Walk of Fame Star Honoring Eugene Levy Unveiled

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Friday honoring Eugene Levy for a television career in which he has received 13 Emmy nominations as an actor, writer and producer, winning four times.

Longtime castmate Catherine O'Hara and Levy's daughter Sarah Levy, a castmate on "Schitt's Creek," were among those joining him at the ceremony at 7080 Hollywood Blvd., just east of La Brea Avenue.

"Getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is about as far from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as you can get," he said. "My hometown, Hamilton, was a big steel town when I was growing up. And if you did not want to spend your life in the steel mills or working in the scrap metal business or selling suits in one of Hamilton's fine haberdasheries, you had to get an education and become a doctor or a dentist or a lawyer or an engineer or an accountant. But nobody went into the entertainment business. It just didn't happen in Hamilton in the 1960s.

But unfortunately that's when I got hooked on this business, 1961, when I performed for the first time on stage at Central High," Levy said. "It was a production of `The Taming of the Shrew,' Shakespeare's `The Taming of the Shrew,' and I played the tailor. And it was a small part. I only had one scene, but I remember getting a few laughs in that scene that I'm sure Shakespeare had not intended. But even then the sound of audience laughter had a big appeal for me. So cutting to the chase here, that's how I spent the next 50-plus years, working in comedy playing comedy characters. How rewarding was that? A life spent making people laugh."

The star is the 2,773rd since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.

The ceremony coincided with Friday's release of the first two episodes of the second season of "The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy," the Apple TV+ travel series Levy hosts and is among the executive producers.

Levy received a star on the Toronto-based Canada's Walk of Fame in 2006.

Born Dec. 17, 1946, in Hamilton, Ontario, Levy launched his career with his portrayal of Jesus in the 1972 Toronto production of "Godspell," whose cast also included Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Martin Short and Dave Thomas, with Paul Shaffer as the musical director.

When the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City began a Toronto company in 1974, Levy and O'Hara were part of its first cast. It branched out to television in 1976 with the sketch comedy series "Second City Television," with a cast consisting of Levy, Martin, O'Hara, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Harold Ramis and Thomas, who also received writing credits.

"Second City Television," also known as "Second City TV," "SCTV Network 90," "SCTV Network" and "SCTV Channel," ran on Canadian television from 1976-84, on NBC from 1981-83 and Cinemax in the 1983-84 season.

During its NBC run, "SCTV Network" dominated the nominations for the outstanding writing in a variety or music program Emmy category, with nine of a possible 10 nominations and victories both seasons, with Levy being part of the teams responsible for all nine nominations.

Levy won the outstanding lead actor in a comedy series Emmy in 2020 for his portrayal of video store chain magnate Johnny Rose, whose family loses its fortune after being defrauded by its business manager in "Schitt's Creek," the 2015-20 Canadian Broadcasting Corp. series he created with his son Daniel which aired on Pop in the United States.

"Schitt's Creek's" victory for outstanding comedy series also gave Levy a producing Emmy.

Levy's movie career is best known for his collaborations with writer- director Christopher Guest, co-writing and co-starring in "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind" and "For Your Consideration."

Levy portrayed the father of Jason Biggs' character in "American Pie" and its sequels "American Pie 2," "American Wedding " and "American Reunion."

Levy appeared with Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride," "Father of the Bride Part II," "Bringing Down the House" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2."

Levy's other film credits include "Splash," "Armed and Dangerous," "Multiplicity," "Club Paradise" and "Serendipity."

Levy shared a Grammy with Guest and Michael McKean in 2004 for best song written for a motion picture, television or other visual media for the title song for "A Mighty Wind," also titled, "A Mighty Wind."