Terry Sweeney

Last updated

Terry Sweeney
Born
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater Middlebury College
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actor
  • writer
SpouseLanier Laney

Terry Sweeney is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He was a writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, co-wrote the 1989 film Shag , and has written for the television series MADtv , Hype , and Tripping the Rift .

Contents

Early life

Terry Sweeney was born in Queens, New York and raised in Massapequa Park, New York as the younger of two children to Terrence, a butcher, and Lenore Sweeney. [1] As a child, he was bullied and found solace in books and movie musicals as well as in performing his own plays. [1] At a young age, his interest in the performing arts grew and he became a star of the high school talent show. [2] He graduated Farmingdale High School in 1969 and attended Middlebury College, where he continued his studies in Spanish and Italian, and graduated in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree. [1]

Career

Saturday Night Live

Sweeney began as a sketch writer for Saturday Night Live (SNL) during the early 1980s under producer Jean Doumanian. After college, Sweeney started doing performance art as various drag characters at New York City venues. A rave New York Times review of "Banned in France" [3] led to an audition at SNL for the series producer Lorne Michaels. [1] He became a regular cast member of during the program's 1985–86 season.

Sweeney was not only SNL's first openly gay male cast member, but also the first on any network commercial-based television. [4] Sweeney had chosen to inform NBC about his sexuality, believing it was important to be open during the AIDs epidemic. Despite fearing he would be in violation of NBC's moral clauses, Sweeney was met with support by Michaels and remained on the crew. [5]

While at SNL, the roles Sweeney was given were almost exclusively gay stereotypes and exaggerated female impersonations. [6] He became known for his celebrity impersonations, particularly female impersonations of stars like Diana Ross, [7] Patti LaBelle, [7] Joan Collins, Brooke Shields's mother Teri Shields, and Joan Rivers, [7] as well as Ted Kennedy [7] (the only male celebrity he impersonated). His most notable recurring character was a portrayal of then-First Lady Nancy Reagan. [8] [9]

While hosting the show, former cast member Chevy Chase engaged in so much allegedly homophobic taunting, Sweeney described him as a "monster". [2] [4] The incident was subject to Chase's 2026 documentary special, I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not , where Chase denied the incident ever occurring. Sweeney rejected offers to participate in the documentary, however issued a statement after it's airing, calling Chase an "ass". [10] [11]

Other credits

Sweeney has written for the FOX TV series MADtv , [12] The WB's short-lived sketch comedy series Hype (and co-created), [13] and Sci Fi Channel's Tripping the Rift , [12] among a few others, all with his partner, Lanier Laney. Sweeney's major film credit was as the co-screenwriter for the film Shag , which was released in 1989. [14]

Sweeney performed a stand-up routine for the special Coming Out Party in 2000, which centered on his rough childhood, exploring his sexuality, and surviving the AIDS epidemic, conservative politics, and being openly gay on Saturday Night Live. He also focused on 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. [15]

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.

Personal life

Terry Sweeney's husband is Lanier Laney, an artist and comedy writer who also wrote for SNL in the 1985–1986 season. [12] According to a 2000 magazine article, they first met as members of a sketch comedy troupe called the "Bess Truman Players" before joining SNL. [16] Laney and Sweeney were also writing partners for Saturday Night Live during the 1985–1986 season, the film Shag , and the Syfy Channel cartoon Tripping the Rift.

As of 2012, the couple reside in Los Angeles and Beaufort, South Carolina. [2]

Filmography

As writer
YearTitleNotes
1980-1986 Saturday Night Live 31 episodes
1987 Love at Stake
1988 Shag
1997-2000 Mad TV 75 episodes
2000-2001 Hype 5 episodes; creator
2004-2007 Tripping the Rift 7 episodes
2008 Tripping the Rift: The Movie
As actor
YearTitleRoleNotes
1981-1986 Saturday Night Live Various characters18 episodes
1994 Something Wilder ChuckEpisode: "Gotta Dance"
1995 Seinfeld KeithEpisode: "The Switch"
Platypus Man AlanEpisode: "Dying to Live"
Magic Island Funny Face
1996 Family Matters Snooty Ticket AgentEpisode: "Eau de Love"
1999 Pros & Cons Decorator
2003 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Heart CuratorEpisode: "Spellmanian Slip"
2014 Baby Daddy HenryEpisode: "All Aboard the Love Train"
2018 American Crime Story David Gallo2 episodes
2019 The Politican Buddy BroidyEpisode: "The Assassination of Payton Hobart"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hutchings, David (June 2, 1986). "Terry Sweeney Opens Some Eyes, and Maybe a Few Minds, as Saturday Night Live's First Lady". people.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Wright, Megh (April 12, 2012). "Saturday Night's Children: Terry Sweeney (1985-1986)". splitsider.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019.
  3. ↑ New York Times, July 26, 1983, by Stephen Holden
  4. 1 2 Shales, Tom; Miller, James Andrew (2002), Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, Back Bay, p. 316, ISBN   0-316-73565-5
  5. ↑ Reynolds, Daniel. "Before Kate and Bowen: SNL's Terry Sweeney Reflects on Being the First | Out.com". www.out.com. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Terry Sweeney, the First Open Gay on Network TV, Dishes for Days".
  7. 1 2 3 4 "COMEDY NEWS & NOTES". Daily News of Los Angeles. February 9, 1990. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  8. ↑ Roush, Matt (June 15, 1987). "Sweeney will drag Nancy along to 'The Late Show'". USA Today. Retrieved October 15, 2012.[ dead link ]
  9. ↑ Dyess-Nugent, Phil (September 19, 2012). "Distilling 4 decades of Saturday Night Live down to just 10 episodes". The A.V. Club . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ Jensen, Erin. "Terry Sweeney doubles down on 'rotten' Chevy Chase after 'SNL' fiasco". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  11. ↑ Abramovitch, Seth (December 30, 2025). "'SNL' Alum Terry Sweeney Breaks Silence on Chevy Chase CNN Doc Controversy: "He's So Rotten"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 Hartinger, Brent (November 21, 2010). "Ask the Flying Monkey: Why Is "Steel Magnolias" Fabulous? (Or IS It?)". afterelton.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  13. ↑ Out Magazine, September 2000, p. 62
  14. ↑ Holden, Stephen (July 21, 1989). "Movie Review - Shag The Movie (1988)". nytimes.com. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  15. ↑ Vary, Adam B. (October 14, 2003). "I'll laugh if I want to". The Advocate. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  16. ↑ Goodridge, Mike (October 24, 2000). "Believe the hype". The Advocate. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
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