Dana Carvey’s Most Popular 'SNL' Character Is Not Church Lady or Garth

When you think of Dana Carvey, there’s probably a good chance that you’re running down the same list of SNL characters: Church Lady, Garth, his George H.W. Bush, Hans. Heck, you might even go straight to his cinematic disaster, The Master of Disguise, because I’m pretty sure Carvey in a turtle costume is permanently seared into the brains of anyone who was alive at the time.

However, according to Carvey, the performance that gets brought up the most is his “Choppin Broccoli” sketch from 1986. Now, I did a freaking double-take when I saw that date because I’m old, but I was only six when that sketch debuted. How the hell do I know exactly what song he’s talking about? That’s because Carvey featured it in his 1995 stand-up special Critics Choice, which used to air in repeats back when Comedy Central was a 24-hour comedy school full of SNL, Kids in the Hall, and SCTV episodes before venturing into MST3K and Short Attention Span Theater. Those were the days… and, yup, there’s my oldness kicking in.

Anyway, here’s Carvey explaining why he’s baffled that the sketch took off and that people still remember it. Via EW:

“‘Choppin’ Broccoli’ was one of the first laughs I ever remember getting in my life,” Carvey explained to his fellow SNL alum David Spade on a recent episode of their Fly on the Wall podcast. “I was just imitating chopping broccoli to my parents and sisters, and them being like, ‘Look at this precocious little ham.’” He then imitated how he used to voice the character as a child, and revealed, “When I hear other people do it, it makes me laugh, but as I was doing it, I’m still mystified” by the character’s success.

“It may be the thing I’m referenced to most in many ways,” Carvey added. “I don’t know what it is about it.”

“It’s so dumb and stupid, Dana,” Spade quipped. “It’s not funny at all, so it’s funny.”

Again, I’d just assume that Carvey would be most recognized for Church Lady or Garth, but “Choppin’ Broccoli” actually tracks. I remember being a teenage doofus, giggling like an idiot as kids in school endlessly imitated ’90s comedy, and “Choppin’ Broccoli” would come up as often as bits from Adam Sandler’s They’re All Gonna Laugh at You. That album was the Mt. Olympus of juvenile humor at the time, and Carvey went toe-to-toe. Long story short, I am ancient.

You can watch the original sketch below, which I did not know even existed nor that it starred Sigourney Weaver:

(Via Entertainment Weekly)