Jon Lovitz
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Biography
Jon Lovitz gained initial fame as a regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Lovitz emerged as one of the show's stars thanks to a number of hilariously broad characters including Tommy Flanagan of Pathological Liars Anonymous, the great Shakespearean ham Master Thespian, the Devil himself and a memorable impression of actor-playwright Harvey Fierstein ("I just want to be loved! Is that so wrong?"). Prior to "SNL," Lovitz had done some TV work--a guest spot on "The Paper Chase," a recurring role on the legal sitcom, "Foley Square"--and completed his contributions to several features: "The Last Resort" (1986), "Ratboy" (1986), and a cartoon feature, "The Brave Little Toaster" (1987). With his newfound success, Lovitz became a popular character player in features and a frequent guest on TV. His distinctive and theatrical voice is well suited to animation as both "An American Tail 2: Fievel Goes West" (1991) and his contributions to TV's "The Simpsons" and "The Critic" (for which he voiced the Siskel & Ebert-esque Jay Sherman for two incarnations, the original Fox series [1994-1995] and the Internet-based sequel in 2000) demonstrated. He also voiced Calico, Mr. Tinkles' short-haired cat servant in the animorphic and CGI-laden comedy "Cats & Dogs" (2001). Lovitz's long friendship with actor-turned-director Penny Marshall led to roles in her films "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986), "Big" (1988), and "A League of Their Own" (1992). He was outstanding in the latter as Ernie "Cappy" Capadino, the fast-talking scout who recruits Geena Davis and Lori Petty. Lovitz also landed a key supporting role in Tom Shadyac's "Liar Liar" (1997), starring Jim Carrey. The following year, he accepted a role on the NBC sitcom "NewsRadio." Lovitz was hired to fill the void left by the untimely death of former "SNL" co-star Phil Hartman, playing the obnoxious and insecure Max Louis until the show left the air in 1999. Woody Allen cast Lovitz to great effect as Benny Borkowshi, one of the doltish team of would-be robbers that populated the writer/director's light and amusing comedy "Small Time Crooks" (2000). He had other roles in films, including "Rat Race" (2001) and "Good Advice" (2001), and was put to good use as Bette Midler's husband in the comic remake of the thriller "The Stepford Wives" (2004). Lovitz has remained personally and professionally close with some of his SNL castmates, appearing in various features alongside them, including the David Spade vehicles "Lost & Found" (1999) and "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" (2003), and Adam Sandler's "Little Nicky" (2000) and the animated feature "8 Crazy Nights" (2002).
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Life Events
1983
Performed with Groundlings comedy troupe when they presented "Chick Hazard: Olympic Trials" at the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival
1984
Made TV acting debut in a guest role on an episode of "The Paper Chase" (Showtime)
1985
Landed recurring role on the CBS comedy "Foley Square"
1985
Appeared as a regular performer on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
1986
Made his film acting debut in "The Last Resort"
1992
Offered amusing turn as a baseball scout in "A League of Their Own"
1992
Executive produced, created, and starred in "Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special" (Fox)
1994
Provided the voice for the animated sitcom "The Critic" (ABC, 1994; Fox, 1995)
1995
Co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards with Courteney Cox
1996
Cast in the lead role in the comedy "High School High"
1997
Guest starred on NBC's "NewsRadio" before joining the show's final season as Max Louis, the news radio announcer
1998
Made a cameo in fellow "SNL" alum Adam Sandler's comedy vehicle "The Wedding Singer"
2000
Appeared in Woody Allen's comedy "Small Time Crooks"
2001
Appeared as one of the contestants out to win $2 million in ensemble comedy "Rat Race"
2001
Replaced Henry Winkler as one of the leads of the Neil Simon Broadway comedy "The Dinner Party"
2004
Starred opposite Bette Midler in the remake of ''The Stepford Wives''
2005
Played Leo Bloom's (Matthew Broderick) boss Mr. Marks in the movie musical "The Producers," based on the stage musical by Mel Brooks
2006
Played an eccentric billionaire in the comedy "The Benchwarmers"
2006
Joined an ensemble cast for Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales"
2007
Signed a contract to appear at the Laugh Factory every Wednesday night for the rest of his life
2010
Co-starred in "Casino Jack" with Kevin Spacey who portrayed Washington, D.C. lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff
2012
Voiced Quasimodo in animated feature "Hotel Transylvania"; also starred Adam Sandler
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