Dana Carvey’s Kids: All About His 2 Sons
Following the tragic death of his older son Dex, the ‘Saturday Night Live’ alum released a statement to mourn his passing. Find out more about both of his kids here.
Dana Carvey is a beloved comedian to anyone who grew up on Saturday Night Live and many of his classic films. Besides his time on SNL, Dana was very well-known as Garth Algar in both Wayne’s World films, which were based on the sketch he starred in alongside Mike Myers. Since leaving SNL in 1993, Dana did take a bit of a step back from TV and movies, but he’s continued to perform stand-up comedy, and hosts a podcast while spending time with his family.
Dana has been married to his second wife Paula Zwagerman since 1983, and they had two sons Dex and Thomas. The family suffered the tragic loss of their older son Dex on Thursday, November 16. Dana shared the sad news in a statement on Instagram. Keep reading to learn more about Dex and his younger brother here.
Dex
Dex was born in 1991. Both of Dana’s sons followed in their dad’s footsteps and pursued careers in comedy. Dex had acting roles in mini-series Beyond the Comics and The Funster. He also appeared in Joe Dirt 2. He also opened for his dad when he filmed his 2016 Netflix special, Straight White Male, 60, per IMDb. He also produced the podcast series The Weird Place and worked with the venue Third Wheel Comedy, according to his Instagram bio.
Sadly, Dex died of an accidental drug overdose at 32 in November 2023. The comedian paid tribute to his son with an emotional post on Instagram. “Dex packed a lot into those 32 years. He was extremely talented at so many things–music, art, film making, comedy–and pursued all of them passionately. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Dex loved life. And when you were with him, you loved life too. He made everything fun. But most of all, he loved his family, his friends and his girlfriend, Kaylee,” he wrote. “We will miss him forever.”
Thomas
Dana and Paula welcomed their younger son Thomas in 1994. Like his older brother, he also pursued a career in comedy and also opened up for his dad at the same Netflix taping, according to IMDb. Dana spoke about watching both of his sons pursue comedy in a 2017 interview with Closer Weekly. “My favorite thing in life is when I see them land a new joke and get excited. That’s so much fun to watch,” he said.
After opening up for his dad on that special, Dana actually did joke about both of his sons and what they were like as teens in a hilarious joke detailing some of their “insane” plans for a roadtrip. “I’m so glad that my sons are in their 20s now, because they are nightmares when they are teenagers,” he said. “Teenagers are literally insane, and their plans are insane, and you have to hear them out as the parent.”