Background and career
Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He often plays flustered and unconventional figures. He is best known for appearing in the sketch comedy series SCTV, which aired from 1976 until 1984, and the American Pie series of films. He is a regular collaborator of actor-director Christopher Guest, appearing in and co-writing four of his films, commencing with Waiting for Guffman (1996). 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. Levy won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media in 2004 for "A Mighty Wind" from the film of the same name that he co-wrote. He 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 in 2011. In 2019 and 2020, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, which he won in 2020.
Levy was born to a Jewish family in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. His mother, Rebecca (née Kudlatz; 1910–1988), was a homemaker, and his father, Joseph (1909–1985), was a foreman at a car factory. He has a brother, Fred, and sister, Barbara. His mother was born in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland, to Polish Jewish parents, and later moved to Canada. His father was Sephardi Jewish, with ancestors from Spain and Bulgaria. Levy attended Westdale Secondary School, where he was student council president. He faced antisemitic bullying, with his campaign posters defaced with the word "Jew", which he refused to take down. He subsequently attended McMaster University, graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology. He was vice-president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film group, where he met filmmaker Ivan Reitman.
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 nerdy 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, Gino Vannelli, 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 (of Sandler and 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 news reporter Earl Camembert, 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 ("San Francisckie! Did you drove or did you flew?"), 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 (also of Phil's Nails), 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 (1986) and The Man (2005), 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 (2003), 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. Other collaborations with Guest include Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), and For Your Consideration (2006). From the 1980s through the 2010s, Levy appeared in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Splash (1984), Club Paradise (1986), Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), Stay Tuned (1996), Multiplicity (1996), the American Pie film series (1999–2012), Serendipity (2001), Bringing Down the House (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), Madea's Witness Protection (2012), and other comedies. He also voiced characters in films such as Over the Hedge (2006), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), and Finding Dory (2016). 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, was co-creator of the CBC/Pop TV sitcom Schitt's Creek which ran from 2015-2020. He also starred in the show alongside his son as head of the Rose family, Johnny Rose. His daughter, Sarah Levy, portrayed Twyla Sands, the waitress at the Schitt's Creek diner. Eugene Levy's brother Fred was also a producer on the show. Levy hosted and executive produced an Apple Original travel series titled The Reluctant Traveler (2023) on Apple TV+, which is now in its third season. In 2024, Levy attended a ceremony honouring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Levy married Deborah Divine in 1977. Divine's career has been in TV production. The couple have two children whom they raised in Toronto: actors Dan and Sarah, both of whom starred alongside their father on Schitt's Creek. Levy is an advocate for autism awareness and treatment, and supports ABA methods. He was a close friend of actor and fellow SCTV cast member John Candy. Levy is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. In 2021, he was named honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades. In October 2022, Levy was one of the honorees of Creative Community For Peace's 10th annual gala, and also spoke at the event. In 2025, his home in the neighbourhood was destroyed in the Palisades wildfire. He is a supporter of Real Betis of La Liga.
