Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy (born
December 17,
1946 in
Hamilton, Ontario) is a
Canadian actor,
television director,
producer and
writer who is best known for his work in Canadian
television series and
American movies and television series.
He studied film at
McMaster University and graduated in
1969. He was vice president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film group where he met moviemaker
Ivan Reitman.
An alumnus of both
Second City Toronto and the classic sketch comedy series
SCTV, Levy often plays unusual supporting characters with nerdy streaks. Perhaps his best known role on
SCTV was as the dimwitted
Earl Camembert, a news anchor for the SCTV News.
Other memorable Levy characterizations were serious comic Bobby Bittman, scandal sheet entrepreneur Dr. Rawl Withers, "report on business" naif Brian Johns, 3-D horror auteur Woody Tobias Jr., cheerful Leutonian accordianist Yosh Schmenge, lecherous dream interpreter Raoul Wilson, hammer-voiced sports broadcaster Lou Jaffe, diminutive union patriarch Sid Dithers, fey current-events commentator Joel Weiss, buttoned-down panel show moderator Dougal Currie, smarmy "Just For Fun" emcee Stan Kanter, energetic used car salesman Al Peck and inept dance show host Rockin' Mel Slirrup.
Though he has only been the "above the title" star in two films, 1986's
Armed and Dangerous and 2005's
The Man, he has featured prominently in a great many other films. He's the co-writer and frequent cast member of
Christopher Guest's mockumentary features, particularly
A Mighty Wind, where his sympathetic performance won kudos. In the 1980s, he appeared in
Splash,
National Lampoon's Vacation,
Club Paradise and other comedies.
His career received a tremendous boost in 1999, when he was cast as the clueless but loving dad in the sleeper blockbuster
American Pie. He reprised the role for the film's two sequels, and starred in one
straight-to-video sequel.
Levy was the creator of
Maniac Mansion, a TV sitcom based on the
LucasArts video game of the same name.
Levy also appeared in the
HBO "
mockumentary" titled
The Canadian Conspiracy about the supposed subversion of the United States by Canadian born media personalities. Levy played the insider who blew the whistle on the conspiracy. Levy was also a contender for the role of
Toby Ziegler on
The West Wing, which went to
Richard Schiff.
As of 2004, Levy was on the Advisory Committee for the
Comedy program at
Humber College, the only such diploma program in the world.
He has most recently appeared opposite
Steve Martin in
Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
In March 2006, it was announced that he would receive a star on
Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2002, the entire cast of
SCTV was given a group star, and although Levy is not mentioned on the actual star, he was still inducted as a part of the group. This makes him one of only three two-time honourees, alongside fellow
SCTV alumni
John Candy and
Martin Short.
Foxy Lady (
1971)
Cannibal Girls (
1973)
Running (
1979)
Double Negative (
1980)
Nothing Personal (
1980)
Heavy Metal (
1981) (voice)
National Lampoon's Vacation (
1983)
Going Berserk (
1983)
The Last Polka (
1984)
Splash (
1984)
Tears Are Not Enough (
1985) (documentary)
Club Paradise (
1986)
Armed and Dangerous (
1986)
Speed Zone! (
1989)
Father of the Bride (
1991)
Once Upon a Crime... (
1992) (Cameo) (also director)
Stay Tuned (
1992)
I Love Trouble (
1994)
Father of the Bride Part II (
1995)
Multiplicity (
1996)
Waiting for Guffman (
1996) (also writer)
Akbar's Adventure Tour (
1998) (short subject)
Almost Heroes (
1998)
Holy Man (
1998) (Cameo)
The Secret Life of Girls (
1999)
Dogmatic (
1999)
American Pie (
1999)
Silver Man (
2000)
Best in Show (
2000) (also writer)
The Ladies Man (
2000)
Down to Earth (
2001)
Josie and the Pussycats (
2001) (Cameo)
American Pie 2 (
2001)
Serendipity (
2001)
Repli-Kate (
2002)
Like Mike (
2002)
Bringing Down the House (
2003)
A Mighty Wind (
2003) (also writer)
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (
2003)
American Wedding (
2003)
New York Minute (
2004)
The Man (
2005)
American Pie: Band Camp (
2005)
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (
2005)
For Your Consideration (
2006) (also writer)
Curious George (
2006) (voice)
Over the Hedge (
2006) (voice)
As Bobby Bittman:
"As a comic, in all seriousness...".
As Bobby Bittman:
"HOW ARE YA?".
As Bobby Bittman:
"As a boy growing up in Philadelphia..." (Waits for an audience reaction that doesn't come; then, disappointed:)
"Hm, nobody from Philly."
As Bobby Bittman: "''I mean God forbid I should get a case of appendicitis, who's gonna drive me to the hospital, the pigs?''".
As Sid Dithers:
"San Franciscy? So how did you came, did you drove or did you flew?"
*
List of Canadians*Celebrities impersonated by Levy on
SCTV include:
Perry Como,
Ricardo Montalban,
Alex Trebeck,
Sean Connery,
Howard Cosell,
Henry Kissinger,
Menachem Begin,
Bud Abbott,
Milton Berle,
Gene Shalit,
Jack Carter,
Muammar al-Gaddafi,
Tony Dow,
James Caan,
Lorne Greene,
Rex Reed, Ralph Young (of Sandler and Young),
F. Lee Bailey,
Ernest Borgnine, former Ontario chief coroner Dr. Morton Schulman,
Norman Mailer and
Howard McNear as "Floyd the Barber".
* His son, Dan Levy, is one of the hosts of
Canada's MTV Live*
Eugene Levy page at godspell.ca
