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Michael McKean (born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian,
composer and musician, best known for his portrayal of Leonard 'Lenny'
Kosnowski on the sitcom Laverne and Shirley; as one of the members of Spinal
Tap; and for various appearances in several popular TV series and films.
McKean began his career as part of the comedy group The Credibility Gap with
Harry Shearer and David Lander but his breakthrough came in 1976 when he
joined the cast of Laverne and Shirley, paired with David Lander, who played
Squiggy.
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McKean directed one episode, and the characters became something of a
phenomenon, even releasing an album as Lenny and the Squigtones in 1979,
which featured a young Christopher Guest on guitar (credited as Nigel Tufnel,
the name Guest would use a few years later as part of the spoof rock band,
Spinal Tap). McKean also played his character in an episode of Happy Days.
After leaving Laverne and Shirley in 1982, McKean played David St. Hubbins
in the cult spoof documentary movie This is Spinal Tap with both Guest and
Shearer, and appeared in the soap opera spoof Young Doctors In Love.
McKean quickly became a recognisable name in film and television, with
appearances in films such as Clue (1985), Planes, Trains & Automobiles
(1987), Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), the film adaptation of Memoirs of an
Invisible Man (1992) and Coneheads (1993). He also had guest roles on such
shows as Murder, She Wrote, Murphy Brown, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures
of Superman and Caroline in the City.
Having already appeared as a musical guest and then host of Saturday Night
Live, McKean joined the cast in 1994. During this time, he also released a
video follow up to Spinal Tap, and playing Mr. Dittmeyer in The Brady Bunch
Movie. After leaving Saturday Night Live, McKean spent a lot of time doing
children's fare, voicing various TV shows and movies. In 1999, with two
children from a previous marriage, McKean married Annette O'Toole.
Recent TV guest appearances include The Simpsons, Law & Order, Family Guy,
Star Trek: Voyager, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. He also lent his
voice to an episode of Kevin Smith's Clerks: The Animated Series that was
never aired on ABC but was included on the VHS and DVD versions of the
series. In 1998, he guest starred in a two-part episode of The X-Files
called "Dreamland" in which his character, Morris Fletcher, switched bodies
with Fox Mulder. The character was a success, and reappeared in 1999's Three
of a Kind, an episode which focused on the recurring characters of The Lone
Gunmen. The character appeared on their short-lived spin-off series in 2001,
and then returned to The X-Files in its final season for an episode called
"Jump the Shark". In 2003, he guest starred on Smallville, the Superman
prequel on which his wife starred as Martha Kent. McKean played Perry White,
who - in the Superman universe - ultimately becomes Clark Kent's boss.
In 2003, he appeared in the Christopher Guest comedy A Mighty Wind. Along
with O'Toole, McKean had written a love song A Kiss at the End of the
Rainbow which was then featured in the film and won the Grammy for Best Song
Written for a Motion Picture. It was also nominated for the Academy Award
for best original song. In the film, the 60s-style folk song was performed
by SCTV alums Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy.
He was on Broadway in a production of Hairspray in 2004, and is apparently
writing his own musical with O'Toole. He will be co-starring as Hines, in
the upcoming revival of The Pajama Game with Harry Connick, Jr., scheduled
to play at the American Airlines Theatre from January 19 to June 11, 2006. |
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MICHAEL MCKEAN PICTURES |
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