Michael McKean

Actor and comedian Michael McKean was a regular on the TV series Laverne and Shirley and Saturday Night Live, and one of the stars of the classic Rob Reiner mockumentary This is Spinal Tap, along with Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer.

McKean created the character of Lenny Kosnowski, whom he'd make famous on Laverne and Shirley, while studying at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. McKean followed up on the success of Laverne and Shirley with the role of David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap,

Before joining the cast of SNL in 1994, McKean would star in a string of comedy films, including the adaptation of the board game Clue, Short Circuit 2 and Earth Girls Are Easy.

Since leaving the show, he's starred in several of the mockumentaries directed by his old Spinal Tap co-star Christopher Guest, including Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. He frequently contributes voices to animated series, including The Simpsons, Family Guy and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• October 17, 1947: Born

• 1977: Cracking Up

• 1984-1995: Saturday Night Live

• 1980: Used Cars

• 1984: This Is Spinal Tap

• 1985: Clue

• 1987: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

• 1988: Earth Girls Are Easy

• 1993: Coneheads

• 1994: Airheads

• 1995: The Brady Bunch Movie

• 1996: Waiting For Guffman

• 1997: Nothing to Lose

• 1998: Small Soldiers

• 2000: Best in Show

• 2003: A Mighty Wind

• 2005: The Producers

• 2006: For Your Consideration

• 2007: Surf's Up