Kevin Nealon spent nine years as a cast member of "Saturday Night Live." During his time working "live from New York," he played such characters as Mister Subliminal, the Austrian muscleman Franz who was ready to "pump you up," and Mister No Depth Perception.
He’s a very successful stand-up comedian and has acted in Adam Sandler movies and on the Showtime series, "Weeds."
But Nealon is also a very talented caricature artist. His new book, "I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame," is filled with caricatures of celebrities and friends like Chris Farley, David Letterman and even some people that he doesn't know. Nealon shares a story for every caricature and why he was inspired to create it.
Nealon told Wisconsin Public Radio's "BETA" that he became interested in drawing early on, when he was about 8 years old. He had seen a sketch someone drew on a napkin at a café that they left on the table.
"It was just a simple face, like a big nose and a hat and a big chin and puffy collagen type lips," he said. "And I was so amused by that."
So he copied the drawing.
"I wouldn't trace it, but I was copying it," he said. "And for some reason, that stuck in my head. And ever since then I just started drawing and started drawing. Doodling a lot, doodling, but never kind of committed to it like I am now."
Inspiring caricatures
He used to love MAD Magazine, especially Mort Drucker's masterful caricatures of celebrities that appeared in the TV and movie parodies. Nealon was also an avid fan of Al Hirschfeld, "Broadway's King of Caricature."
"And I had two caricatures of my parents hanging on the wall in my bedroom," he recalled. Those were drawn by a Parisian caricature artist, each framed separately and "were amazing."
"I've never seen anything that great," he said. "And every night I lay down, and I looked at those things, and I think subconsciously I was studying them and looking at how he exaggerated everything."
When he started posting his caricatures on social media, he didn't hear much in response from those inspiring the drawings.
"I never really heard back from anybody I sketched or did a painting of maybe because they didn't follow me until recently," Nealon said.
When he did start hearing from famous fans, the responses were mostly positive.
"(David) Letterman loved his, Brad Paisley loved his, the (Chris) Farley camp liked his ...There's just like one or two that were a little sensitive about it. And there was one where they said, 'Under no terms can you use this photograph for promoting your book.'"
So how does Nealon go about creating a caricature?
First, he picks his character: "It could be someone who interests me or someone who has an interesting face or a great reference photo that I found," he said.
A lot of his drawings are done on digital tablets, and he adds paint to the images later on. He very loosely outlines his character's face, and exaggerates it. Next, he moves to the eyes.
"I like to get the eyes first because they're kind of indicative of the rest of the face, because I do think you see the soul in people's eyes," he said. "And from there, I just try to pick the features that are the most outstanding. You know, that are a little exaggerated to begin with. And then I just push that and make them more exaggerated."
There is a downside to creating caricatures though, and it's that wherever Nealon goes, he feels like he's walking past funhouse mirrors. He sees people's exaggerated features, and they look like how he would draw them.
"And it's a little scary," he said.
Johnny Carson
Nealon is especially pleased with his Johnny Carson caricature because it reminds him of making his debut appearance on "The Tonight Show" — a moment that for him outshines other career highs.
"It was just such a dream come true for me. And then I got a panel with Johnny, which was a very rare thing for a comic on their first outing. So that was the highlight of my career to this day, more so than 'Saturday Night Live' or 'Weeds' or any Adam Sandler film or whatever I've done," Nealon said.
He was extremely excited after he passed the audition, and it came time to do the show. He was standing behind the curtain and heard his introduction: "Would you welcome Kevin Nealon. Kevin," he recalled Carson saying.
"I came out for a rousing round of applause, and Johnny Carson was over on my right with Ed McMahon," Nealon said. "And as I was walking out to my mark on the shiny black floor, I forgot my act. I could not even think of my act. And I got to my spot and the audience is still applauding, and I'm still forgetting. And when the last clap ended, thank God I remembered my starting point."
Chris Farley
Nealon's caricature of the late, great Chris Farley is especially meaningful, as the two worked together on "SNL" for five years.
Nealon remembers Farley's talent well, and also how much he desired being liked and getting the laughs.
"He was always trying to be funny, and it was unfortunate that he couldn't just relax and realize that he was enough on his own," he said. "He didn't have to constantly get approval. And also he was a train wreck. It wasn't a surprise what happened to him. In fact, he wanted to be just like John Belushi because he's from Chicago. And unfortunately, he did become just like Belushi. They both died at 33."
Nealon said Farley was the only person who ever came close to making him break character on "SNL" during the famous Chippendales dancers sketch featuring Patrick Swayze.
"I never broke character in that show except this one time, I almost did. But I didn't. Every time I looked up from the clipboard to see him dancing — the belly sloshing around and the stretch marks, I just had to keep looking down at my clipboard. It was so challenging to get through that sketch."
Howard Stern
Nealon is a big Howard Stern fan, so it's no surprise that his caricature of Stern is one of the most compelling in Nealon's book.
Nealon said about eight years ago he decided to finally face his fears by allowing Stern to interview him.
"I noticed that Howard Stern's interviewing technique changed over the years, and he seemed to be a little more relaxed and much more confident and secure in himself," he said. "And so I went on there, and I was prepared for any kind of question. But he was very respectful, and we had a great interview, and we got laughs. And I was floating on cloud nine after that."
But there was one question that Stern did ask Nealon that was similar to his earlier style of interviewing, in which he'd catch guests off guard by asking surprising and, at times, salacious questions. It was a question about Nealon dating fellow "SNL" cast member Jan Hooks.
"He asked me if I had ever gotten into Jan Hooks' pants, and I said, 'Yes, I did. And they were very, very tight on me.'"