Nicholas Bakay (; born October 8, 1959) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and sports commentator. He is known as the voice of

Salem Saberhagen Salem Saberhagen is a fictional character from the American Archie Comics comic series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. Salem is an American Shorthair cat who lives with Sabrina Spellman, Hilda Spellman and Zelda Spellman in the fictional town of G ...

on ABC/The WB's ''

Sabrina the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appear ...

'', '' Sabrina: The Animated Series'', and Norbert Beaver on ''

The Angry Beavers ''The Angry Beavers'' is an American animated television series created by Mitch Schauer for Nickelodeon. The series revolves around Norbert and Daggett Beaver, two young beaver brothers who have moved out of their parents' home to become bache ...

''. He played

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

sitcom '' 'Til Death'' as well as serving as a producer of the show until it was cancelled by Fox. He is also one of the executive producers of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom '' Mom''.

Early life

Nicholas Bakay was born on October 8, 1959 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, where he attended

Nichols School Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college- preparatory day school in Buffalo, New York, United States. The average enrollment is 570 students with an average Upper School grade/class size of 98 students. The average ...

. He graduated from

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

in 1981. He has Hungarian roots (his surname means "from Baka").

Career

Bakay served as a writer of ''

'', in which he also voiced

, a witch who has been transformed into the Spellman family's pet cat for trying to take over the world. Bakay also served as a writer for '' Sabrina: The Animated Series'', also providing his voice as Salem as well. He was also the voice of Norbert on ''

''. Bakay is a lifelong sports fan. He writes a weekly column for NFL.com called "Nick Bakay's Manly House of Football", as well as occasional columns for ESPN.com and ''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year ...

''. He appears on '' SportsCenter'' on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

Wednesday and Thursday mornings during NFL season, and has frequently done segments on ''NFL Total Access'' on

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...

. Bakay also has guest hosted numerous episodes of '' Up Close'' and ''

Talk2 ''Talk2'' is a talk show hosted by Jim Rome on ESPN2 from 1993 to 1998. The show ran one hour at night. Jim Everett incident Jim Rome's show achieved the ultimate in notoriety when he welcomed Jim Everett onto the show on April 6, 1994. Jim Everett ...

'', as well as contributed to ''

Jim Rome Is Burning ''Jim Rome Is Burning'' (originally titled ''Rome Is Burning'' and often abbreviated as ''JRIB'') is a sports conversation and opinion show hosted by Jim Rome. Debuting on May 6, 2003, as ''Rome Is Burning'', it was originally a weekly show in pri ...

'' and numerous other sports shows. Early in his career he wrote the storylines for the Evil Clown Comics series which appeared in '' National Lampoon'' magazine. From 1993 to 1994, he was a writer for the comedy sketch series ''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...

'', and appeared as Stu Dunfy, the host of the fictional game show ''The Dirty Dozens''. He worked at

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

, writing and appearing on numerous shows, including ''

Night After Night with Allan Havey Allan Havey (born September 19, 1954) is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981. Overview Havey made his national debut in 1986 on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' and made many ap ...

'' and ''Sports Monster''. Beginning in 2000, Bakay worked as a producer on the

hit comedy ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

'', where he also wrote and acted in several episodes. He co-wrote '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' (2009) as well as its sequel '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2'' (2015) with ''King of Queens'' star

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...

. In 2006, Bakay created, wrote and voiced a cartoon for Comedy Central called ''

The Adventures of Baxter and McGuire ''The Adventures of Baxter and McGuire'' is an animated show created by Michael J. Weithorn and Nick Bakay for Comedy Central. The series debuted in 2006 and was part of "Web Shows". Each short chronicles the lives of Baxter and McGuire, a pair of ...

'', which was nominated for an Emmy in the "Best Broadband Comedy" category. From 2006 to 2010, Bakay served as a producer for and acted in the

comedy '' 'Til Death''. In 2013, Bakay began as a producer for the series '' Mom''. Bakay also voiced the self-help radio announcer throughout the series.

Guest appearances

Bakay has guest-starred on numerous TV sitcoms. He appeared on ''

'' in a semi-recurring role as Stu Dunfy, guest-host of the sketch " The Dirty Dozens" (and other voice work). He also appeared on the '' Seinfeld'' episode "

The Smelly Car "The Smelly Car" is the 61st episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. The episode is the 20th episode of the fourth season. It aired on April 15, 1993 on NBC. In this episode, the body odor left by a restaurant valet in Jerry's car further transfer ...

" where Bakay played Elaine's boyfriend. Bakay was seen or heard on ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...

''. In the episode " Ski Trip", Bakay played Gus, a gay truck driver attracted to Kelso. In another episode, he was the voice of Donna's journal. In "An Eric Forman Christmas", he was the voice of Santa Claus in Kelso's

Rankin-Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

-modeled

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

. Bakay had numerous recurring roles (such as Father McDaniel, Gus and miscellaneous voice work) on ''

'', which he also served as a producer and writer on. In the sitcom ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'', Bakay starred as bookstore employee Lloyd in the second seasons' tenth episode, alongside comedian

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

. He had a supporting role on two late night talk shows: ''Night After Night with Allan Havey'' and

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a stri ...

's short-lived show.

Personal life

Bakay has been married to his wife Robin, since February 20, 1994. In 2009, Bakay sold his condo home in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

for $2 million. He now lives in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Production work

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakay, Nick 1959 births Male actors from Buffalo, New York American people of Hungarian descent American male comedians American male screenwriters American male television actors American television sports announcers Television producers from New York (state) American television writers American male voice actors Kenyon College alumni Living people American male television writers Comedians from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New York (state)