Michael McKean   

Well-known comedian Michael McKean has had an incredibly successful career spanning three decades. Although he is best known as an actor, he has also gained notoriety as both a composer and musician.

Michael McKean was born October 17, 1947 in New York, New York. His long and varied career began in Pittsburgh where he attended Carnegie Mellon University. It was here he met future creative partner David Lander. McKean, always interested in acting, joined the comedy troupe The Credibility Gap in Los Angeles with Lander. Another notable member for McKean’s career was funny man Harry Shearer.

McKean and Lander both made their onscreen debut with the new sitcom Laverne & Shirley in 1976. With leads Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall, McKean spent the next seven years as Lenny to Lander’s Squiggy.

McKean also earned another major hit with the classic 1984 comedy This is Spinal Tap from director Rob Reiner. A forerunner in the mockumentary genre, it was co-written by McKean and Christopher Guest, and it starred Reiner, McKean, Guest, Shearer, and Ed Begley Jr.

With widespread fame from his television stint and hit film, McKean has worked steadily ever since. Highlights include the John Hughes directed Steven Martin and John Candy comedy Planes, Trains & Automobiles and the cult comedy classic Earth Girls Are Easy with stars-before-they-were-stars Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, and Damon Wayans. His collaboration with Guest continued in 1989 with the Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Teri Hatcher film The Big Picture. He is also noted for a recurring role on the short-lived comedy Grand with Sara Rue and Bonnie Hunt.

Less successful film endeavors include Memoirs of an Invisible Man with Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah in 1992 and Coneheads with Jane Curtain and Dan Aykroyd in 1993.

Constantly starring with the Saturday Night Live crowd, however, paid off in 1994 when he earned a spot on the cast. Notable impersonations include Bill Clinton, Tom Skerritt, Vincent Price, Howard Stern, Elvis Costello, Gary Busey, and many more.

He had another successful run on the television series Dream On from 1991 to 1996 before 2000 reunited him yet again with Guest for the comedy Best in Show. Enlisting Parker Posey, Catherine O Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, and Eugene Levy, the cast combination proved a phenomenal success. They teamed up again in 2003 for A Mighty Wind, which would go on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Song and a Grammy win for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture.

Always busy, McKean also costarred with Martin Short from 2001 to 2003 in the television series Primetime Glick. The following year, he appeared on Broadway for the musical Hairspray.

He reunited with the Best In Show troupe in 2006 for the comedy For Your Appreciation, but fans of the cast found themselves disappointed when compared to their previous endeavors.

Fruitful in the music industry as well, McKean worked on the soundtrack for projects such as Laverne & Shirley, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and The Year Without a Santa Claus.

McKean’s first wife was Susan Russell, whom he was married to from 1970 to 1993. They had two children together. After the divorce, McKean married fellow actor Annette O Toole in 1999. They are currently still together.