Line #4 Creator/DanaCarvey


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dana_carvey.jpg]]
2	->''"I enjoy pushing my characters to the limit. No matter how far out there I go, I look for things that make the characters human."''
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4	Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955 in Missoula, Montana) is a stand-up comedian and comedy actor.
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6	He started his acting career with a few small movies, including ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' and ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''.
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8	Carvey ultimately joined ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' during its second GoldenAge (1986-1993)[[note]]after Lorne Michaels returned and his plans on making celebrities of his new "Not Ready For Primetime" cast (the 1985-1986 season) fell through and nearly got the show cancelled, resulting in the cast overhaul that would bring the show back from the dead[[/note]]. Carvey's characters on ''SNL'' included the Church Lady ("Isn't that special?"), Garth of ''Film/WaynesWorld'', President UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush ("Wouldn't be prudent"), and numerous other celebrity impersonations, most notably Creator/JohnnyCarson. (Fun fact: the same day he was invited to join ''SNL'', he got another offer, to host ''Series/DoubleDare1986''!)
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10	After he left SNL, he starred in both ''Film/WaynesWorld'' films and ''Film/TheMasterOfDisguise'' with Jennifer Esposito. In 1996, he hosted ''Series/TheDanaCarveyShow'', a VarietyShow which was critically liked but had poor ratings. It also had among its writing staff future comedy stars Creator/LouisCK, Creator/SteveCarell, Creator/StephenColbert, and ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen almost]]) Creator/JimmyFallon. He also appeared in the film ''Film/LittleNicky'' with ''SNL'' castmate Creator/AdamSandler.
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12	----
13	!! His impersonations and their tropes:
14	* UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush: Carvey's {{Cloudcuckoolander}} was a sort of TropeCodifier for other impersonators.
15	** He's impersonated [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNNGd4T1b_M almost every presidential candidate from the past thirty years.]] Of the ones in that video, his George HW Bush and Ross Perot were used on SNL.
16	* "A Grumpy Old Man": A... well.. GrumpyOldMan who reminisced about AGoodOldFashionedPaintWatching and WhenIWasYourAge with the tag line "...and we liked it!"
17	* Lyle The Effeminate Heterosexual: essentially a highly {{Justified\|Trope}} MistakenForGay.
18	* The Church Lady: a takeoff on fundamentalist Christians -- she runs a talk show -- that was quite successful despite (or because of) invocations of PoesLaw. She also drums.
19	* Garth Algar of "Wayne's World": a nerdy metalhead. (It should be noted Carvey based his portrayal of Garth [[WriteWhoYouKnow off his own brother]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Carvey Brad Carvey]], one of the co-creators of the Platform/{{Amiga}}-based VFX machine Video Toaster; correspondingly, Garth wears a T-shirt with a Video Toaster test card on it during ''Wayne's World 2''.)
20	* Whitey Duvall in Film/LittleNicky: A basketball referee character made by Adam Sandler.
21	* Hans of "Hans and Franz" ("Ve vant to ''pump'' [''clap''] you ''up!''")
22	* John [=McLaughlin=] of ''Series/TheMcLaughlinGroup'': '''WRONG!'''
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24	!! His works include:
25	* ''Film/HalloweenII1981'': His first film.
26	* ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''
27	* ''Film/ToughGuys''
28	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': From which many of his characters come.
29	* ''Film/OpportunityKnocks'' his first starring role (1990)
30	* ''Film/WaynesWorld'': A recurring skit on SNL and two movies -- he played Garth.
31	* ''Dana Carvey: Critic's Choice'' Carvey's first full-length stand-up special.
32	* ''The Dana Carvey Show'': TheEponymousShow. The show also had [[ProductPlacementName a different sponsor each week with their name forced in]] as an homage to the shows of old e.g. ''The Taco Bell Dana Carvey Show''.
33	* ''Film/CleanSlate''
34	* ''Film/TheMasterOfDisguise'': Clearly trying to take advantage of Carvey's loads and loads of impersonations.
35	* ''Film/LittleNicky'': As [[WesternAnimation/EightCrazyNights Whitey Duvall]].
36	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' as Schnozmo, Cosmo's brother.
37	* ''Dana Carvey: Squatting Monkeys Tell No Lies'', Carvey's second full-length stand-up special.
38	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets'' as Pops, the resident [[GrumpyOldMan Grumpy Old Dog]]
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Context Creator / DanaCarvey