Michael McKean

Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician. Over his career he has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

McKean started his career as Lenny Kosnowski in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirley'' from 1976 to 1983. He was briefly a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for its 19th and 20th seasons from 1994 to 1995, and played Gibby Fiske in HBO series '' Dream On'' (1990–1996). He has acted in films such as '' Used Cars'' (1980), ''Clue'' (1985), and '' The Big Picture'' (1989), the latter of which he also co-wrote.

He is also known for having collaborated with Christopher Guest acting in his films such as '' This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984), '' Best in Show'' (2000), '' A Mighty Wind'' (2003), and '' For Your Consideration'' (2006). He co-wrote the song "A Mighty Wind" (for the Guest film '' A Mighty Wind''), for which he won a Grammy Award, as well as "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from the same film, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019 for his role as Chuck McGill on the AMC series ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2018; 2022). Since 2020, he has voiced Lou Pickles in Nickelodeon's ''Rugrats'' franchise. He has acted in shows such as ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Veep'', '' Grace and Frankie'', '' Breeders'', and '' The Diplomat''.

On stage, McKean made his Broadway debut as Edna Turnblad in the musical ''Hairspray'' (2004). He took on dual roles portraying J. Edgar Hoover and Robert Byrd in the political epic play '' All the Way'' (2014). He has acted in the Broadway plays such as the Tracy Letts play ''Superior Donuts'' (2009), the Gore Vidal revival '' The Best Man'' (2012), and the Lillian Hellman revival '' The Little Foxes'' (2017).

Early life

McKean was born October 17, 1947, in New York City at Manhattan Women's Hospital. He is the son of Gilbert S. McKean, one of the founders of Decca Records, and Ruth Stewart McKean, a librarian, and was raised in Sea Cliff, New York, on Long Island. McKean is of Irish, English, Scottish, and some German and Dutch descent. He graduated from North Shore High School in 1965. In early 1967, he was briefly a member of the New York City "baroque pop" band the Left Banke and played on the "Ivy, Ivy" single (B-side: "And Suddenly").

Career

McKean began his career (as well as the characters of Lenny and Squiggy) in Pittsburgh while a student at Carnegie Mellon; David Lander was a fellow student at CMU. Their partnership grew after graduation as part of the comedy group The Credibility Gap with Harry Shearer in Los Angeles, but McKean's breakthrough came in 1976 when he and Lander joined the cast of ''Laverne & Shirley'' portraying Lenny and Squiggy. McKean directed one episode, and the characters became something of a phenomenon, even releasing an album as '' Lenny and the Squigtones'' in 1979, which featured a young Christopher Guest on guitar (credited as ''Nigel Tufnel''—the name Guest would use a few years later as part of the spoof rock band Spinal Tap). "Foreign Legion of Love" was a big hit for the Squigtones, with frequent play on the '' Dr. Demento Show''. McKean also played his character in an episode of ''Happy Days''. After leaving ''Laverne & Shirley'' in 1982, McKean appeared in the film spoof ''Young Doctors in Love'', then two years later as David St. Hubbins in the comedy '' This Is Spinal Tap'' with both Guest and Shearer.

McKean quickly became a recognizable name in film and television, with appearances in movies such as '' Used Cars'' (1980), ''Clue'' (1985), ''D.A.R.Y.L.'' (1985), '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' Earth Girls Are Easy'' (1988), and taking a lead role in ''Short Circuit 2'' (1988). He appeared opposite Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Hopper in '' Flashback'' (1990). The same year, McKean was part of an ensemble cast in the television series '' Grand'', which aired for a short time. In 1991, McKean co-wrote (with Christopher Guest) the second episode and later directed the final episode of the mock documentary series '' Morton & Hayes'', created by Phil Mishkin and Rob Reiner. McKean appeared in a number of film roles, including the film adaptation of ''Memoirs of an Invisible Man'' (1992), '' Coneheads'' (1993), ''Airheads'' (1994), and '' Radioland Murders'' (1994).

Having already appeared as a musical guest and then host of ''Saturday Night Live'', McKean joined the cast from 1994 to 1995. At age 46, he was the oldest person ever to join the ''SNL'' cast at the time (later surpassed by Leslie Jones, who joined in 2014 at age 47), one of a handful of ''SNL'' cast members who weren't already hired to work behind the scenes (like ''SNLs numerous writers-turned-cast members) to appear on the show before becoming a cast member and the only one to be a musical guest and a host before becoming a cast member. During this time, he also released a video follow-up to ''Spinal Tap'', played the villainous Mr. Dittmeyer in '' The Brady Bunch Movie'', and played the boss Gibby in the series '' Dream On''. After leaving ''Saturday Night Live'', McKean spent a lot of time doing children's fare, voicing various TV shows and films. In 1997, he performed the lead voice role in the video game '' Zork Grand Inquisitor'' as Dalboz of Gurth and appeared in the 1999 films '' Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' and ''Mystery, Alaska''.

McKean's television guest appearances include ''The Simpsons''; '' Star Trek: Voyager''; ''Boy Meets World''; ''Murder, She Wrote''; ''Murphy Brown''; '' Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''; ''Friends''; and ''Caroline in the City''. McKean had a recurring role on the HBO sketch comedy series, '' Tracey Takes On...'', which he also directed. In 1998, he guest starred in a two-part episode of ''The X-Files'' titled "Dreamland," in which his character Morris Fletcher switched bodies with Fox Mulder. The character was a success, reappearing in 1999's "Three of a Kind," an episode which focused on the recurring characters of The Lone Gunmen. The character appeared on the short-lived spin-off series in 2001, and then returned to ''The X-Files'' in its final season for an episode called "Jump the Shark."

McKean reunited with Christopher Guest in '' Best in Show'' (2000) and appeared in '' Little Nicky'' (2000), '' The Guru'' (2002), '' And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself'' (2003), and '' A Mighty Wind'' (2003), in which The Folksmen are played by the actors who played as Spinal Tap. McKean had a regular role as the brassy, heavily made-up bandleader Adrian Van Voorhees in Martin Short's series '' Primetime Glick''. He also had guest roles on such shows as ''Law & Order'', ''Family Guy'', ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', and '' Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law''. He did voiceover work as Henry's cousin Louie on ''Oswald'', which coincidentally featured the voice of David Lander as Henry. He lent his voice to an episode of Kevin Smith's '' Clerks: The Animated Series'' that never aired but was included on the VHS and DVD versions of the series.

In 2003, he guest-starred on ''Smallville'', the Superman prequel in which his wife Annette O'Toole starred as Martha Kent. McKean played Perry White, who ultimately becomes Clark Kent's boss. He previously associated with the Superman universe in 1994 on the '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' first-season episode "Vatman," in which he played Dr. Fabian Leek, a cloning expert who creates a Superman clone that belonged to corporate mogul Lex Luthor ( John Shea). Also, during his short stint on ''Saturday Night Live'', McKean played Perry White in a Superman spoof. McKean appeared in the Christopher Guest comedy '' A Mighty Wind'' (2003), also co-writing several songs for the film, including the title track (with Guest and Eugene Levy), which won the Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and ''A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song.

McKean performed in the Broadway production of ''Hairspray'' in 2004. He co-starred as Hines in a revival of ''The Pajama Game'' with Harry Connick, Jr. at the American Airlines Theatre in the first half of 2006. Also in 2006, McKean reunited with most of the cast of ''A Mighty Wind'' to film the comedy '' For Your Consideration'' and appeared in the play ''Love Song'' on the stage in London. His musical interests led him to a starring role in the 2008 comedy air-drumming film '' Adventures of Power'', in which he was reunited with Jane Lynch, his co-star from ''For Your Consideration'', in a story intended to honor the leaders and fighters of the 99% movement.

McKean acted in the pilot episode of a remake of the British series ''The Thick of It'' as the chief of staff. The pilot was directed by Guest. McKean starred in the 40th anniversary Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's ''The Homecoming'', co-starring Ian McShane, Raul Esparza, Eve Best, and James Frain. The show opened on in 2007. In 2009, he starred in the Chicago-based Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of ''Superior Donuts'' by playwright Tracy Letts.

In 2010, McKean returned in an episode of ''Smallville'' alongside his wife and won the ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' tournament by defeating Jane Curtin and Cheech Marin. The earnings were donated to the International Myeloma Foundation in honor of McKean's friend Lee Grayson, who died of myeloma in 2004. In Summer 2010, McKean took over the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town'' at the Barrow Street Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village. In 2011, McKean appeared on an episode of ''Sesame Street'' as a rock star looking for "rocks" to be in an all ROCK-band.

In 2012, McKean began performing on Broadway in Gore Vidal's ''The Best Man''. During the show's run, he was hit by a car in New York City, suffering a broken leg. He appeared in the HBO comedy series ''Family Tree'' in 2013. In 2014, McKean played J. Edgar Hoover in Broadway previews of Robert Schenkkan's Lyndon B. Johnson bio-play '' All the Way'', starring Emmy winner Bryan Cranston as Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 2015, McKean began appearing as a regular cast member in the first three seasons of ''Breaking Bad'' spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' in the role of the main character's older brother Chuck McGill – a new character created for the series – also having guest appearances in the show's fourth and sixth seasons. The same year, McKean began hosting the Cooking Channel television series '' Food: Fact or Fiction?'' This lighthearted show takes a look at food urban legends and features him both as host and narrator to some segments within each episode.

In 2018, McKean played Doug Forcett in the NBC sitcom ''The Good Place'', a former stoner from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who had a mushroom-induced hallucination in the 1970s and correctly guessed 92% of the afterlife. While Doug Forcett is mentioned multiple times in the show, McKean only portrayed him in one episode. McKean played Sgt. Shadwell in the 2019 television mini-series adaptation of the novel ''Good Omens''. Following the death of Cindy Williams in January 2023, McKean is the last surviving original cast member of ''Laverne & Shirley''.

Personal life

McKean married Susan Russell in 1970, and they had two sons, Colin and Fletcher before divorcing in 1993. In 1999, he married Annette O'Toole becoming the step-father of her two children from a previous marriage. McKean's son Colin died in 2012.

Characters on ''SNL''

Recurring characters

*Anthony, the weatherman from ''Good Morning, Brooklyn''

Celebrity impersonations

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

Notes

External links

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Michael McKean
– ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKean, Michael
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American composers
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American musicians
21st-century American singers
1947 births
American comedy musicians
American male comedians
American male composers
American male film actors
American male musical theatre actors
American male musicians
American male screenwriters
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male television writers
American male voice actors
American people of Dutch descent
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Scottish descent
American sketch comedians
American television directors
American television writers
Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni
Comedians from New York City
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from New York City
Musicians from New York (state)
People from Sea Cliff, New York
Screenwriters from New York City
Songwriters from New York (state)