Latest news with #Carvey
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dana Carvey Reveals The Moment He Knew HIs SNL Impression Of President Biden Was Doomed
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Dana Carvey had a plan. On the request of longtime Saturday Night Live showrunner Lorne Michaels, he was going to spend six weeks in New York along with his wife Paula. They'd get to enjoy autumn in the city, and he'd appear each week on SNL to do his impression of the then-president, who was running for a second term. It would have been a fantastic little work trip, but it was not to be, at least not in its original form. Months later, Carvey still remembers the moment when he realized it wasn't going to happen. He was watching the first Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden alongside his wife. One lost train of thought turned into another flub which turned into a general sense of uneasiness about President Biden's performance. At some point, Carvey realized the entire Presidential race had suddenly just changed and whatever plans he'd discussed with Michaels were probably going to be out the window. Here's what he told Page Six… When that first debate was sort of going awry with President Biden, I turned to my wife and I said, 'We're not going to New York,' during the debate. That's absolutely true. Of course President Biden didn't drop out immediately. He hung on for a few more weeks, and Carvey ended up appearing almost a dozen times on SNL in 2024. It wasn't always to do his President Biden impression, however, as the politician eventually stepped aside in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, who took over the Democratic ticket. They eventually lost the election but were featured prominently on SNL in the lead-up, played by Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan. Carvey appeared sometimes as Biden and other times in supporting roles, including one week where he revived his beloved Church Lady impression. During his interview, Carvey also talked about his goal with political impressions, as he also famously portrayed President George HW Bush in the late 80s and early 90s. He said he's never been interested in scoring 'political points' or trying to 'put them down.' Instead, he's always tried to find something 'fun' to lean into and poke fun at. That helps explain why his skillful impressions have usually been popular with people of all political leanings and why the subjects themselves have typically to him, especially President Bush who had him come stay at the White House. Saturday Night Live has always been a show that comments on popular culture and what people are talking about right now. It's not unusual for something to happen mid-week and get talked about on the show that weekend. That's why there's no promises. An impression only matters if it's needed. Fortunately, given how many impressions Carvey can do and how friendly he still is with Michaels and the rest of the SNL crew, something tells me we haven't seen the last of him.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dana Carvey explains why he did not attend the ‘SNL' 50th anniversary special
Dana Carvey was one of the biggest former 'Saturday Night Live' stars not to attend 'SNL50' last week. Now, we know why. Carvey, known during his time on 'SNL' for such characters as the Church Lady, Garth in 'Wayne's World' and Hans in 'Pumping Up with Hans & Franz,' as well as his spot-on impressions of George H.W. Bush, Johnny Carson and Ross Perot, says he missed the 50th anniversary celebration because he was sick. 'I wasn't there. I had the flu,' he told fellow 'SNL' alum David Spade on the Feb. 20 episode of their 'Fly on the Wall' podcast. 'I was on the downside of it, but I still didn't have the oomph to travel. Wasn't recommended. So you went to represent our podcast.' Spade said people asked him where Carvey was. 'You did want to be there, and you would've f------ killed it, of course,' Spade said. Carvey remains one of the most popular 'SNL' stars in the show's history. He appeared on the program beginning in Season 12 in 1986 and remained for seven seasons until 1993, the same year he won an Emmy Award for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program for his work on the series. A pair of 'SNL' greats who did attend 'SNL50' have since fallen ill, too. Frequent host Steve Martin, who performed the monologue during the special, says performing partner Martin Short and Maya Rudolph have contracted COVID-19, prompting him and Short to bump back a few dates on their comedy tour. 'Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real,' he captioned a photo of Short and Rudolph kissing on Instagram on Feb 20. 'Unfortunately, we have to reschedule our sold out Durham and Knoxville dates to 10/17 Knoxville and 10/18 Durham. So sorry for the inconvenience. I think we'll be funnier then, anyway.' Like Carvey, original cast member Dan Aykroyd was also absent at 'SNL50,' but said he loved watching it. 'All Heads up toasting triumphant SNL 50th,' he wrote Feb. 19 on X, without explaining why he wasn't on hand for the event. 'Advantage of not attending — got to see every second of concert and show on TV. Quote from my children: 'Look at daddy's smile!' Had it from start to finish. Congratulations Lorne. Well done as usual.' Bill Hader was another beloved star who missed 'SNL50.' A representative for the actor told he couldn't go to the special because he had 'a longstanding schedule conflict.' This article was originally published on
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Dana Carvey skipped the SNL 50 special despite recent appearances as Joe Biden
Dana Carvey last year returned to Saturday Night Live to play President Joe Biden and revive his Church Lady character. The 69-year-old comedian and actor was an SNL cast member from 1986 to 1993, yet he was notably absent from this weekend's 50th anniversary celebrations. Variety reports that Carvey came down with a 'bad flu' and was too sick to attend. Other notable former cast members who missed the star-studded event were Bill Hader, who reportedly had a 'longstanding scheduling conflict', and Dan Aykroyd, who also had 'prior commitments.' Aykroyd did praise the event on X, writing: 'Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago. 'This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing. Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America's greatest living impresario, my boss Lorne Michaels. People it's friggin' Holy!!' Last December, Carvey returned to Saturday Night Live to play his 'Church Lady' character, Enid Strict, in a sketch roasting 'poor little' Matt Gaetz and Hunter Biden. In the sketch, Church Lady labeled 2024 'the most satanic year in history' before calling former MAGA lawmaker Gaetz, played by Sarah Sherman, to the stage. The Florida Republican had been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Attorney General but, days later, removed himself from consideration amid intense scrutiny over a House Ethics Committee inquiry regarding allegations of wrongdoing, including claims he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. The House committee was set to release a bombshell report on its findings two days after Trump tapped Gaetz, but Gaetz's nomination led him to resign from the House, effectively ending the probe. Sherman and Carvey were quick to joke about the situation. 'You were involved in some little sexual peccadillos, and they wrote a whole report about it, but somehow we never got to see it, did we? Isn't that convenient,' Carvey's Church Lady quipped. 'Poor little Matt Gaetz, you better repent, Matt, there's only 17 days left in Christmas,' Carvey added. 'You had me at 17,' Sherman's Gaetz said – a reference to the age of the girl at the center of the allegations against him. Next up to see Church Lady was David Spade playing President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. 'They singled me out just because of who I am,' Spade's Hunter complained to Church Lady about his situation. 'Much like Trump, they went after me because of my last name and all the illegal things I did.'
The Independent
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Why Dana Carvey skipped the SNL 50 special despite recent appearances as Joe Biden
Dana Carvey last year returned to Saturday Night Live to play President Joe Biden and revive his Church Lady character. The 69-year-old comedian and actor was an SNL cast member from 1986 to 1993, yet he was notably absent from this weekend's 50th anniversary celebrations. Variety reports that Carvey came down with a 'bad flu' and was too sick to attend. Other notable former cast members who missed the star-studded event were Bill Hader, who reportedly had a 'longstanding scheduling conflict', and Dan Aykroyd, who also had 'prior commitments.' Aykroyd did praise the event on X, writing: 'Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago. 'This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing. Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America's greatest living impresario, my boss Lorne Michaels. People it's friggin' Holy!!' Last December, Carvey returned to Saturday Night Live to play his 'Church Lady' character, Enid Strict, in a sketch roasting 'poor little' Matt Gaetz and Hunter Biden. In the sketch, Church Lady labeled 2024 'the most satanic year in history' before calling former MAGA lawmaker Gaetz, played by Sarah Sherman, to the stage. The Florida Republican had been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Attorney General but, days later, removed himself from consideration amid intense scrutiny over a House Ethics Committee inquiry regarding allegations of wrongdoing, including claims he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. The House committee was set to release a bombshell report on its findings two days after Trump tapped Gaetz, but Gaetz's nomination led him to resign from the House, effectively ending the probe. Sherman and Carvey were quick to joke about the situation. 'You were involved in some little sexual peccadillos, and they wrote a whole report about it, but somehow we never got to see it, did we? Isn't that convenient,' Carvey's Church Lady quipped. 'Poor little Matt Gaetz, you better repent, Matt, there's only 17 days left in Christmas,' Carvey added. 'You had me at 17,' Sherman's Gaetz said – a reference to the age of the girl at the center of the allegations against him. Next up to see Church Lady was David Spade playing President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. 'They singled me out just because of who I am,' Spade's Hunter complained to Church Lady about his situation. 'Much like Trump, they went after me because of my last name and all the illegal things I did.'
