Eugene Levy


Eugene Levy CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, director, and writer. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series SCTV. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, in his role as Noah Levenstein. He often plays flustered and unconventional figures. He is a regular collaborator of actor-director Christopher Guest, appearing in and co-writing four of his films, commencing with Waiting for Guffman.
Levy received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 2008. He was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2011. From 2015 to 2020, he starred as Johnny Rose in Schitt's Creek, a comedy series that he co-created with his son and co-star Dan Levy. In 2019, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Early life

Levy was born to a Jewish family in Hamilton, Ontario. His mother was a homemaker and his father was a foreman at an automobile plant. He went to Westdale Secondary School and attended McMaster University. He was vice-president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film group, where he met moviemaker Ivan Reitman.

Career

The 1972–1973 Toronto production of the hit musical Godspell opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and was intended to be a run of a few dozen performances for a subscription audience. The cast was drawn entirely from local performers, instead of a touring cast. The Toronto production launched the careers of many actors, including Levy, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas, and Martin Short, as well as the show's musical director, Paul Shaffer. Howard Shore played saxophone for this production. After an enthusiastic response from the audience, the scheduled run at the Royal Alexandra ended and the show moved uptown to the Bayview Playhouse in Leaside. The Bayview Playhouse production ran until August 1973, with a then-record run of 488 performances.
An alumnus of both the Second City, Toronto and the sketch comedy series Second City Television, Levy often plays unusual supporting characters with nerdish streaks. Perhaps his best-known role on SCTV is the dimwitted Earl Camembert, a news anchor for the "SCTV News" and a parody of real-life Canadian newsman Earl Cameron. Celebrities impersonated by Levy on SCTV include Perry Como, Ricardo Montalbán, Alex Trebek, Sean Connery, Howard Cosell, Henry Kissinger, Menachem Begin, Bud Abbott, Milton Berle, John Charles Daly, Gene Shalit, Judd Hirsch, Jack Carter, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Tony Dow, James Caan, Lorne Greene, Rex Reed, Ralph Young, F. Lee Bailey, Ernest Borgnine, former Ontario chief coroner and talk show host Dr. Morton Shulman, Norman Mailer, Neil Sedaka and Howard McNear as Floyd the Barber.
Original Levy characterizations on SCTV are comic Bobby Bittman, scandal sheet entrepreneur Dr. Raoul Withers, "report on business" naïf Brian Johns, 3-D horror auteur Woody Tobias Jr., cheerful Leutonian accordionist Stan Schmenge, lecherous dream interpreter Raoul Wilson, hammer-voiced sports broadcaster Lou Jaffe, diminutive union patriarch Sid Dithers, fey current-events commentator Joel Weiss, buttoned-down panel show moderator Dougal Currie, smarmy Just for Fun emcee Stan Kanter, energetic used car salesman Al Peck, guileless security guard Gus Gustofferson, Phil the Garment King, and the inept teen dance show host Rockin’ Mel Slirrup.
Though he has been the "above the title" star in only two films, Armed and Dangerous and The Man, he has featured prominently in many films. He is the co-writer and frequent cast member of Christopher Guest’s mockumentary features, particularly A Mighty Wind, where his sympathetic performance as emotionally unstable folksinger Mitch Cohen won kudos; his accolades included a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Musical or Comedy and the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the 1980s and 1990s, he appeared in Splash, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Club Paradise, Stay Tuned, Multiplicity and other comedies. Levy was the creator of Maniac Mansion, a television sitcom based on the LucasArts video game of the same name. He was also seriously considered for the role of Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, a role that went to actor Richard Schiff.
Levy, along with his son Dan Levy, is co-creator of the CBC/Pop TV sitcom Schitt's Creek. He also stars in the show alongside his son as head of the Rose family, Johnny Rose. His daughter, Sarah Levy, portrays Twyla Sands, the waitress at the Schitt‘s Creek diner.

Personal life

Levy married Deborah Divine in 1977. They live in Los Angeles, St. Augustine, Florida and Canada and have two children together: actor Dan and actress Sarah, both of whom star alongside him on Schitt's Creek.
Levy is an advocate for autism awareness and treatment. He was a close friend of actor John Candy, who died of a heart attack in 1994. Levy is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other

Awards and nominations

Levy, along with Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, was awarded the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media for the title song from A Mighty Wind. Levy appeared in the corner of a poster hanging outside the movie theatre in Springfield in the "See Homer Run" episode of The Simpsons..
In March 2006, it was announced that he would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2002, the entire cast of SCTV was given a group star, and although Levy is not mentioned on the actual star, he was still inducted as a part of the group. This makes him one of only four two-time honourees, alongside fellow SCTV alumni John Candy, Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara. Levy is one of only a handful of people who have won at least five Canadian Comedy Awards, including two for Best Writing and three for Best Male Performer.
In 2008, the Governor General of Canada presented Levy with the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, a lifetime achievement award considered "for their outstanding body of work and enduring contribution to the performing arts in Canada.". In 2010, Levy was awarded the ACTRA Award by the union representing Canada's actors. In 2011, Levy was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as a comic actor and writer, and for his dedication to charitable causes."
On May 22, 2012, Levy delivered a commencement address at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was awarded the degree Doctor of Laws. On June 11, 2012, Levy was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
On March 13, 2016, Levy took home the award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role" at the 4th Annual Canadian Screen Awards, for his performance as Johnny Rose in the CBC/Pop TV sitcom, Schitt's Creek.
YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
1973Sitges Film FestivalMedalla Sitges en Plata de Ley for Best ActorCannibal Girls
1982Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing in a Variety or Music ProgramSCTV Network 90
1982Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing in a Variety or Music ProgramSCTV Network 90
1983Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing in a Variety or Music ProgramSCTV Network 90
1983Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing in a Variety or Music ProgramSCTV Network 90
1984CableACE AwardsAce Award for Writing a Comedy or Music ProgramSCTV Channel
1985CableACE AwardsAce Award for Best Comedy SpecialThe Last Polka
1985CableACE AwardsAce Award for Performance in a Comedy SpecialThe Last Polka
1989Cable ACE AwardsAce Award for Directing a Comedy SpecialBiographies: The Enigma of Bobby Bittman
1989Cable ACE AwardsAce Award for Writing a Comedy SpecialBiographies: The Enigma of Bobby Bittman
1992Gemini AwardsBest Comedy SeriesManiac Mansion
1992Gemini AwardsBest Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or SeriesManiac Mansion
1993Gemini AwardsBest Comedy SeriesManiac Mansion
1994Gemini AwardsBest Comedy SeriesManiac Mansion
1994Banff Television FestivalSir Peter Ustinov Awards
1995Gemini AwardsEarle Grey Award SCTV
1998Independent Spirit AwardsBest ScreenplayWaiting for Guffman
2000Blockbuster Entertainment AwardsFavourite Supporting Actor, ComedyAmerican Pie
2000American Comedy AwardsFunniest Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureAmerican Pie
2000Writers Guild of America AwardsBest ScreenplayBest in Show
2001Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – FilmBest in Show
2001Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing – FilmBest in Show
2002Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – FilmAmerican Pie 2
2003New York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest Supporting ActorA Mighty Wind
2003Seattle Film Critics AwardsBest MusicA Mighty Wind
2003Seattle Film Critics AwardsBest Screenplay, OriginalA Mighty Wind
2003Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie ChemistryBringing Down the House
2003Florida Film Critics Circle AwardsBest CastA Mighty Wind
2004Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – FilmA Mighty Wind
2004Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing – FilmA Mighty Wind
2004Broadcast Film Critics Association AwardsCritics Choice Award for Best SongA Mighty Wind
2004Grammy AwardsBest Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaA Mighty Wind
2004Satellite AwardsGolden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or MusicalA Mighty Wind
2004AARP Movies for GrownupsBest Breakaway PerformanceA Mighty Wind
2004AARP Movies for GrownupsBest Grownup Love StoryA Mighty Wind
2004International Online Cinema AwardsBest Original SongA Mighty Wind
2004Gold Derby AwardsBest Ensemble CastA Mighty Wind
2004Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie LiarNew York Minute
2004Independent Spirit AwardsBest ScreenplayA Mighty Wind
2004Phoenix Film Critics Society AwardsBest Ensemble CastA Mighty Wind
2006DVD Exclusive AwardsBest Supporting Actor
2006Gotham Independent Film AwardBest Ensemble CastFor Your Consideration
2006Razzie AwardsWorst Supporting ActorCheaper by the Dozen 2
2006Razzie AwardsWorst Supporting ActorThe Man
2007AARP Movies for GrownupsBest ScreenwriterFor Your Consideration
2008Governor General of CanadaGovernor General's Performing Arts AwardLifetime Achievement
2010AARP Movies for GrownupsBest Supporting ActorTaking Woodstock
2010ACTRA AwardsACTRA Award of ExcellenceLifetime Achievement
2011Banff World Media Festival Rockie AwardsAward of Excellence
2016Canadian Screen AwardsLegacy AwardLifetime Achievement
2016Canadian Screen AwardsBest Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2016Canadian Screen AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic RoleSchitt's Creek
2016Behind the Voice Actors AwardsBest Vocal Ensemble in a Feature FilmFinding Dory
2017ACTRA AwardsMembers' Choice Series EnsembleSchitt's Creek
2017Canadian Screen AwardsBest Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2017Canadian Screen AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic RoleSchitt's Creek
2017Kids' Choice Awards#SquadFinding Dory
2018ACTRA AwardMembers' Choice Series EnsembleSchitt's Creek
2018Canadian Screen AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic RoleSchitt's Creek
2019ACTRA AwardsMembers' Choice Series EnsembleSchitt's Creek
2019Canadian Screen AwardsBest Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2019Canadian Screen AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic RoleSchitt's Creek
2019Critics' Choice Television AwardsBest Actor in a Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2019Gold Derby AwardsComedy Lead ActorSchitt's Creek
2019Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2019Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2019Satellite AwardsBest Actor in a Series, Comedy or MusicalSchitt's Creek
2019Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2020Producers Guild of America AwardsThe Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – ComedySchitt's Creek
2020Canadian Screen AwardsBest Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek
2020Canadian Screen AwardsBest Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic RoleSchitt's Creek
2020Newport Beach Film FestivalLifetime Achievement AwardLifetime achievement
2020Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actorin a Comedy SeriesSchitt's Creek-