| Michael Mckean |
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Michael McKean (born October 17 , 1947 ) is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician, best known for his portrayal of Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski on the sitcom '' Laverne And Shirley ''; as one of the members of Spinal Tap ; and for various appearances in several popular TV series and films. Early career McKean began his career as part of the comedy group The Credibility Gap with Harry Shearer and David Lander but his breakthrough came in 1976 when he joined the cast of ''Laverne and Shirley'', paired with David Lander, who played Squiggy. McKean directed one episode, and the characters became something of a phenomenon, even releasing an album as ''Lenny and the Squigtones'' in 1979 , which featured a young Christopher Guest on guitar (credited as ''Nigel Tufnel'', the name Guest would use a few years later as part of the spoof Rock Band , Spinal Tap ). McKean also played his character in an episode of '' Happy Days ''. After leaving ''Laverne and Shirley'' in 1982 , McKean played David St. Hubbins in the cult spoof documentary movie '' This Is Spinal Tap '' with both Guest and Shearer, and appeared in the Soap Opera spoof '' Young Doctors In Love ''. Film and television McKean quickly became a recognisable name in film and television, with appearances in films such as '''' and '' Caroline In The City ''. Having already appeared as a musical guest and then host of '' Saturday Night Live '', McKean joined the cast in 1994 . During this time, he also released a video follow up to Spinal Tap, and playing Mr. Dittmeyer in '' The Brady Bunch Movie ''. After leaving ''Saturday Night Live'', McKean spent a lot of time doing children's fare, voicing various TV shows and movies. In 1999 , with two children from a previous marriage, McKean married Annette O'Toole . Recent career In 1997 , he played the lead voice role in Computer Game '' Zork Grand Inquisitor '', as Dalboz Of Gurth . His more recent films have included '' Teaching Mrs. Tingle '' ( 1999 ), '' Mystery, Alaska '' (1999), '' Best In Show '' ( 2000 ) (in which he reunited with Christopher Guest), '' Little Nicky '' (2000), '' The Guru '' ( 2002 ) and '' And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself '' ( 2003 ). Recent TV guest appearances include '''' that was never aired on ABC but was included on the VHS and DVD versions of the series. In 1998 , he guest starred in a two-part episode of '' The X-Files '' called "Dreamland" in which his character, Morris Fletcher, switched bodies with Fox Mulder . The character was a success, and reappeared in 1999's ''Three of a Kind'', an episode which focused on the recurring characters of The Lone Gunmen . The character appeared on their short-lived Spin-off series in 2001 , and then returned to ''The X-Files'' in its final season for an episode called "Jump the Shark". In 2003 , he guest starred on '' Smallville '', the Superman Prequel on which his wife starred as Martha Kent . McKean played Perry White , who - in the Superman universe - ultimately becomes Clark Kent's boss. In 2003, he appeared in the Christopher Guest comedy '' A Mighty Wind ''. Along with O'Toole, McKean had written a love song '' A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow '' which was then featured in the film and won the Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for best original song. In the film, the 60s -style Folk song was performed by '' SCTV '' alums Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy . He was on Broadway in a production of '' Hairspray '' in 2004, and is apparently writing his own Musical with O'Toole. He is currently co-starring as Hines in a revival of '' The Pajama Game '' with Harry Connick, Jr. at the American Airlines Theatre. Partial filmography
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