Michael McKean

McKean is also known for having collaborated with Christopher Guest acting in his films such as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). He co-wrote the song "A Mighty Wind" (for the Guest film A Mighty Wind), for which he won a Grammy Award. Along with his wife, Annette O’Toole, McKean also co-wrote "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from the same film, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019 for his role as Chuck McGill on the AMC series Better Call Saul (2015–18; 2022). Since 2020, he has voiced Lou Pickles in Nickelodeon's Rugrats franchise. He has acted in shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Grace and Frankie, Breeders, and The Diplomat. On stage, McKean made his Broadway debut as Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray (2004). He took on dual roles portraying J. Edgar Hoover and Robert Byrd in the political epic play All the Way (2014). He has acted in Broadway plays such as the Tracy Letts play Superior Donuts (2009), the Gore Vidal revival The Best Man (2012), and the Lillian Hellman revival The Little Foxes (2017). McKean is the twenty-third highest-earning game show contestant of all time, having accumulated $1,115,400 during his appearances on Celebrity Jeopardy!.

• Name — Michael McKean • Born — 17 October 1947 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Occupation — * Actor • comedian • screenwriter • director • composer • musician • Years Active — 1967–present • Education — * Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) • New York University (MFA) • Children — 2

Michael John McKean was born October 17, 1947, in New York City at Manhattan Women's Hospital. He is the son of Gilbert S. McKean, one of the founders of Decca Records, and Ruth Stewart McKean, a librarian, and was raised in Sea Cliff, New York, on Long Island. He graduated from North Shore High School in 1965. In early 1967, he was briefly a member of the New York City "baroque pop" band the Left Banke and played on the "Ivy, Ivy" single (B-side: "And Suddenly").

• Illustration — McKean (furthest left) as a member of The Credibility Gap with Richard Beebe, David L. Lander, and Harry Shearer, 1970 McKean began his career (as well as the characters of Lenny and Squiggy) in Pittsburgh while a student at Carnegie Mellon; David Lander was a fellow student at CMU. Their partnership grew after graduation as part of the comedy group The Credibility Gap with Harry Shearer in Los Angeles, but McKean's breakthrough came in 1976 when he and Lander joined the cast of Laverne & Shirley portraying Lenny and Squiggy. 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 also used that year in his first appearance as part of the spoof rock band Spinal Tap). "Foreign Legion of Love" was a big hit for the Squigtones, with frequent play on the Dr. Demento Show. McKean also played his character in an episode of Happy Days. After leaving Laverne & Shirley in 1982, McKean appeared in the film spoof Young Doctors in Love, then two years later as David St. Hubbins in the comedy This Is Spinal Tap with both Guest and Shearer. McKean quickly became a recognizable name in film and television, with appearances in movies such as Used Cars (1980), Clue (1985), D.A.R.Y.L. (1985), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), and taking a lead role in Short Circuit 2 (1988). He appeared opposite Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Hopper in Flashback (1990). The same year, McKean was part of an ensemble cast in the television series Grand, which aired for a short time. In 1991, McKean co-wrote (with Christopher Guest) the second episode and later directed the final episode of the mock documentary series Morton & Hayes, created by Phil Mishkin and Rob Reiner. McKean appeared in a number of film roles, including the film adaptation of Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Coneheads (1993), Airheads (1994), and Radioland Murders (1994). After he appeared on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest and later as a guest host, McKean joined the cast from 1994 to 1995. At age 46, he was the oldest person ever to join the SNL cast at the time (later surpassed by Leslie Jones, who joined in 2014 at age 47), one of a handful of SNL cast members who weren't already hired to work behind the scenes (like SNLs numerous writers-turned-cast members) to appear on the show before becoming a cast member and the only one to be a musical guest and a host before becoming a cast member. During this time, he also released a video follow-up to Spinal Tap, played the villainous Mr. Dittmeyer in The Brady Bunch Movie, and played the boss Gibby in the series Dream On. After leaving Saturday Night Live, McKean spent a lot of time doing children's fare, voicing various TV shows and films. In 1997, he performed the lead voice role in the video game Zork Grand Inquisitor as Dalboz of Gurth and appeared in the 1999 films Teaching Mrs. Tingle and Mystery, Alaska. McKean's television guest appearances include The Simpsons; Star Trek: Voyager; Boy Meets World; Murder, She Wrote; Murphy Brown; Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; Friends; and Caroline in the City. McKean had a recurring role on the HBO sketch comedy series, Tracey Takes On..., which he also directed. In 1998, he guest starred in a two-part episode of The X-Files titled "Dreamland," in which his character Morris Fletcher switched bodies with Fox Mulder. The character was a success, reappearing in 1999's "Three of a Kind," an episode which focused on the recurring characters of The Lone Gunmen. The character appeared on the 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." • Illustration — McKean and Jane Lynch at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival McKean reunited with Christopher Guest in Best in Show (2000) and appeared in Little Nicky (2000), The Guru (2002), And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003), and A Mighty Wind (2003), in which The Folksmen are played by the actors who played as Spinal Tap. McKean had a regular role as the brassy, heavily made-up bandleader Adrian Van Voorhees in Martin Short's series Primetime Glick. He also had guest roles on such shows as Law & Order, Family Guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. He did voiceover work as Henry's cousin Louie on Oswald, which coincidentally featured the voice of David Lander as Henry. He lent his voice to an episode of Kevin Smith's Clerks: The Animated Series that never aired but was included on the VHS and DVD versions of the series. In 2003, he guest-starred on Smallville, the Superman prequel in which his wife Annette O'Toole starred as Martha Kent. McKean played Perry White, who ultimately becomes Clark Kent's boss. He previously associated with the Superman universe in 1994 on the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman first-season episode "Vatman," in which he played Dr. Fabian Leek, a cloning expert who creates a Superman clone that belonged to corporate mogul Lex Luthor (John Shea). Also, during his short stint on Saturday Night Live, McKean played Perry White in a Superman spoof. McKean appeared in the Christopher Guest comedy A Mighty Wind (2003), also co-writing several songs for the film, including the title track (with Guest and Eugene Levy), which won the Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song. McKean performed in the Broadway production of Hairspray in 2004. He co-starred as Hines in a revival of The Pajama Game with Harry Connick, Jr. at the American Airlines Theatre in the first half of 2006. Also in 2006, McKean reunited with most of the cast of A Mighty Wind to film the comedy For Your Consideration and appeared in the play Love Song on the stage in London. His musical interests led him to a starring role in the 2008 comedy air-drumming film Adventures of Power, in which he was reunited with Jane Lynch, his co-star from For Your Consideration, in a story intended to honor the leaders and fighters of the 99% movement. McKean acted in the pilot episode of a remake of the British series The Thick of It as the chief of staff. The pilot was directed by Guest. McKean starred in the 40th anniversary Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, co-starring Ian McShane, Raul Esparza, Eve Best, and James Frain. The show opened on in 2007. In 2009, he starred in the Chicago-based Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of Superior Donuts by playwright Tracy Letts. • Illustration — Singer-songwriter spouses Annette O'Toole and Michael McKean perform their song "Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" on Employee of the Month in 2016. In 2010, McKean returned in an episode of Smallville alongside his wife and won a Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament defeating Jane Curtin and Cheech Marin. The earnings were donated to the International Myeloma Foundation in honor of McKean's friend Lee Grayson, who died of myeloma in 2004. In Summer 2010, McKean took over the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town at the Barrow Street Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village. In 2011, McKean appeared on an episode of Sesame Street as a rock star looking for "rocks" to be in an all ROCK-band. In 2012, McKean began performing on Broadway in Gore Vidal's The Best Man. During the show's run, he was hit by a car in New York City, suffering a broken leg. He appeared in the HBO comedy series Family Tree in 2013. In 2014, McKean played J. Edgar Hoover in Broadway previews of Robert Schenkkan's Lyndon B. Johnson bio-play All the Way, starring Emmy winner Bryan Cranston as Lyndon B. Johnson. In 2015, McKean began appearing as a regular cast member in the first three seasons of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul in the role of the main character's older brother Chuck McGill – a new character created for the series – also having guest appearances in the show's fourth and sixth seasons. The same year, McKean began hosting the Cooking Channel television series Food: Fact or Fiction? This show takes a look at food urban legends and features him both as host and narrator to some segments within each episode. In 2018, McKean played Doug Forcett in the NBC sitcom The Good Place, a former stoner from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who had a mushroom-induced hallucination in the 1970s and correctly guessed 92% of the afterlife. While Doug Forcett is mentioned multiple times in the show, McKean only portrayed him in one episode. McKean played Sgt. Shadwell in the 2019 television mini-series adaptation of the novel Good Omens. Following the death of Cindy Williams in January 2023, McKean is the last surviving original cast member of Laverne & Shirley. In 2021, McKean authored a short story set in Scotland called Vodka and Spirits: A Short Scottish Ghost Story. The short story is available to purchase for E-Reader devices from Amazon.

In 1970, McKean married Susan Russell in Westminster, California. They had two sons, Colin (19762012) and Fletcher (born 1985), before divorcing in 1993. Colin also became an actor, but died in 2012 from an accidental heroin overdose at the age of 36. McKean married actress and singer Annette O'Toole on March 20, 1999, becoming stepfather to her two daughters Nell and Anna.

• Anthony, the weatherman from Good Morning, Brooklyn

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1976–83 — Laverne & Shirley — Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski — 149 episodes • 1979 — Happy Days — Episode: "Fonzie's Funeral: Part 2" • 1980 — Goodtime Girls — Joey — Episode: "Internal Injury" • 1984 — Saturday Night Live — Himself / David St. Hubbins / Jerry Palter — 2 episodes • 1985 — George Burns Comedy Week — Joey — Episode: "The Borrowing" • 1986 — Classified Love — Pete Newly — Television film • Tall Tales & Legends — Mac Macintosh / Mr. Wallace — 2 episodes • 1987 — Double Agent — Jason Starr / Warren Starbinder — Television film • Daniel and the Towers — Wexler Hatch • 1990 — Grand — Tom Smithson — 13 episodes • Empty Nest — Dennis Adams — Episode: "Mad About the Boy" • Murder, She Wrote — Ross McKay — Episode: "The Return of Preston Giles" • The AFI Presents: TV or Not TV? — Principal Ford — Television special; segment: "Peak A Boo" • 1991 — Morton & Hayes — Dr. Mummenschvantz — Episode: "The Bride of Mummula" • Murder in High Places — Pettibone — Television film • 1991–96 — Dream On — Gibby Fiske — 25 episodes • 1992–94 — Dinosaurs — Various voices — 12 episodes • 1992, 1999 — The Simpsons — David St. Hubbins, Jerry Rude — Voice, 2 episodes • 1993–94, 1998 — Animaniacs — Spink, Jake, Neivel Nosenest — 3 episodes • 1993 — Family Album — Mr. Gordon — Episode: "Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall All You Gotta Do Is Call..." • 1994 — Getting By — Dirk Clearfield — Episode: "Sell It Like It Is" • Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman — Dr. Fabian Leek — Episode: "Vatman" • Duckman — Bob Hiney — Voice, episode: "A Civil War" • 1994–95 — Saturday Night Live — Various Roles — 25 episodes • 1995 — The Nanny — Prof. Noel Babcock PhD — Episode: "Franny and the Professor" • Friends — Leon Rastatter — Episode: "The One with the List" • 1996 — The Sunshine Boys — Scott Grogan — Television film • Star Trek: Voyager — The Clown — Episode: "The Thaw" • Secret Service Guy — Frank McClellan — 7 episodes • Caroline in the City — Father Damian — Episode: "Caroline and the Wedding" • 1996–98 — Jungle Cubs — Cecil — Voice, 20 episodes • Pinky and the Brain — Toll Collector / Ponytail Schneiderlander / Mel Anoma — Voice, 4 episodes • 1996–99 — Tracey Takes On... — Barrington "Barry" LeTissier — 6 episodes; directed 5 episodes • 1997 — Road Rovers — Dr. Jeffrey Otitus — Voice, episode: "Reigning Cats and Dogs" • Johnny Bravo — Various voices — 3 episodes • The Weird Al Show — Miner — Episode: "Mining Accident" • Space Ghost Coast to Coast — Himself — Episode: "BooBooKitty" • 1997–98 — 101 Dalmatians: The Series — Jasper Badun — Voice, 27 episodes • 1998 — The Closer — Arthur Willhaven — 2 episodes • LateLine — Dick Obermeyer — Episode: "Pearce's New Buddy" • Murphy Brown — Dennis Page — Episode: "Second Time Around" • The Angry Beavers — L.G. Algae, Raccoon — Voice, episode: "Pond Scum" • Final Justice — Merle Hammond — Television film • The New Batman Adventures — 1950s Joker — Voice, episode: "Legends of the Dark Knight" • Mr. Show with Bob and David — Professor Peens — Episode: "Life Is Precious and God and the Bible" • Recess — Mr. Bream — Voice, episode: "Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave" • 1998–99 — Maggie Winters — Lewis Stickley — 2 episodes • 1998–2002 — The X-Files — Morris Fletcher — 4 episodes • 1999 — Providence — Sherman Smith — Episode: "Blind Faith" • Boy Meets World — Jedediah Lawrence — Episode: "State of the Unions" • Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain — Grocer — Voice, episode: "The Mask of Braino" • 1999–2003 — Hey Arnold! — Johnny Stitches, Pinkerton, Earthflower — Voice, 2 episodes • 2000 — Batman Beyond — Ian Peek — Voice, episode: "Sneak Peek" • 2000–01 — The Huntress — Lt. Praeger / Ralph Thorson — Voice, 3 episodes • Clerks: The Animated Series — Various voices — 2 episodes • 2000, 2002 — Family Guy — Various voices — 2 episodes • 2000, 2008 — Law & Order — Elias Grace / Bill Nolan — 2 episodes • 2001 — Strip Mall — Psycho-Vivor Host — 2 episodes • The Lone Gunmen — Morris Fletcher — Episode: "All About Yves" • 2001–02 — Oswald — Maestro Bingo / Louie — Voice, 5 episodes • 2001–03 — Primetime Glick — Adrien Van Voorhees — 30 episodes • 2002 — Teamo Supremo — Mean Thumb / Lo-Fi — Voice, 2 episodes • As Told by Ginger — Bobby Lightfoot — Voice, episode: "Family Therapy" • Justice League — Sportsman — Voice, episode: "Legends" • The Zeta Project — Dr. Marcus Edmunds — Voice, episode: "The Hologram Man" • 2002–05 — Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law — Evelyn Spyro Throckmorton — Voice, 4 episodes • 2003 — And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself — William Christy Cabanne — Television film • 2003, 2010–11 — Smallville — Perry White — 3 episodes • 2005 — Alias — Dr. Atticus Liddell — 2 episodes • Hopeless Pictures — Mel Wax — Voice, 9 episodes • Boston Legal — Dwight Biddle — Episode: "Truly, Madly, Deeply" • 2006 — Catscratch — Groink — Voice, episode: "Love Jackal" • Help Me Help You — Dr. Howard "J." Hubbins — Episode: "Pink Feud" • The Year Without a Santa Claus — Snow Miser — Television film • 2007 — The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy — Kalgoron — Voice, episode: "Wrath of the Spider Queen" • 2007, 2011 — Curb Your Enthusiasm — Matt Tessler — 2 episodes • 2008 — The Unit — Dr. Donald Metz — 2 episodes • 2010 — Glory Daze — Stu — Episode: "Why Shant This Be Love?" • Sesame Street — Virgil Von Vivaldi — Episode: "Rock, Rock Band" • 2011 — Off the Map — Ed Greenman — Episode: "Saved by the Great White Hope" • Castle — Victor Baron — Episode: "Pretty Dead" • Childrens Hospital — Death — Episode: "Munch by Proxy" • Glenn Martin, DDS — Eye-Hawk / Sarge — Voice, episode: "Heist" • Homeland — Judge Jeffrey Turner — Episode: "Grace" • 2012–13 — Happy Endings — Big Dave — 2 episodes • 2012 — Thundercats — Vultaire — Voice, 2 episodes • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Fred Sandow — Episode: "Father's Shadow" • 2012, 2016 — SpongeBob SquarePants — Captain Frosty Mug, Lonnie the Shark — Voice, 2 episodes • 2013 — Family Tree — Keith Chadwick — 4 episodes • American Dad! — Emperor Zing — Voice, episode: "Lost in Space" • 2014 — The 7D — Uncle Humidor — Voice, 2 episodes • 2015–18; 2022 — Better Call Saul — Chuck McGill — 28 episodes • 2015–19 — Food: Fact or Fiction? — Himself (host) — 65 episodes • 2015 — Comedy Bang! Bang! — Zeus — Episode: "Stephen Merchant Wears a Checkered Shirt and Rolled Up Jeans" • 2015–16 — Drunk History — Carl Laemmle / Arthur Jell — 2 episodes • 2016–18 — Goldie & Bear — Mr. Locks — Voice, 6 episodes • 2017 — Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — Warren G. Harding counselor — Segment: "Harding" • 2018 — The Good Place — Doug Forcett — Episode: "Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By" • 2018 — The Magic School Bus Rides Again — Jake Tennelli — Episode: "Ghost Farm" • 2019 — Veep — Governor Ballentine — Episode: "Oslo" • Good Omens — Witchfinder Sgt. Shadwell — 5 episodes • Delilah — Tom Childs Sr. — Pilot • 2020–22 — Grace and Frankie — Jack Ayres — 6 episodes • 2020 — Breeders — Michael — 5 episodes • At Home with Amy Sedaris — Guy Lombardi — Episode: "New Year's" • Helpsters — Roy — Episode: "Billy Bug/Cody Rides a Bike" • 2021–24 — Rugrats — Lou Pickles — Voice, main role • 2022 — Billions — Melville Revere — Episode: "Cannonade" • 2023–24 — The Diplomat — President William Rayburn — 5 episodes • 2023 — Dead Ringers — Marion — Episode: "Five" • 2026 — Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness — Joseph Welch — Episode: "McCarthy"

• Year — Title — Role — Venue • 2004 — Hairspray — Edna Turnblad — Neil Simon Theatre • 2004–05 — A Second Hand Memory — Phil Wellman — Linda Gross Theater • 2006 — The Pajama Game — Hines — American Airlines Theatre • 2006 — Love Song — Harry — Ambassadors Theatre • 2007 — South Pacific — Luther Billis — Hollywood Bowl • 2007–08 — The Homecoming — Sam — Cort Theatre • 2009 — Our Town — Stage Manager — Barrow Street Theatre • 2009–10 — Superior Donuts — Arthur Przybyszewski — Music Box Theatre • 2011 — King Lear — Earl of Gloucester — The Public Theater • 2012 — The Best Man — Dick Jensen — Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre • 2014 — All the Way — J. Edgar Hoover — American Repertory Theatre • 2017 — The Little Foxes — Ben Hubbard — Samuel J. Friedman Theatre • 2018 — The True — Erastus Corning II — Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre • 2025 — Glengarry Glen Ross — George Aaronow — Palace Theatre • 2026 — Are You Now or Have You Ever Been — Chairman — New York City Center Stage I

Michael McKean is recorded as having studied at Carnegie Mellon University and North Shore High School.