Dana Carvey

Dana Carvey is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor, writer, and impressionist who featured as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live (SNL)." He was born in Missoula, Montana but grew up in California after his family moved there when he was three. With a desire to become a comedian, he performed stand-up comedy at several Bay Area clubs after graduating from San Francisco State University. He then moved to Hollywood to pursue his comedy career. After the initial failure of his early television roles and minor appearances in a few movies, he joined the "SNL" cast in 1986. There, he brilliantly impersonated famous people and created some of the show's most memorable characters, including "Church Lady," "Garth" of Wayne & Garth fame, Grumpy Old Man, and bodybuilding "Hans" of Hans & Franz. He starred in the 1992 hit Wayne's World with Mike Myers. In 1993, he departed SNL after spending seven years on the show. Subsequently, he starred in several movies but failed to create an impact comparable to his stature as a stand-up comedian. In recent years, he has limited his appearances on entertainment platforms, both in television and films, but is still remembered for his immensely popular sketches on the SNL show. In 1983, Dana married Paula Zwagerman, and they have two sons, Dex and Thomas.