Jonathan Lovitz is an American actor and comedian with over 35 years of experience on the big and small screen. He is perhaps best known to American audiences for his five-year stint as a cast member of the iconic Saturday Night Live between 1985 and 1990. His work on the show saw him nominated for two consecutive Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Programme. He has appeared in many films, including A League of Their Own, Happiness, and The Stepford Wives, and also has many other television credits to his name beyond SNL.
Lovitz graduated from college in 1979 with a degree in drama. He then studied film acting and joined the famous Groundlings comedy troupe. After a couple of minor roles, including providing voices for an episode of Alvin & The Chipmunks, Lovitz got his big break when he became a member of the Saturday Night Live team. Before long, he’d gone from being a broke aspiring actor to being a feted comic talent being offered film contracts worth half a million dollars. After leaving the show in the early 1990s, he did some high-profile voice acting, including various roles in The Simpsons during its classic period (including Marge’s high-school prom date, Archie Ziff) and voiced the star character of Jay Sherman in the cult animated series The Critic.
In the 21st century, Lovitz has remained hugely popular and relevant, diversifying into areas such as singing (he performed a duet with Robbie Williams on the latter’s best-selling Swing When You’re Winning album) and stand-up comedy.