Gary Kroeger (born April 13, 1957) is an American businessman, columnist, and actor best known for his work as a cast member on ''

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 ...

'' from 1982 to 1985, and his work on various game shows. He ran in the Democratic Congressional primary in 2016 and then for an Iowa state house seat in the 2016 election. Kroeger lost to incumbent Republican Walt Rogers by a 10,072 to 7,200 margin, 58% to 42%. Kroeger now stars in a television show called "The Gary and Kenny Show" co-starring his best friend Ken Ceizler. Less known celebrity Adam "Fletch" Kidd produces and edits the show.

Background and Personal Information

Gary Kroeger was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Kroeger attended

Northern University High School Northern University High School was a small high school in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States, run by the University of Northern Iowa. It comprised grades 9-12 of the Pk-12 Malcolm Price Laboratory School. It closed in July 2012 under controversy ...

and graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1981. He was married to Leigh Kroeger from 1997-2007, with whom he shares two sons, Christopher and Alexander. Kroeger married Shannon Alexander, a user experience designer from Massachusetts in 2017.

''Saturday Night Live''

He joined the cast of ''Saturday Night Live'' during

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 ...

's hiatus from the show, under the direction of

Dick Ebersol Duncan "Dick" Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the O ...

. During his tenure, Kroeger, who also wrote for the show, was frequently cast as young teenage kids and impersonated

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

when he was the Democratic candidate for

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

in 1984. He is probably best remembered today for a Christmas sketch in which he and fellow cast member

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

perform "Blue Christmas" as Donny and

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and p ...

. The sketch culminates with the supposed brother and sister making out with each other.

Later acting career

Kroeger left the show in 1985 when Michaels returned to the show and the entire cast was replaced. Since then he has kept a fairly low profile, appearing in only a handful of movies, including roles as a producer in

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in h ...

's 1989 Hollywood send-up '' The Big Picture''; as Reggie Mantle in 1990's '' Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again''; and in the lead and

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in the spoof film ''

A Man Called Sarge ''A Man Called Sarge'' is a 1990 American parody film, written and directed by Stuart Gillard, starring Gary Kroeger, Marc Singer, Gretchen German and introducing a young Natasha Lyonne. The humour is built on slapstick and verbal puns, in the f ...

''. Kroeger played a major role in the 1989 Murder She Wrote episode entitled "The Grand Old Lady" as a brainiac named, "Christopher 'Christy' McGinn" who ultimately solves the mystery. He has enjoyed some success as a host of television

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s, most notably revivals of ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...

'' and ''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The show began on radio as ...

''. He was also the announcer for the 2001 revival of ''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson- Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a ro ...

'' and the 2002 revival of '' Press Your Luck'' called ''

Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck ''Whammy!'' (subtitled ''The All-New ''Press Your Luck for its first season) is an American television game show that aired new episodes on Game Show Network (GSN) from April 15, 2002 to December 5, 2003. The series was produced by Fremantle Nor ...

''. He hosted a revival of the game show ''

'' in 2002 on

PAX TV Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented ente ...

. In addition, he appeared on the sitcom '' Hidden Hills'' and as a weatherman in an episode of HBO's ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televi ...

''. From 1990 to 1991, he was host of Fox's '' Comic Strip Live''. Kroeger also made a guest appearance in the episode '' Columbo: Death Hits the Jackpot'' (1991), as the murder victim. In 2000, he hosted an infomercial for

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

, which played in-store at many

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

locations. In 2002, he hosted the 26th annual Mrs. America Pageant. Kroeger is also a "veteran performer" with the Cedar Falls Community Theatre. Some of his more recent appearances include their June 2021 production of ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' in which he played the role of Sam Carmichael and their June 2022 production of '' The Fantasticks'' in which he played the role of El Gallo.

Business career

Kroeger gave up ownership of the restaurant Figaro Figaro in

Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it ...

in 2003, but reopened in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2017. The restaurant closed in 2019. He has relocated to his hometown in Iowa and can still be seen in local theater, as well as the occasional infomercial. Kroeger is a weekly columnist for the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier and also writes a blog, "Gary Has Issues". , Kroeger is creative director for Cedar Falls, Iowa-based Mudd Advertising and well as CEO of a consulting firm, Outlier Creative Solutions.

Political campaign

He announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 1st congressional district on April 6, 2015, but announced on March 2, 2016, that he was dropping his bid in order to run for the Iowa House of Representatives.

References

External links

"Gary Has Issues" website
*
"Columnists of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier" website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroeger, Gary 1957 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American male actors American advertising people American columnists American game show hosts American sketch comedians American restaurateurs Businesspeople from Iowa Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Game show announcers Iowa Democrats Living people Male actors from Iowa Northwestern University School of Communication alumni People from Cedar Falls, Iowa