By Annabella Ramirez

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Eugene Levy CC (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Known for portraying flustered and unconventional figures, Levy has won multiple accolades throughout his career including four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2011, and was made Companion of the Order of Canada in 2022.

Levy started his career writing and acting in the Canadian television sketch series SCTV (1976–1984), earning two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He also appeared in the films National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Splash (1984), and Multiplicity (1996). He also became known for co-writing and appearances in a string of films with Christopher Guest, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). He also appeared in the American Pie series of films.

From 2015 to 2020, he starred as Johnny Rose in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek, a comedy series that he co-created with his son and co-star Dan Levy. 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. He also received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. In 2023, he began hosting a travel documentary series The Reluctant Traveler.

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 an automobile plant. He has a brother, Fred, and sister, Barbara. His mother was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Polish Jewish parents, later moving 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 subsequently attended McMaster University. He was vice-president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film group, where he met filmmaker Ivan Reitman.

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. 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.

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