel, Wayne's World 2, in 1993. His work on SNL won him an Emmy Award in 1993. He has been nominated for six Emmys in total. Carvey has returned to host SNL four times since leaving.

He made more appearances on SNL in 2024. He played Joe Biden and Elon Musk before and after the 2024 presidential election. Elon Musk even commented on Carvey's impression of him.

After SNL

After leaving SNL, Carvey continued to act in movies. In 1994, he starred in Clean Slate. The next year, he had his first stand-up comedy special on HBO. In this show, he did many of his SNL impressions.

He turned down a role in the movie Bad Boys. He felt he needed to focus on being a new father. In 1996, he had his own TV show called The Dana Carvey Show. This show helped start the careers of comedians like Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert.

In 2002, Carvey returned to films in The Master of Disguise. This was a spy comedy movie. While some critics didn't like it, the movie still made about $40 million. After this film, Carvey did not appear in another movie until 2011's Jack and Jill.

In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him as one of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.

Later career

Carvey took some time away from the spotlight to be with his family. He said he wanted to spend time with his kids while they were growing up. He enjoys doing stand-up comedy more than acting in movies. He often performs at corporate events.

In 2008, Carvey filmed another HBO stand-up special. It was called Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies. In 2010, he appeared in a comedy sketch called Presidential Reunion. He played President George H. W. Bush in this short film.

Carvey also voiced Schnozmo, Cosmo Cosma's brother, on the animated TV series The Fairly OddParents. In 2016, he recorded a Netflix comedy special called Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60. His two sons, Tom and Dex, opened the show for him.

He has been a guest on Conan O'Brien's podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. He also had a mini-series of the podcast called "Deep Dive with Dana Carvey." Carvey often does impressions on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He has played President Joe Biden and John Bolton.

Podcasts

In 2021, Dana Carvey started his own comedy podcast. It is called "Fantastic! with Dana Carvey." The podcast features short sketches with his many celebrity impressions. He also interviews family members and friends from the comedy world.

That same year, Carvey played Garth Algar again. He teamed up with Mike Myers for a series of commercials for Uber Eats. The first commercial aired during Super Bowl LV.

In 2022, Carvey began co-hosting the "Fly on the Wall" podcast. His co-host is fellow Saturday Night Live alum David Spade. They invite former SNL cast members and hosts as guests. In 2024, they launched a video podcast spinoff called Superfly.

Personal life

Dana Carvey met Paula Zwagerman while performing comedy in San Francisco. They became engaged in 1981 and married in 1983. Dana and Paula have two children together.

In 1997, Carvey had heart surgery. He later had additional corrective surgery and recovered well. He took a break from his career in the late 1990s. He wanted to focus on raising his two sons.

Carvey and his family live in Mill Valley, California.

Comedy specials

Film

Television

Video games

Web

See also

In Spanish: Dana Carvey para niños