Dana Carvey biography
Date of birth : 1955-06-02
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Missoula, Montana, United States
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-08-17
Credited as : Actor, The Oprah Winfrey Show ,
0 votes so far
Dana Carvey was born in Missoula, Montana, the son of Billie, a schoolteacher, and William Carvey, a high school business teacher. Carvey is the brother of Brad Carvey, the engineer/designer of the Video Toaster. The character Garth Algar (from the movie Wayne's World) is a loosely based portrayal of Brad. Carvey was raised Lutheran. When he was three years old, his family moved to San Carlos, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He received his first drum kit at an early age. He attended Tierra Linda Junior High in San Carlos, Carlmont High School in Belmont, California (where he was a member of the Central Coast Section champion Cross Country team),College of San Mateo in San Mateo, California, and received his Bachelor's degree in communications from San Francisco State University.
In 1979, while performing at the The Other Cafe in San Francisco, he met Paula Zwaggerman, who would later become his wife. Soon after returning to the Bay Area in 1980, Dana and Paula were engaged. They have two sons together, Dex and Thomas, who were born in 1991 and 1993 respectively.
In 1997, he underwent heart-bypass surgery for a blocked coronary artery, but the surgeon operated on the wrong artery. The blocked artery was deeply buried in muscle and thus hard to find; another artery, though not blocked, was clearly accessible, so the surgeon bypassed it. Carvey, later suffering from angina pectoris, sued for medical malpractice and was awarded $7.5 million. He has had to undergo a total of five medical procedures (four angioplasties and one surgery) to correct his heart problems. Carvey stated in an interview with Larry King that he donated all the money awarded to him to charity.
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.
Filmography:
2002 : The Master of Disguise
2010 : Presidential Reunion
2011 : Jack & Jill
Television:
2010 : Spoof
2011 : Saturday Night Live
2011 : The Oprah Winfrey Show
