Craig Anton

Last updated
Craig Anton
Born
Craig Ward Anton

(1962-08-28) August 28, 1962 (age 61)
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Years active1989–present
Spouse
Lesley Gray
(m. 1994)
Children2

Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Pettus in Lizzie McGuire and Lloyd Diffy in Phil of the Future .

Contents

Early life

Anton was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, the eldest son of Antoinette (Akromis) and Arthur Ward Anton. [1] He has a younger brother, Brian, and two sisters, Toni and Megan. Anton graduated from Omaha Burke High School in 1980, and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1996.[ citation needed ]

Career

Anton started acting as a kid in Omaha, Nebraska and made his career as a stand-up comedian at age 17, performing in comedy clubs in 1978 while in high school. He attended the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1983 with a B.A. in Theater and English. Anton began his career as a college circuit comedian in the 1980s. In 1984, he traveled the Mediterranean and Middle East as part of an all-comedy USO tour, spending two months in Turkey, Greece, Bahrain, Italy, Israel and Spain entertaining troops. In 1985, he was named Showtime's Funniest Person in Nebraska. In the late 1980s, Anton moved to New York City and pursued some acting opportunities, then moved to Los Angeles. He currently teaches at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia.

2 Headed Dog

He is a member of comedy group 2 Headed Dog with comedians Jim Turner, Mark Fite, and Dave (Gruber) Allen.[ citation needed ]

First Time Out and MADtv

In the fall of 1995, Anton booked two TV pilots in Los Angeles. He was cast as Nathan in The WB sitcom First Time Out which premiered in September and was later cast on the FOX sketch comedy series MADtv in October. Anton's other show First Time Out was quickly cancelled two months after the premiere of MADtv . His most enduring character was Clorox from the "Star Trek: Deep Stain Nine" sketches. Clorox was supposed to be the main nemesis of the sketch and he was loosely based on Q from Star Trek . He impersonated Dennis Miller and Nate Richert before leaving the show in 1998 at the end of the third season.[ citation needed ]

Other television projects

Since leaving MADtv , Anton developed an extensive resume on television. He has made appearances on such television series as Mr. Show with Bob and David , Coach , Boston Legal , Entourage , Curb Your Enthusiasm , The King of Queens , Ally McBeal , Lizzie McGuire , Phil of the Future , Everybody Loves Raymond , Weekends at the D.L. , 2 Broke Girls , and Mad Men .[ citation needed ] After leaving MADtv Craig was cast as Mr. Pettus in Lizzie McGuire. After Season 1 ended Craig Anton left the show. He was eventually cast as Lloyd Diffy in Phil of the Future.

Film projects

Anton has appeared in such films as Mail Bonding (1995), Deliver Us From Eva (2003), The Goldfish (2003), Run Ronnie Run (2002), D-WAR (2005), and Careless (2007). He also took part in the feature film is The Mother of Invention (2010).[ citation needed ]

Voice acting projects

In 2004, Anton starred in the animated series Tom Goes to the Mayor . He provided the voice (and body) of one of the three city council members.[ citation needed ]

Tomorrow Show

Along with comedians Ron Lynch and Brendon Small, Craig hosted the Tomorrow Show, a weekly live comedy show at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles, California. Though Anton and Small are no longer actively involved with the show the two occasionally make surprise appearances including a yearly anniversary performance.[ citation needed ]

Personal life

Anton married Lesley Gray in September 1994. They have twin daughters, Delphine and Ruby. They currently live in Savannah, Georgia.[ citation needed ]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993 Ice Cream ManShort film
1995Mail BondingPoet
2002 Run Ronnie Run Hollywood Agent
2003 Deliver Us From Eva Theo Wilson
The GoldfishDuncan Poole
2005D-WARDr. Austin
2007CarelessOfficer Bill
2010 The Mother of Invention James Gilmore
2016 Saw 8 Bad Dad
2022 The Bob's Burgers Movie Mr. DowlingVoice role
TBA Bride Hard Post-production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1995–1998 First Time Out Nathan
MADtv Various CharactersSketch Comedy
1995 Mr. Show with Bob and David Expert Truck (voice)
1996 Coach Brian
1998Driven to DrinkThe Bartender
The Army Show Lt. Branford Handy
1999Random PlayVarious Roles
2000 Curb Your Enthusiasm Craig
2001 Lizzie McGuire Mr. Pettus
Late FridayHimself
Ally McBeal Roger Clayton
Primetime Glick Various Characters
2001–2005 The King of Queens As Mitch in "Package Deal" (Season 3), and Neal Berger in "Awed Couple" (Season 7)
2002 Everybody Loves Raymond Neil
2002 Live From Baghdad American Hostage #2
2003 Lucky Unknown
2004 Tom Goes to the Mayor City Council Member/Various (voices)
2005 Weekends at the DL Winston Sicklebee
2006 Boston Legal Ray Richardson
2006 The Office CraigEpisode: "Valentine's Day"
2004–2006 Phil of the Future Lloyd Diffy
2010 True Jackson VP Snackleberry Junction Chef
2010 Workaholics Bart
2012–2023 Bob's Burgers Mr. Dowling (voice)4 episodes
2013 Mad Men Frank Gleason
2014 The Middle Bob Branderson
2014-2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Roger Tamblin and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Mooselager2 episodes
2016 Walk the Prank Doug1 episode
2022 The Girl from Plainville Samuel Sutter2 episodes

Related Research Articles

Mad TV is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine Mad, Mad TV's pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodies of popular culture and occasionally politics. Many of its sketches featured the show's cast members playing recurring original characters and doing celebrity impressions. The series premiered on Fox on October 14, 1995, and ran for 14 seasons. Its final episode aired on May 16, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horatio Sanz</span> Chilean-American actor and comedian

Horacio Sanz, better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is a Chilean-American actor and comedian. Sanz is best known for his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Borstein</span> American actress (born 1971)

Alexandrea Borstein is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for voicing Lois Griffin in the animated comedy series Family Guy (1999–present), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She gained further acclaim for starring as Susie Myerson in the comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023), which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Jones</span> American actor

Orlando Jones is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv, for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999 to 2002, and for his role as the African god Anansi on Starz's American Gods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Herman</span> American actor (born 1967)

David Herman is an American actor and comedian. He was an original cast member on MADtv from 1995 to 1997, and played Michael Bolton in Office Space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra Wilson</span> American actress

Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series Mad TV, having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced various characters on television and video games, including Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Baby Shark's Big Show!, Spitting Image, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Wolfenstein, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Halo Infinite, and Diablo IV.

Hallie Todd is an American actress. She played Penny Waters on Brothers, Jo McGuire on Lizzie McGuire, and Rhoda Markowitz on Murder, She Wrote. She also made guest appearances on many other television shows such as The Golden Girls, Highway to Heaven, Malcolm in the Middle, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

Elisabeth Caroline "Lise" Simms is an American actress, singer, designer and dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Richards (actor, born 1974)</span> American actor

Jeffrey Hanson Richards is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and impressionist. Richards was the first person to be a cast member on both FOX's MADtv and its rival sketch show, NBC's Saturday Night Live, appearing on the former in 2000, and the latter from 2001 to 2004. He is perhaps best known for his frequent SNL character "Drunk Girl".

Patrick F. Kilbane is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter best known for his three seasons as a cast member on MADtv (1997–2000), as well his memorable appearance in the 1996 "The Bizarro Jerry" episode of Seinfeld, in which he played Bizarro Kramer. Kilbane's first book, The Brain Eater's Bible: Sound Advice for the Newly Reanimated Zombie, was released on March 18, 2011.

Daniele Gaither is an American actress and comedian. Gaither is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv.

Nicole Randall Johnson is an American actress, writer and producer. Johnson is best known for her work on the sketch comedy series MADtv.

Nelson Ascencio is a Cuban-American actor and comedian. Ascencio is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv and for playing Flavius in The Hunger Games film series.

<i>Mad TV</i> season 1 Season of television series

Mad TV was an American sketch comedy series, Season 1 originally aired in the United States on the Fox Network between October 1995, and June 1996.

Gillian Vigman is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has played Jack Box's Wife in many Jack in the Box commercials, and was a recurring cast member of the sketch comedy series MADtv. Vigman also starred in the ABC comedy Sons & Daughters, and had recurring roles in the sitcoms Suburgatory and New Girl. Since 2020, she has voiced the character of Dr. T'Ana on the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taran Killam</span> American actor, comedian, and writer

Taran Hourie Killam is an American actor and comedian. Killam first garnered attention for his brief stint on the Fox comedy series MADtv during its seventh season between 2001 and 2002, followed by his wider success as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2010 to 2016. He has also appeared in other television series such as Wild ‘N Out, The Amanda Show, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, and in the main cast of Single Parents. Killam is also known for his portrayal of a teen pop star in the 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie Stuck in the Suburbs. He voiced the title character on the PBS children's cartoon series Nature Cat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Oster</span> American actor and comedian (born 1981)

Daniel Wheatley Oster is an American actor and comedian. He is most famous for being a member of Boom Chicago and a member of the MADtv cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Crane (writer)</span> American writer and actor

John Rene Crane is an American writer and actor, best known as the head writer, executive producer and occasional performer on Fox's Saturday late night sketch comedy program, MADtv, and as the Dad from Nickelodeon’s Roundhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Adomian</span> American comedian and actor

James Adomian is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist. He is best known for his work on Comedy Bang! Bang!, Chapo Trap House, Last Comic Standing, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson where he impersonated President George W. Bush until 2009, and for portraying Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Trump vs. Bernie tour. He voices Talking Ben in the Talking Tom and Friends animated series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ACME Comedy Theatre</span> Theater in Los Angeles

The ACME Comedy Theatre is an American sketch comedy and improvisational theater located near Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on La Brea near Wilshire's "Miracle Mile".

References

  1. "Vail Daily obituary: Artie Anton, 1939-2013 | VailDaily.com". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.