EUGENE LEVY (Jimmy Murtaugh) is a Second City alumnus and a favorite of film and TV audiences for over thirty years. As a writer, director and much respected comedian, Levy has developed a following that has cemented him as a cult-comedy icon.
Most recently, Levy starred in “The Man” opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and in “Bringing Down the House,” alongside Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. Levy recently completed work on the upcoming animated features “Curious George” and “Over the Hedge.”
In the mid-‘70s, after two years as a part of the celebrated Second City comedy troupe, Levy, along with fellow troupe members John Candy and Joe Flaherty, moved from Toronto to California to try their luck in the U.S.. Their idea for a television series about a low-budget television station blossomed into “Second City TV.” Ironically the show brought Levy and his friends back to Toronto. The show developed a loyal cult following in the U.S. After “SCTV” ended its initial run in 1981, NBC brought the show back in an extended version entitled “SCTV Network 90,” which ran until 1983. In addition to being one of the program’s most favored players, Levy won two Emmy awards as a member of the show's writing staff.
In 1989, Levy directed a special for Martin Short. His feature directorial debut came in 1992 with the John Candy/Jim Belushi comedy “Once upon a Crime.” In 1996, Levy scored a bigger breakthrough when he and Christopher Guest wrote a screenplay for a ‘mockumentary’ about a small town theater troupe. “Waiting for Guffman” became a hit and gave Levy a meaty comic role as stage-struck dentist Allan Pearl.
In 1999, Levy had another high-profile success with the blockbuster hit “American Pie,” in which he played the understanding but terminally non-hip father of hormonally-charged teenager Jim (Jason Biggs). Levy reprised the role in the 2001 sequel “American Pie 2” and again in 2003’s “American Wedding.” In 2000, Levy and Guest teamed up again for the hit comedy “Best in Show,” for which the two received a Best Screenplay nomination from the Writers Guild of America.
Levy and Guest went on to co-write and star in the hysterical 2003 mockumentary “A Mighty Wind,” a parody about '60s folk musicians who reunite for a tribute concert several years after their heyday.
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