Motivational Speaker - Dana Carvey - Total Access Speakers Bureau

Former "Saturday Night Live" star Dana Cavey enjoys a close-knit family situation. He loves kids, family and cares for his brothers and sister. His brother Brad is an engineer and pioneer in the video production field who developed "Video Toaster", an inexpensive setup for Hollywood-quality video making. The Garth character from the hit "Wayne's World" sketch � and later film � is based on his brother.

An Emmy-award winning comedian, Dana has maintained an illustrious career. He was born April 2, 1955, in Missoula, Montana. While a student at San Francisco State University, he won the San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition. After his graduation with a degree in communication arts, he played numerous clubs in the Bay Area before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his career.

A repertory member of "Saturday Night Live" since the 1986-1987 season, Dana left in 1992 after seven seasons. He is best known for his characters including the Church Lady; Hans of the Hans and Franz bodybuilding duo; Garth, Wayne Campbell's (Mike Myers) "Excellent Co-host;" and the Grumpy Old Man from "Weekend Update."

In addition to those characters, Dana has received widespread praise for his uncanny comedic impersonations of such political figures as former President George Bush, H. Ross Perot, Jerry Brown, David Duke and Bob Dole. He also does impersonations of George Burns, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Stewart, John McLaughlin, Mickey Rooney, Casey Casem and Regis Philbin.

On television, Dana hosted the 1992 presentation of the "MTV Music Awards," costarred in two pilots and was a member of the Showtime special, "Salute to the Improvisation," with Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Robert Klein. In 1995, Dana performed stand-up in his own one-hour comedy special on HBO, aptly named "Critics' Choice."

In 1992, he appeared in the blockbuster film, "Wayne's World," based on the hit sketch. The film grossed over $160 million and was produced by "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels. The public demanded a sequel, and in 1993, Dana appeared in "Wayne's World 2," recreating his role of Garth alongside Mike Myers' Wayne. The film was hugely successful.

Dana's transfer from the small screen to the large screen included roles in Alan Parker's "The Road to Wellville" for Columbia Pictures, Richard and Lili Zanuck's "Clean Slate" for MGM and Twentieth Century Fox's "Trapped in Paradise." His early film work includes his debut in "This is Spinal Tap," plus "Racing with the Moon" and "One of the Group," a film in which he portrayed Mickey Rooney's grandson. He was also in "Blue Thunder" with James Farentino, "Tough Guys with" Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, and the comedy, "Opportunity Knocks."

Dana 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." Dana was also honored with the American Comedy Award as Television's Funniest Supporting Male in 1990 and 1991.

Dana Carvey

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