Michael McKean

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).

After he appeared on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest and later as a guest host, 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 *SNL'''s 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 a Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament 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

In 1970, McKean married Susan Russell in Westminster, California. They had two sons, Colin (19762012) and Fletcher (born 1985), before divorcing in 1993. but died in 2012 from an accidental heroin overdose at the age of 36. McKean married actress and singer Annette O'Toole on March 20, 1999, becoming stepfather to her two daughters Nell and Anna.

Characters on ''SNL''

Recurring characters

• Anthony, the weatherman from Good Morning, Brooklyn

Celebrity impersonations

• Bill Clinton (after Phil Hartman left at the end of season 19)
• Jimmy Carter
• Robert Evans
• John Tesh
• Robert Shapiro
• Spalding Gray
• Tom Skerritt
• Vincent Price
• Richard Gephardt
• Jeffrey Dahmer
• Howard Stern
• Donald E. Belfi
• Adam West
• Elvis Costello
• George F. Will
• Gary Busey
• Patrick Stewart

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

Notes

References

1. (May 19, 1999). "Show No. 3398 (Michael McKean vs. Camryn Manheim vs. Richard Kind)".
2. (November 21, 2006). "Show No. 5107 (Michael McKean vs. Hon. Margaret Spellings vs. Hill Harper)".
3. (May 10, 2010). "Actor Michael McKean Wins ''Jeopardy!'' Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational and Gives $1 Million Grand Prize to Charity". Viacom CBS Press Express.
4. (21 April 2016). "A Biographical Snippet".
5. "It's Lenny & Squiggy". people.com.
6. "Michael McKean Biography (1947–)". FilmReference.com.
7. Henderson, Kathy. (October 26, 2009). "Michael McKean Savors the Taste of Superior Donuts". Broadway.com.
8. (17 October 1947). "Michael John McKean".
9. Castillo, Arielle. (April 24, 2009). "Q&A With Michael McKean of Spinal Tap, Appearing at the Fillmore Miami Beach on May 5!". Miami New Times.
10. Wink, Roger. (March 21, 2015). "R.I.P. Michael Brown of The Left Banke 1949-2015". The Noise Network.
11. "Comedy for the Cure". [[Susan G. Komen for the Cure]].
12. Wright, Megh. (July 9, 2013). "Saturday Night's Children: Michael McKean (1994-1995) {{!}} Splitsider". [[The Awl.
13. {{YouTube. ObOKVM6U-7s. 'IN THE AIR TONIGHT' from "Adventures of Power". Retrieved May 11, 2012.
14. "Michael McKean Returns to ''Smallville''". TVGuide.com.
15. Carlson, Erin. (May 31, 2012). "Michael McKean released from hospital to begin physical rehab". The Hollywood Reporter.
16. Kennedy, Mark. (2012-05-24). "Injury forces Michael McKean out of Broadway show".
17. "Lyndon B. Johnson Bio-Play All the Way, Starring Bryan Cranston, Begins Performances on Broadway". Broadway.com.
18. (May 2014). "Michael McKean Cast in the Breaking Bad Prequel Better Call Saul: Find Out Who He's Playing". E! Online.
19. (15 November 2018). "Don't Let the Good Life Pass You by".
20. (September 15, 2017). "'Good Omens': Jack Whitehall, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson & Adria Arjona Join Amazon Series".
21. NJeri, Esther. (April 3, 2022). "Michael McKean & wife Annette share a blended family".
22. Colin also became an actor,https://imdb.com/name/nm1621675
23. https://kobi5.com/news/local-news/son-of-famous-snl-actor-dies-in-ashland-15952/
24. "Michael McKean (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
25. Evans, Greg. (2024-11-07). "Michael McKean Confirmed For 'Glengarry Glen Ross' Broadway Revival, With Additional Casting Set – Update".