Terry Sweeney
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Terry Sweeney is an American artist, actor, and writer. He was a writer and cast member of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' in the 1980s, co-wrote the 1989 film ''
Shag Shag, or Shagged, or Shagger, or Shagging, or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family People Pseudonym ...
'', and has written for the television ''series
MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...
'', ''
Hype Hype (derived from hyperbole) is promotion, especially promotion consisting of exaggerated claims. Hype or The Hype may also refer to: Film and television * ''Hype'' (TV series), an American comedy television series * ''The Hype'' (TV seri ...
'', and ''
Tripping the Rift ''Tripping the Rift'' is an adult CGI science fiction comedy television series. It is based on two short animations published on the Internet by Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen. The series was produced by CineGroupe in association with the Syfy n ...
''.


Early life and career

Terry Sweeney was born in
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York and raised in
Massapequa Park, New York Massapequa Park is a village and hamlet located within the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 17,008 at the 2010 census. Areas south and east of the village bo ...
as the younger of two children to Terrence, a butcher, and Lenore Sweeney. As a child, he was bullied and found solace in books and movie musicals as well as in performing his own Broadway plays. At a young age, his interest in the performing arts grew and he became a star of the high school talent show. He graduated Farmingdale High School in 1969 and attended
Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
, where he continued his studies in Spanish and Italian, and graduated in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree.


''Saturday Night Live''

Sweeney was a regular cast member of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' (''SNL'') during that program's 1985–86 season. After college, Sweeney started out doing performance art as various drag characters at New York City venues. A rave ''New York Times'' review of "Banned in France" led to an audition at ''SNL'' for the series producer
Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...
. Sweeney, who is not related to fellow ''SNL'' alumna
Julia Sweeney Julia Anne Sweeney (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and author, who gained fame as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the film ''Stuart Little'' and voiced Brittany in ' ...
, was also a sketch writer for ''SNL'' during the early 1980s under producer
Jean Doumanian Jean Doumanian ( Karabas; born July 28, 1936) is an American stage, television and film producer. She briefly produced ''Saturday Night Live'', between November 1980 and March 1981. Early life Doumanian was born Jean (or Jeannine) Karabas, th ...
prior to being hired as a member of the cast. Sweeney was ''SNLs first openly
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
male cast member; he was out prior to being hired as a cast member. Sweeney's run on the show came at a time when there were few openly gay characters or actors on television. During his season on ''SNL'', he became known for his celebrity impersonations, particularly female impersonations of stars like
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
,
Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...
,
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
,
Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...
's mother Teri Shields, and
Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...
, as well as
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
(the only male celebrity he impersonated). His most notable recurring character was a portrayal of then-First Lady
Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...
. While at ''SNL'', Sweeney’s roles were almost exclusively gay stereotypes and exaggerated female impersonations. While hosting the show, former cast member
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
engaged in so much allegedly homophobic taunting, Sweeney described him as a "monster".


Other credits

Sweeney has written for the
FOX TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
series ''
MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...
'',
The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
's short-lived sketch comedy series ''Hype'' (and co-created), and
Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...
's ''
Tripping the Rift ''Tripping the Rift'' is an adult CGI science fiction comedy television series. It is based on two short animations published on the Internet by Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen. The series was produced by CineGroupe in association with the Syfy n ...
'', among a few others, all with his partner, Lanier Laney. Sweeney's major film credit was as the co-screenwriter for the film ''
Shag Shag, or Shagged, or Shagger, or Shagging, or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family People Pseudonym ...
'', which was released in 1989. Sweeney also performed a stand-up routine for the special ''Coming Out Party'' in 2000, which centered on his rough childhood in the 1960s, how he explored his sexuality in the 1970s, how he tried to survive the 1980s with the AIDS epidemic, conservative politics, and being open about his sexuality when he was chosen to be a cast member for ''Saturday Night Live'' (making history as the first openly gay male actor to ever appear on a network TV show); and his post-''SNL'' life, when he and Lanier Laney cared for Laney's mother, who had Alzheimer's disease and did not know her son was a homosexual. He is the author of two published books. The first, ''Nancy Reagan: It's Still My Turn'' (1990) which started as performance art piece at Highways in Santa Monica, and transferred to New York's the Actor's Playhouse Off Broadway. His second book, ''Irritable Bowels and the People Who Give You Them'' (2015), is a collection of comic essays about his life in Hollywood. In 2018 he appeared in two episodes of FX's Emmy Award-winning '' The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story'' as David Gallo.


Episodes of ''Tripping the Rift'' written by Sweeney and Laney

*"Mutilation Ball" (also written with Sy Rosen) *"Power to the Peephole" *"Android Love" *"Roswell" *"Creaturepalooza" *"Chode's Near-Death Experience" *"Six, Lies, and Videotape"


Personal life

Terry Sweeney's husband is Lanier Laney, an artist and comedy writer who also wrote for ''SNL'' in the 1985–1986 season. According to a 2000 magazine article, they first met as members of a sketch comedy troupe called the "Bess Truman Players" before joining ''SNL''. Laney and Sweeney were also writing partners for ''Saturday Night Live'' during the 1985–1986 season, the film ''
Shag Shag, or Shagged, or Shagger, or Shagging, or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family People Pseudonym ...
'', and the
Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
Channel cartoon ''Tripping the Rift''. As of 2012, the couple reside in Los Angeles and
Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Terry Living people American male actors American gay actors American gay writers American LGBT screenwriters Gay comedians American television writers American male television writers People from Queens, New York People from Massapequa Park, New York American sketch comedians Comedians from New York (state) Middlebury College alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people) American LGBT comedians