Biography for
Michael McKean (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

17 October 1947, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Michael John McKean

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Spouse

Annette O'Toole	(20 March 1999 - present)
Susan Russell	(10 October 1970 - 1993) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Lenny Kosnowski's "Lone Wolf" jacket on "Laverne & Shirley" (1976).

Trivia

Did celebrity impersonations of Robert Evans, Gary Busey, Howard Stern and Bill Clinton on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Children: Fletcher McKean and Colin McKean (born to Susan).

Engaged to Annette O'Toole in 1998.

At age 46, was the oldest man to join the cast of "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Is the only person to have appeared as a musical guest, hosted, then become a regular cast member, in that order, on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

The song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," performed by Mitch & Mickey in A Mighty Wind (2003), was written by McKean and his wife, Annette O'Toole, as a love song to each other after the movie was conceived. Christopher Guest asked McKean and O'Toole to write the duet. He almost turned it down after the McKeans performed it. Jamie Lee Curtis convinced her husband (Guest) to use it in the film.

Performed as the comedy group The Credibility Gap with Richard Beebe, David L. Lander and Harry Shearer (among others) in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for their rock band version of the classic Bud Abbott/Lou Costello routine "Who's on First?".

Annette O'Toole and him were one of three husband/wife teams nominated for an Oscar for the 2003-2004 season. The others were Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh and Shari Springer Berman and her husband Robert Pulcini.

Wrote the song "Potato's In The Patty Wagon" with Annette O'Toole, his wife, while commuting back and forth from the United States to Canada, where "Smallville" (2001) was being filmed. O'Toole played Martha Kent, Superman's mother, in the series for six seasons. There was ample time to write due to the long checks at the border as this was a few days after September 11th, 2001. The couple first performed the song at a Christmas party that was hosted by Martin Short.

Attended North Shore High School in Glen Head, New York

Has co-starred with wife Annette O'Toole as a married couple in at least two TV shows: "Boy Meets World" (1993) and "Law & Order" (1990).

Son Fletcher attended and graduated from Agoura High School.

Gilbert and Ruth McKean, his parents, hailed from Louisiana. Gilbert was a recording executive who worked for RCA and Columbia as well as being one of the founders of Decca Records. Ruth was a library clerk at North Shore High School. The couple, along with Michael's grandmother, attended Louisiana Tech University. He has an older sister also.

He began playing the guitar at the age of 14. He plays the piano also.

He decided to become an actor after seeing British actor and comedian Stanley Holloway performing in a one-man show titled "Laughs and Other Events" in New York.

Began his career in Pittsburgh while a student at Carnegie Mellon University. David L. Lander was a fellow student at CMU and their partnership grew after graduation as part of the comedy group The Credibility Gap with comedian Harry Shearer in Los Angeles. McKean and Lander's breakthrough came in 1976 when they were cast as Lenny and Squiggy on "Laverne & Shirley" (1976). The twosome were hired as apprentice writers and day players.

Along with Dean Cain, Patrick Cassidy and Richard Gant, he is one of only four actors to appear in both "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1993) and "Smallville" (2001).

Is a descendant of Thomas McKean, one of the signers of the Declaration Of Independence.

Became an honorary member of the Friars Club in 2000. Has participated in events involving Rob Reiner, Jerry Lewis, Pat Cooper and Jerry Stiller.

Turned down a regular role on "Married with Children" (1987) because he felt the show wouldn't be a hit with him in it. Passed on the recurring character of Dean Cyrus O'Dell of Hearst College on "Veronica Mars" (2004) also. He decided to do the West End production of "Love Song" by John Kolvenbach instead.

Olympia Dukakis was his acting teacher at New York University. Learned improvisation from Omar Shapli. The improvisation class played some dates as a comedy group called Section 10.

Is a member of the Actors Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was a presenter at the 29th Student Academy Awards on June 9, 2002 also.

He and his fellow cast members from the recent Broadway revival of "The Homecoming" will be honored with an Outstanding Ensemble Award at this year's Drama Desk Awards to be held in New York on May 18, 2008.

Personal Quotes

[describing how he and wife Annette O'Toole go about writing a song's music and lyrics] When we've done it - and this sounds like I'm talking about sex, doesn't it? - we've done it every way you can.

Where Are They Now

(June 2004) Starring in "Hairspray" on Broadway through October 2004.

(July 2004) With wife Annette O'Toole writing a new musical for the big screen.

(October 2004) He is currently working in an original play entitled "A Second Hand Memory" by Woody Allen at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York.

(February 2006) He is starring as Hines in the hit Broadway revival of "The Pajama Game." It closes on June 17.

(December 2006) He's playing the role of Harry in the European premiere of John Kolvenbach's "Love Song" at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End. The romantic comedy closes March 3rd.

(January 2007) He's finishing up his role as Harry in "Love Song." The play will close on February 17 due to the theater getting another booking.

(October 2007) Getting ready to head to New York to play the role of Sam in the upcoming Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" at the Cort Theatre. Rehearsals start in October. The production begins preview performances on November 23. The play opens on December 13. It closes April 13 of 2008.

(December 2007) Due to the recent Broadway stagehands strike, he played the role of Sam in the first preview performance of the Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" on December 4th. The play's new opening night is December 16th. It will still close on April 13, 2008.

(February 2008) Is getting ready to host the annual National Corporate Theatre Fund's Chairman's Awards Gala in New York on April 14, 2008. This year's honorees are Angela Lansbury, Bank Of America and The Actors Theatre Of Louisville's Humana Festival. The gala raises money for non-profit theaters. McKean is no stranger to hosting theatrical events. He did The 20th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater in April of 2006.

(April 2008) Is getting ready to play Arthur, the owner of a rundown donut shop located in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, in "Superior Donuts," the new play by Tracy Letts of "August Osage County" fame. The production will run June 19 through August 17 at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre.

(July 2008) Will be doing one more week of "Superior Donuts" at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. The show will now close on August 24.

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