Biography for
Jon Lovitz More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

21 July 1957, Tarzana, California, USA

Birth Name

Jonathan M. Lovitz

Height

5' 9¼" (1.76 m)

Trade Mark

1920s era narrative radio voice

Trivia

His "Saturday Night Live" (1975) character, Master Thespian is an imitation of a professor he had at the University of California-Irvine.

He appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care."

B.A. from University of California Irvine. [1979]

Met Phil Hartman at the Groudlings in 1984. Suggested and encouraged "Saturday Night Live" (1975) creator Lorne Michaels to hire Hartman for the show, telling Lorne, "If you think I'm good, you should see Phil. He's even better!" He and Phil helped each other get acting jobs through the rest of Phil's life.

Encouraged and was supportive with actresses Lisa Kudrow and Maeve Quinlan in pursuing acting careers.

Has a twin sister.

Is a native of Tarzana, California.

Is the only boy of 5 children.

Father was a doctor.

Father loved opera and wished he had pursued a career in it. He encouraged Jon to pursue whatever career he wanted.

Worked various jobs while pursuing an acting career. Was a waiter, worked in a clothing store, was a messenger, worked in a xerox shop, shoe store, as a hospital orderly.

Was in love with a woman older than he when he was a teenager. His heart was broken when this woman married someone else.

Was originally considered for the role of Marcus Burnette in Bad Boys (1995), with Dana Carvey as Mike Lowrey. Director Michael Bay today says it would have ruined their careers.

Hosted the MTV Movie Awards in 1995 along with Courteney Cox.

Had two guest appearances on the popular sitcom "Friends" (1994). His first appearance, as successful restaurant owner with a drug abuse problem and Phoebe's massage client Steve, in Season One was intended to be a one-time appearance, but he returned as Steve in Season Nine, set up with Rachel by Phoebe on what was an intentionally torturous blind date, In this appearance it was revealed in the eight years in between his first appearance, Steve had lost his restaurant to his addiction, was now silk screening shirts and had developed low self-esteem due to his weight gain and recent impotence.

Once worked at the New York Renaissance Faire (in Tuxedo, NY) and was almost fired for referring to himself as "the town Jew."

Is actually credited as the Author of the yellow pages. They even went as far to put a about the author page inside the book.

Began acting in plays in high school.

Sang with British pop star Robbie Williams in the song "Well, Did You Evah?" on Williams' album "Swing When You're Winning".

Penny Marshall let him live at her house when he was first starting out in show business.

Owner of the "Jon Lovitz Theater".

Personal Quotes

(To Conan O'Brien) "I heard you call me immature earlier. Well, you're just a big poop-head".

"I did Harvey Fierstein. He didn't like it. He came in to the show to complain about it. His point was that he was getting more famous as me than as him....He came in to talk about it and, watching him, I realized that I was doing him quite well. He thought I was doing a gay stereotype." - about his portrayal of Harvey Fierstein on "Saturday Night Live" (1975), and Fierstein's response to it.

At a certain point, if you work really hard and you get good and people like your work, you do deserve the fame -- but you shouldn't take it for granted.

I like getting up in front of an audience. It's fun when you go to a baseball game and the crowd is cheering you. I can't deny it. And it's very funny, too. Sometimes you're shy; you go somewhere and everyone's looking at you, so you feel a little self-conscious.

Salary

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

$500,000

Where Are They Now

(January 2006) Current Spokesman for Subway's "Eat Fresh" campaign.

(January 2008) Current Spokesman for Subway's (grilled) "Eat Steak" campaign.