Michael John McKean was born on 17 October 1947, in New York City, USA to Ruth, a librarian, and Gilbert McKean, a co-founder of Decca Records, of Irish, English and Scottish descent. He is an actor, comedian, writer, composer and musician, but probably best known for his roles in the series “Laverne & Shirley” and “Better Call Saul”, and in the films “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” and “A Mighty Wind”.
So just how wealthy is Michael McKean? Sources state that McKean’s net worth reaches $4.5 million, as of early 2017, accumulated through his involvement in the entertainment industry which began in the early ‘70s.
Michael McKean Net Worth $4.5 million
McKean grew up in Sea Cliff, New York, then attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he befriended actor David Lander, with whom he performed in the comedy group The Credibility Gap. In 1976 the duo was cast in the hit sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” as Lenny and Squiggy, soon becoming a national sensation. They even released an album, “Lenny and the Squigtones”, in 1979, containing the hit single “Foreign Legion of Love”. Although originally hired as a writer for the sitcom, McKean spent seven years starring in it, with his performance as Lenny earning him enormous popularity, and considerably adding to his net worth.
McKean then landed numerous roles during the ’80s, both in film and television. He starred as heavy metal musician David St. Hubbins in Christopher Guest‘s 1984 mockumentary comedy film “This Is Spinal Tap”, which he also co-wrote. His other notable film roles of the time were in the comedies “Used Cars”, “Clue” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. He also made numerous television guest appearances, all contributing to his rising popularity and to his wealth as well.
In the early ’90 McKean starred as Tom Smithson in the sitcom “Grand”, and as Gibby Fiske in the sitcom “Dream On”. He went on to guest star in series such as “The Simpsons”, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, “Friends” and “Star Trek: Voyager”, and had many recurring roles, including in the series “Secret Service Guy”, “Tracey Takes On”, “Maggie Winters” and “The X-Files”. He also served as a musical guest, host, and cast member of the “Saturday Night Live” show.
As for films, McKean’s notable parts in the ’90s were in “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”, “Coneheads”, “Radioland Murders”, “The Brady Bunch Movie” and “Mystery, Alaska”, to name a few. Having his hand in numerous and diverse projects additionally improved MsKean’s net worth.
In the following decade, he continued his collaboration with Guest, appearing in his ensemble comedies “Best in Show”, “For Your Consideration” and “A Mighty Wind”, co-writing several songs for the latter film, including the Grammy-award winning “A Mighty Wind”. He also had a starring role as Harlan in the 2008 hit comedy “Adventures of Power”.
In the meantime, the actor was also extremely active on television. Aside from numerous television guest appearances, he had recurring roles in series including “The Huntress”, “Law & Order”, “Primetime Glick”, “Justice League”, “Smallville” and “Family Tree”. As of 2015, he plays Chuck McGill in the popular crime drama series “Better Call Saul”.
McKean has also been involved in various stage productions, starring in the Broadway revivals of “The Pajama Game”, “The Homecoming”, “Superior Donuts”, “Our Town” and “The Best Man”, being forced to leave the latter project after he was hit by a car, breaking his leg. Regardless, all contributed to his net worth.
The actor has done much voice-over work as well, providing his voice for the films “Small Soldiers”, “Dr. Dolittle 2” and “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns”, as well as for series such as “Dinosaurs”, “Jungle Cubs”, “101 Dalmatians: The Series” and “Oswald”.
The variety of film, television, stage and voice performances has enabled McKean to achieve the status of a star, and to amass considerable net worth.
In his personal life, McKean was married to Susan Russel from 1970 to 1993; the couple has two children. As of 1999, he has been married to actress Annette O’Toole, with whom he co-starred in several projects.
The actor has been involved in philanthropy too; in 2010 he won the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Tournament on Jeopardy!, with $1 million going to the charity International Myeloma Foundation.
