He attended Tierra Linda Junior High in San Carlos, Carlmont High School in Belmont, California (where he was a member of the Central Coast Section champion cross country team), College of San Mateo in San Mateo, California, and received his bachelor's degree in broadcast communications from San Francisco State University. When he was three years old, his family moved to San Carlos, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1957, his family moved to Anderson, California, where his father got a teaching job. Carvey has English, German, Irish, Norwegian, and Swedish ancestry, and was raised Lutheran. The character Garth Algar is loosely based on Brad. Carvey is the brother of Brad Carvey, the engineer/designer of the Video Toaster.

Carvey is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1993, which earned him five consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations.Ĭarvey is also known for his film roles in comedies such as Tough Guys (1986), Opportunity Knocks (1990), Trapped in Paradise (1994), and The Master of Disguise (2002), as well as reprising his role of Garth Algar in the SNL spin-off film Wayne's World (1992) and its sequel Wayne's World 2 (1993).Ĭarvey was born in Missoula, Montana, the fourth of five (with three older brothers and one younger sister ) born to Billie Dahl, a schoolteacher, and William John (Bud) Carvey, a high school business teacher. Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer.

Dex in Blue by Amy Lane