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Eugene Levy, actor, director, producer, writer (b at Hamilton, Ont 17 Dec 1946). Eugene Levy has made his name primarily playing supporting comedic roles on television and in film, with performances ranging from straight deadpan to camp hilarity.
After graduating from Hamilton's Westdale High School, Levy remained in his home town to attend McMaster University, where he studied sociology. It was at university that Levy encountered future collaborators Martin SHORT and Dave Thomas. As the vice-president of the McMaster Film Board he also became acquainted with future director Ivan REITMAN. Levy made his feature film debut opposite Andrea MARTIN in Reitman's horror-comedy Cannibal Girls (1973). He would team up with Martin again on his first major stage production, Godspell (1972-3), at Toronto's ROYAL ALEXANDRA THEATRE. After this success on the stage, Levy spent two years performing sketch comedy with Second City Toronto before trying his luck in California with fellow comedians John CANDY and Joe Flaherty. In 1976, the three returned to Toronto to work on SCTV, a sketch comedy series that would soon become a full-blown hit in Canada and a cult phenomenon in the United States. Among Levy's most popular characters were news anchor Earl Camembert and comic Bobby Bittman. When the show ended its initial run in 1981, it was picked up by NBC and billed as SCTV Network 90. This new, slicker version of the show ran until 1983 and earned Levy two Emmy Awards for outstanding writing in a variety or music program (1982, 1983). Levy has appeared in numerous comic supporting roles, often alongside Second City alumni. Some feature film highlights include National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Splash (1984) and Bringin' Down the House (2003). The role for which Levy is perhaps best known is his portrayal of the square, well-meaning father in the American Pie teen sex comedies. In 1985 Levy acted as producer on The Last Polka, an HBO spinoff special focused on two SCTV characters, the Shmenge brothers. In 1992 he made his feature film directing debut with Once Upon a Crime, starring James Belushi and John Candy. Levy has also directed programs and specials for longtime friend and collaborator Martin Short. In the 1990s Levy began collaborating with Christopher Guest on a series of critically acclaimed mockumentaries for which he wrote as well as performed: Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006). Levy's work on A Mighty Wind as the dazed, borderline-schizophrenic folksinger Mitch Cohen earned him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for best supporting actor. The film also won a Grammy and a Critics Choice Award for best song. Levy has acted as a member of the advisory committee at Toronto's Humber College comedy program, and in 2006 he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
Author
CLAIRE SERINGHAUS
Links to Other Sites
Canada's Walk of Fame
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