Dana Carvey's Wife and Children: The Famous Comedian Stepped Away from Hollywood to Be with His Family

Following his successful six-year run on "Saturday Night Live," Dana Carvey had a movie career with a few hits ("Wayne's World") and some misses ("Trapped in Paradise"). Having started a family, the comedian decided to reassess his priorities.

In the late nineties, Dana Carvey decided to organize himself around his children, and not the other way around like most in the entertainment world, and moved to the suburbs. His sons were born while filming the respective "Wayne's World" flicks.

The comedian works with his children at his production company, and he fed off their energy when they opened for him for his Netflix special "Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60." He has been devoted to his second wife for over three decades.

Dana Carvey Was Married Twice

Dana had a fleeting marriage with his childhood sweetheart Leah from 1979 until 1980. He cheated on her with Paula Zwagerman, who he met at a San Francisco comedy club. The funnyman got engaged to his mistress a year after his divorce and married in January 1983.

The comedian said in a podcast in July 2016 that he realized his children had a "bulls-eye" on their backs.

Zwagerman has Irish ancestry and grew up in a middle-class family in Marin County, California. As young parents, the couple relocated to Marin County to live with her mother, who helped them with their two sons, instead of a nanny, which they were uncomfortable with.

Dana Carvey Stepped Away from Hollywood to Raise His Sons

In 1996, Dana experienced guilt and fatigue while trying to be with his family and film "The Dana Carvey Show." The skit comedy show was canceled after seven episodes. Following the show's demise, the comedian said corporate gigs suited his lifestyle better:

"So I could make the same money being retired as if I was a major star and yet design my own schedule with the family. It's like, 'Why should I go away for a year or deal with anything when I can make more money in stand-up than I could in television?'"

He believes two children are more than two; that is, the needs of a child succeed the needs of a single individual. The couple moved out of L.A. at the turn of the millennium. The comic teased that Zwagerman said one could not be a woman over 40 in L.A.

Dana Carvey's Sons Follow in His Steps in Comedy

Dana loves laughing with and at his children. He said, "My favorite thing in life is when I see them land a new joke and get excited." Both kids, Dex and Thomas, are aspiring comedians.

The comedian said in a podcast in July 2016 that he realized his children had a "bulls-eye" on their backs, which is why he's not ashamed to help them out. One of his boys was at an open-mic night where the flyer billed him as "Also appearing, Dana Carvey's DNA."

Dex wears many hats as a partner at Twitch, a content producer for Dana Carvey Enterprises, and an editor at Beyondthecomics.com. All these positions are in addition to his acting and stand-up work.

Comedian Fred Armisen recounted the inspiration for SNL's "Californians" sketch as a guest on Dana's podcast, "Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade," in November 2022. Armisen said that he was taken with his friend's story about his son:

"And he's just like, 'It's hard to be mad at him,' because, I think he got pulled over or something. He does this impression of his son and he goes, 'No, but, no, Dad, no, you don't,' you know (sic)?"

The "Los Espookys" star used Dana's impression of his son's Californian surfer accent as the basis for his pronunciation in the skit that spawned many more on "SNL."

The "SNL" alum contacted Dana before the sketch aired to give him a fair warning. The rest of the concept was developed by Armisen, Kristen Wiig, and other writers on the long-running NBC program.