Born on December 17, 1946, Eugene Levy is a comedian and actor from Canada. Throughout his career, Levy has received several honors, including four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He is well-known for playing nervous and unusual characters. Levy began his career as an actor and writer for the Canadian comedic series SCTV (1976–1984). From 2015 until 2020, he played Johnny Rose in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek.
To date, he has acted in over 60 movies, eight of which have made more than $100 million. The box office success of films such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), and Father of the Bride Part II (1995) have positioned him as one of Hollywood’s most successful comedy performers.
Eugene Levy Biography; Quick Facts
- Birth Year: 1946
- Birth Date: December 17, 1946
- Birth Place: Ontario, Canada
- Gender: Male
- Career: Actor, Comedian and Producer
- Most Known For: His roles in Best in Show, American Pie, and as Johnny Rose in Schitt’s Creek from 2015 to 2020.
Early Life
In Hamilton, Ontario’s downtown, Levy was born into a Jewish family. His father, Joseph, was a foreman at an auto company, and his mother, Rebecca (Kudlatz), was a stay-at-home mom. He is the brother of Barbara and the sister of Fred. His mother’s parents were Polish Jews who moved to Canada after she was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a Sephardi Jew of Bulgarian and Spanish ancestry.
Levy was always drawn to comedy as a child, and he held Jack Benny in high regard. Levy was president of the student council at Westdale Secondary School. He won the high school student council president election with the help of amusing campaign posters. After that, he went to McMaster University to study sociology and was involved in the vibrant theatrical community there.
A number of future comedic stars were classmates, including actor Martin Short and writer/director Ivan Reitman. He first got to know director Ivan Reitman while serving as vice-president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film organization. It is evident Eugene Levy pursued his dreams as soon as he realized it and today, he has made the most of it.
Early Career
The popular musical Godspell, which ran from 1972 to 1973 in Toronto, began its run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre with the intention of playing a few dozen shows for a paying audience. Rather than assembling a touring ensemble, the whole cast was composed of local performers. Many actors, including Levy, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas, and Martin Short, as well as the musical director of the play, Paul Shaffer, had their careers kicked off by the Toronto production.
In 1972, Levy made his theatrical debut as a professional actor, playing the role of Jesus in the Toronto stage production of Godspell. The musical achieved great success.
Levy, a former cast member of Second City, Toronto, and the sketch comedy program Second City Television, frequently portrays peculiar supporting roles with geeky tendencies. The dimwitted Earl Camembert, a news anchor for “SCTV News” and an imitation of an actual Canadian newsman Earl Cameron, is arguably his most well-known position on SCTV. Levy played impersonations of a number of celebrities on SCTV, including Henry Kissinger, Sean Connery, Alex Trebek, Perry Como, and Ricardo Montalbán.
Establishing his Career
Levy made his screen debut in Reitman’s horror-comedy Cannibal Girls in 1973, where he encountered TV producer Deborah Divine during this time. They began dating shortly after, and the two got married in 1977.
For the Canadian sketch comedy program SCTV in 1976, Levy collaborated with a number of actors, including Short, Martin, John Candy, and Catherine O’Hara. Working on the program taught Levy valuable lessons, he subsequently said. He admitted to Variety in 2020 that when he initially started working at SCTV, he had no idea how to write for television but now, he could boast of being able to write because he had the opportunity to learn on the job.
Levy received the Emmy Award for best writing in a variety or music program in 1982 and 1983. He honed his acting abilities while on SCTV, and he rose to fame for his impersonations of actors like Sean Connery, Alex Trebek, and Henry Kissinger. Levy stayed with the show over its several incarnations (name changes) to modified ones including SCTV Channel (1983–84) and SCTV Network (1981–83).
Levy also acted in Ron Howard’s well-known comedy Splash (1984), starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, during this period. Other comedy followed, including Ramis’s Club Paradise (1986), starring Robin Williams; Armed and Dangerous (1986), in which he featured alongside Candy; and the box-office success Father of the Bride (1991), starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. He later reprised his role in Father of the Bride Part II. In 1995.
1990’s to 2000’s
Levy started to feature in well-liked “mockumentaries” directed by Christopher Guest in the 1990s. These included the dog show farce Best in Show (2000) and the 1996 drama Waiting for Guffman (about a small-town musical production). Levy and O’Hara (his wife from Best in Show) portray an elderly folk music pair who had a hit song called “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” in the 2003 film A Mighty Wind.
In 2004, O’Hara and Levy sang the movie’s song live at the Oscars, and it was later nominated for an Academy Award. Levy also received a Grammy Award for cowriting “A Mighty Wind,” the film’s theme tune. Seeing he was good at his parts in mockumentaries, he took on another role in the mockumentary, ‘For Your Consideration’, which was released in 2006. In addition to being mostly improvised, Levy and Guest wrote the screenplays for the movies.
Levy was the brains behind Maniac Mansion, a TV series centered on the LucasArts computer game of the same name. He also received a lot of consideration for the Toby Ziegler role in the West Wing, which eventually went to actor Richard Schiff.
American Pie and Schitt’s Creek
Levy had an appearance in the vulgar comedy American Pie in 1999, playing one of his most well-known roles as Noah Levenstein. But at first, he declined the part because he thought the character was too trendy. Levy joined the movie later, and played the “corny,” uncomfortable dad that viewers would like once the producers gave him permission to improvise.
The film, which was about young people attempting to get over their virginity, was a big smash. It was well noted for a scene in which Levenstein’s kid (played by Jason Biggs) sexually explores with an apple pie. Levy later starred in many direct-to-video films, including American Pie 2 (2001) and American Reunion (2012). During this time, he also had additional film credits. In Finding Dory (2016), he provided the voice of the father of the titular character.
Along with his daughter Sarah Levy, Levy co-created and starred in the comedy Schitt’s Creek in 2015 with his son Dan Levy. The sitcom features the Rose family: Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy); his wife, Moira Rose (O’Hara); and their children, David Rose (Dan Levy) and Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy). The Roses are compelled to relocate to Schitt’s Creek, a little village that Johnny Rose purchased as a joke for his son, after losing their enormous money.
The show was initially only moderately successful, but when it started to stream on Netflix in 2017, it became a mainstream smash. Schitt’s Creek won nine Emmys throughout the course of its six seasons, and Eugene Levy was nominated best lead actor in a comedy series in 2020.
The Reluctant Traveler (2020)
Following Schitt’s Creek’s 2020 finale, Levy received an offer to feature in a trip series on Apple TV+. At first, he had no interest in the endeavor, preferring the conveniences of home over travel. But Apple execs wanted to speak with him. “So we had a phone call and as I was listing all my reasons, I was getting laughs,” he recounted in a 2023 interview with The Guardian.
In a moment of eureka, they said, “That’s the show!” right away- a trip program hosted by an individual who is anti-travel. That year saw the publication of the resultant travelogue, The Reluctant Traveler, which brought Levy’s warmth and dry wit to the forefront.
Personal Life and Awards
In 1977, Levy wed Deborah Divine. TV production has been Divine’s area of expertise. Actors Dan and Sarah, who costarred with their father on Schitt’s Creek, are the couple’s two children, whom they brought up in Toronto.
Levy is a supporter of autism education and care. John Candy, an actor and part of the SCTV cast, was a personal friend of his. Levy belongs to the Canadian nonprofit organization, Artists Against Racism. He was made an honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades in 2021.
Levy earned the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Comedy as Executive Producer and Lead Actor in a Comedy, a title he shared with Daniel Levy among others. Taking home nine out of ten potential Canadian Screen Awards, Schitt’s Creek was a dominant force. Along with co-star and seasoned partner Catherine O’Hara, Levy was also honored with the esteemed Legacy Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.
Levy received several honors and accolades for his work on television, including two Emmys for his writing on SCTV. Levy has received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, the highest accolade given for achievement in the performing arts, and he is a Member of the Order of Canada.
