Dana Carvey to Replace Regis? Ex-Saturday Night Live Star in Running to Replace TV Legend
Dana Carvey, the comedian whose popularity soared in the 90s with his dead-on impressions of George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot, as well as his popular characters, like the Church Lady and Garth from Wayne's World, is rumored to be taking in the running to take on a whole new role: Regis Philin's replacement on "Live! With Regis & Kelly."
The New York Post added fuel to the rumor fire when the it reported today that there is "backstage buzz " that Carvey is at the top of the list of potential replacements. However, nobody working on "Live with Regis and Kelly" has confirmed this.
If the rumors are true and Carvey replaces Philbin on the daily talk show, it will be a long-awaited return to the spotlight for the comedian, whose heart problems in the late 90's caused him to go into a semi-retirement at the height of his fame in his 40's.
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In 1998, after three having three angioplasties to unblock a coronary artery had failed, Carvey had to undergo a double bypass operation to stop the chest pains.
"I kind of thought of it as an advanced plumbing problem," Carvey told USA Today. "They bypass a bad section of rotted out pipe and reconnect using just the good sections."
However, Carvey had a serious scare when it was discovered that the doctor who performed the surgery had bypassed the wrong artery.
"It was like being in a Ripley's Believe It or Not column," says Carvey. "And finally it struck me, and I was scared and worried - mostly for my family."
Carvey eventually had the correct artery operated on and was able to recover and start working again. He sued the hospital that performed the wrong surgery for several million dollars and won. On the Larry King Show, Carvey said he donated the money to charity.
Since then, Carvey's career has been sporadic, with appearances in movies such as Little Nicky and The Master of Disguise, as well as a stand-up special in 2008.
Below are some early clips from Carvey's career.
