A pear-shaped, somewhat froggy-faced comedic character player, Jon Lovitz gained initial fame as a regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live". Lacking the mimetic virtuosity of some of his colleagues, Lovitz nonetheless 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. His subsequent feature work has been uneven, but Lovitz 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), and the comic played a money launderer dressed in Elvis drag for the misfire "3000 Miles to Graceland" (2001). He had other roles in lesser films, including "Rat Race" (2001) and "Good Advice" (2001), and was put to good use as Bette Midler's husband in the comic remakes 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).
Profession(s):
Actor, messenger
Sometimes Credited As:
Jonathan M Lovitz
2007 Signed a contract to appear at the Laugh Factory every Wednesday night for the rest of his life
2006 Played an eccentric billionaire in the comedy "The Benchwarmers" starring Jon Heder, David Spade and Rob Schneider
2005 Played Leo's boss, Mr. Marks in the movie musical "The Producers," based on the stage musical by Mel Brooks and starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick
2004 Starred opposite Bette Midler in the remake of ''The Stepford Wives,'' Bryan Forbes' 1975 cult classic
2001 Replaced Henry Winkler as one of the leads of the Neil Simon Broadway comedy "The Dinner Party"
2001 Appeared as one of the contestants out to win $2 million in the comedy "Rat Race", directed by Jerry Zucker
2000 Appeared in Woody Allen's comedy "Small Time Crooks"
1998 Joined cast of the NBC sitcom "NewsRadio"
1998 Acted in small role in "Happiness"
1996 Appeared in "High School High"
1992 Executive produced, created and starred in "Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special", a live comedy pilot which was aired as a Fox-TV special
1992 Offered amusing turn as a baseball scout in "A League of Their Own"
1986 Film acting debut in "The Last Resort"
1985 - 1986 Cast in a recurring role on "Foley Square", a CBS comedy set among lawyers
1984 TV acting debut in a guest role on an episode of "The Paper Chase"
1983 Voted into the Groundlings' Sunday Company; performed with them for a year
1983 Performed with Groundlings main company when they presented "Chick Hazard: Olympic Trials" at the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival
Will co-star with Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Cheri Oteri in Richard Kelly's "Southland Tales" (lensed 2005)
Was a regular performer on "Saturday Night Live"
Provided the voice for the animated sitcom "The Critic" (first on ABC, later Fox)
