SNL’s Dana Carvey Shares Sweet Memory Of His Son Dex After Confirming His Death At 32

Dana Carvey in his Netflix special Straigt, White Male, 60.
(Image credit: Michael Sparks Keegan/Netflix)

Dana Carvey, a former SNL cast member from the ‘90s, suffered a terrible tragedy on Wednesday. His 32-year-old son, Dex, passed away from an accidental drug overdose. After confirming his death, the comedian commemorated his late son through a sweet photo of the two.

It’s an unspeakable shock when a parent loses their child. Dana Carvey made sure to communicate with fans how important his son was to him in an Instagram post. Take a look below at an endearing throwback photo of the father and son duo working together:

In the photo, you can see Dana Carvey and his son were all smiles with each other, as they laughed over what it looks like writing they came up with together. The resemblance between the two is hard to ignore, and you can clearly see their loving bond. Dex followed his father’s footsteps into comedy as he opened for his dad in the comedy special Straight White Male, 60 (which you can stream with a Netflix subscription). The SNL alum and his son also co-starred in a couple of mini-series together like The Funster and Beyond the Comics. It’s beautiful that his eldest son wanted to follow the path of his talented father.

Yesterday, Dana Carvey confirmed the death of his 32-year-old son Dex on Instagram. He died from an accidental drug overdose. TMZ was the first to report the news about first responders rushing to his Los Angeles home around 10 p.m. after a call was received from his girlfriend, Kaylee. Dex was reportedly locked in the bathroom and found unresponsive. Following this tragic news, Carvey and his wife Paula posted this statement about their late son:

Last night we suffered a terrible tragedy. Our beloved son, Dex, died of an accidental drug overdose. He was 32 years old. Dex packed a lot into those 32 years. He was extremely talented at so many things — music, art, film making, comedy — and pursued all of them passionately. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Dex loved life. And when you were with him, you loved life too. He made everything fun. But most of all, he loved his family, his friends and his girlfriend, Kaylee. Dex was a beautiful person. His handmade birthday cards are a treasure. We will miss him forever. To anyone struggling with addiction of who loves someone struggling with addiction, you are in our hearts and prayers.

Many celebrities expressed their sympathies to the Carvey family, including SNL cast member Kenan Thompson, Kesha, Cary Elwes, Darrell Hammond, and more. Through looking at photos, like what the Wayne’s World star posted, fans like comedian Jim Gaffigan commented that they wanted to know more about his late son. Based on Carvey’s death confirmation post, it appeared that Dex loved life, his girlfriend Kaylee, and making handmade cards. I’m hoping that The Master of Disguise actor continues to post more photos of his son when he's ready so we can continue to get a glimpse of what the aspiring comedian was like. 

As for what Dana Carvey has been doing in his career recently, he started co-hosting a podcast series called Fly on the Wall. With former SNL co-star David Spade, the two bring former cast members and hosts onto the show to relive the memorable times everyone had together on the sketch comedy series. There were also some behind-the-scenes secrets revealed like how Carvey shut down Robin Williams’ request to be in a Church Lady sketch due to his unpredictable comedy stylings. The Emmy nominee is also one of the stars of this year’s new Netflix animated series Mulligan playing the voice of Senator Cartwright LaMurr. I’m sure during this time of grief, Carvey will continue to honor his son, making audiences laugh as Dex did when he was alive. 

While I’m sure Dana Carvey and his wife will be going through some rough times in their grief, I’d like to believe they’ll find ways to continue to be strong during this time and find ways to honor their son’s memory. My heart and everyone else's at CinemaBlend goes out to the Carvey family.

Carly Levy
Entertainment Writer

Just your average South Floridian cinephile who believes the pen is mightier than the sword.