Chris Kattan

Christopher Lee Kattan ( ; born October 19, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. After performing with numerous comedy troupes, including The Groundlings in Los Angeles, he broke through as a regular cast member on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (1996–2003).

Following his breakout, Kattan had starring roles in the films ''A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''House on Haunted Hill'' (1999), '' Monkeybone'' (2001), '' Corky Romano'' (2001), and '' Undercover Brother'' (2002). He experienced a career resurgence with a main role as Bob Weaver on the first two seasons of the ABC sitcom '' The Middle'' (2009–2011). In the 2010s, Kattan voiced the title character on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang animated series '' Bunnicula'' (2016–2018) and had a supporting voice role in the animated comedy film ''Hotel Transylvania 2'' (2015).

Early life

Kattan was born in Culver City, California. His father, Kip King ( Jerome Kattan; 1937–2010), was born to Jewish parents from Iraq and Poland and worked as an actor and voice artist. His mother, Hajnalka Biro (b. 1944), was once photographed for ''Playboy'' and worked as a model in London. She is a native of Budapest, Hungary, and is a Buddhist. His stepfather was a Buddhist therapist and monk. His half-brother, Andrew Joslyn, is a professional musician and composer.

Kattan was raised on a Zen retreat on Mount San Antonio, outside Los Angeles. He and his mother moved to Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he attended Bainbridge High School, graduating in 1989.

Career

Kattan was a member of several improvisational comedy (improv) and sketch comedy troupes, one of them being The Groundlings in Los Angeles. His father was an original member of the troupe. Kattan also did some minor roles on TV, including the second episode of the second season of ''NewsRadio'', " No, This Is Not Based Entirely on Julie's Life", as a photo shop employee.

He moved to New York City to work on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003. His recurring characters included Mr. Peepers, Mango, Azrael Abyss, Kyle DeMarco from The DeMarco Brothers, Gay Hitler, and, most notably, one half of the Butabi Brothers with fellow ''SNL'' (and Groundlings) cast member Will Ferrell, known for their trademark head-bobbing. Kattan and Ferrell continued the characters in the 1998 film ''A Night at the Roxbury''.

''SNL'' celebrity impersonations

* Clay Aiken
* Christiane Amanpour
* Antonio Banderas
* Andy Dick
* Larry Fine
* Bill Gates
* Ben Affleck
* David Gest
* Elián González
* Anne Heche
* Julio Iglesias Jr.
* Steve Irwin
* Chris Kirkpatrick
* Ricky Martin
* Al Pacino
* Kid Rock
* David Lee Roth
* Paul Shaffer
* David Spade
* Kerri Strug (also appeared in Weekend Update with Strug as her fictional brother, Kippy)
* Geraldo Rivera
* Robert Downey Jr.
* Anthony Fauci

2004–present: post-''SNL'' work

In 2004 Kattan appeared on Broadway as Xanthias in Stephen Sondheim's ''The Frogs.'' He was later replaced in the role by Roger Bart.

Kattan appeared in a Diet Pepsi Max commercial during Super Bowl XLII in 2008 that featured the song "What Is Love" and had many actors in the commercial performing the head bob from ''A Night at the Roxbury''.

In August 2009, Kattan starred in the Independent Film Channel (IFC) miniseries '' Bollywood Hero'', where he portrays himself and the difficulties he faces after a career as a comic actor, trying to attain leading man status. Starting in late 2009, Kattan appeared in a supporting role in '' The Middle''. Kattan played Bob, a colleague of Frankie Heck's at Mr. Ehlert's car dealership. Kattan appeared in an episode of ''How I Met Your Mother'' as a star in " The Wedding Bride", a fictional movie within the show. He played himself portraying Jed Mosely, the film's villain, which the screenwriter bases on his girlfriend's ex-fiancé, series protagonist, Ted Mosby. He reappeared as the character in the fictional film's sequel, ''Wedding Bride 2''. On December 17, 2011, Kattan made a guest appearance on the ''Saturday Night Live'' Christmas show, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, and again briefly on the final episode of ''SNL'''s 37th season.

In June 2014, Kattan reprised his role as former ''SNL'' character Mango in a preview of the music video for Sharaya J's "Shut It Down", featured in a fashion campaign by Alexander Wang.

In 2017, Kattan was a contestant on season 24 of ''Dancing with the Stars'' paired with professional dancer Witney Carson. He was the first celebrity dancer eliminated.

Kattan reunited with fellow ''SNL'' alumni Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, and Tracy Morgan during the December 18, 2018 cold open of ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,'' which also featured Ariana Grande, in a reprisal of their performance of " I Wish it Was Christmas Today". It was the first time since 2011 that Fallon, Sanz, Kattan, and Morgan were all present for a performance of the song.

In 2022, Kattan was announced as a HouseGuest competing on the third season of ''Celebrity Big Brother''.

In 2023, Kattan did voice work in the film '' Leo'' as Alligator #1.

Personal life

Kattan married model Sunshine Deia Tutt on June 28, 2008, in Oakhurst, California, after proposing to her on Christmas Eve 2006. The couple separated forty-four days later on August 10, 2008, and divorced in February 2009.

On March 25, 2023, Kattan proposed to his girlfriend, Maria Libri, a writer and former on-air personality, in front of the stage at a Wilco concert held at the Riviera Theatre, while the Chicago band played "I'm the Man Who Loves You." The band members knew about the proposal. Kattan and Libri had met eighteen months before the proposal when Kattan was performing a stand-up comedy show at Boondocks Pub in Springfield. They have since collaborated on writing projects, including a romantic comedy, and have also appeared together on the YouTube channel, Hey Kattan!

Neck injury

Kattan competed in ''Dancing with the Stars'' in 2017, where judges criticized him for his stiff upper body movement. Afterward, Kattan revealed that he broke his neck while performing a stunt fourteen years prior and has had impaired mobility ever since. He further admitted the pain medication he began taking following his fourth surgery led to a 2014 DUI arrest. In his 2019 memoir, Kattan said he broke his neck while filming an ''SNL'' sketch parodying ''The Golden Girls'', during which he threw himself backwards on a chair. Additionally, NBC paid for two of the five surgeries he underwent afterwards.

Memoir

In 2019, Kattan published a memoir, titled ''Baby Don't Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live'', which included the accident on ''SNL''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kattan, Chris
1970 births
21st-century American Buddhists
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American people of Hungarian descent
American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American sketch comedians
American Zen Buddhists
Comedians from California
Comedians from Washington (state)
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Washington (state)
Participants in American reality television series
People from Bainbridge Island, Washington
Entertainers from Culver City, California