Emmy-award winning comedian Dana Carvey
has maintained a tremendous career. Carvey was born
June 2, 1955, in Missoula, Montana. Dana went on to
college at the San Francisco State University where
he won the San Francisco Standup Comedy Competition.
After his graduation (with a degree in communication
arts), he played at numerous clubs in the Bay Area
and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career.
A repertory member of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE since the
1986-87 season, Carvey left in 1992 after seven seasons.
Carvey is best known for his characters the Church
Lady; Hans, of the Hans and Franz bodybuilding duo;
Garth, Wayne Campbell's (Mike Myers) "Excellent
Cohost" on the immensely popular sketch "Wayne's
World," and Weekend Update's Grumpy Old Man.
In addition to these characters, Dana has received
widespread praise for his uncanny and exaggerated comedic
impersonations of such political figures as Ex-President
George Bush, H. Ross Perot, Jerry Brown, David Duke
and Bob Dole. He also does impersonations of George
Burns, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Stewart, John McLaughlin,
Mickey Rooney, Casey Casem and Regis Philbin.
On television, he hosted the 1992 presentation of
the MTV Music Awards, costarred in two pilots and was
a member of the Showtime special SALUTE TO THE IMPROVISATION,
with Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Robert Klein.
In 1995, Dana performed standup in his own one-hour
comedy special on HBO aptly named CRITICS' CHOICE.
In 1992, Carvey appeared in the blockbuster film
WAYNE'S WORLD, based on the hit SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
sketch. The film grossed over $160 million and was
produced by SNL creator Lorne Michaels. The public
demanded a sequel, and in 1993, Carvey appeared in
WAYNE'S WORLD 2, recreating his role of Garth, alongside
Mike Myers' Wayne. The film was hugely successful.
Carvey's transfer from the small screen to the large
screen included roles in Alan Parker's THE ROAD TO
WELLVILLE, for Columbia Pictures, Richard and Lili
Zanuck's CLEAN SLATE for MGM, and Twentieth Century
Fox's TRAPPED IN PARADISE. His early film work includes
his debut in THIS IS SPINAL TAP, RACING WITH THE MOON,
ONE OF THE GROUP, where he portrayed Mickey Rooney's
grandson, BLUE THUNDER with James Farentino, TOUGH
GUYS, with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, and starring
in the comedy OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS.
Carvey won an Emmy Award in 1993 for Outstanding
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
He has received a total of six Emmy nominations, one
of which was for a guest appearance on HBO's highly
acclaimed LARRY SANDERS SHOW. Also, he was honored
with the American Comedy Award as Television's Funniest
Supporting Male in 1990 and 1991. |
