Gary Kroeger

Gary Kroeger (born April 13, 1957) is an American actor best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985, and his work on various game shows. He ran in the Democratic Congressional primary in 2016 and then for an Iowa state house seat in the 2016 election. Kroeger was defeated by incumbent Republican Walt Rogers, with a 10,072 to 7,200 margin, 58% to 42%.

Career
Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduating from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michael's hiatus from the show, under the direction of Dick Ebersol. During his tenure, Kroeger, who also wrote for the show, was frequently cast as young teenage kids and impersonated Walter Mondale when he was the Democratic candidate for US President in 1984. He is probably best remembered today for a Christmas sketch in which he and fellow cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus perform "Blue Christmas" as Donny and Marie Osmond. The sketch culminates with the supposed brother and sister making out with each other.

Kroeger left the show after the summer of 1985 when Lorne Michaels returned to the show an he entire cast was replaced. In the time since he has kept a very low profile, appearing in only a handful of movies, including roles as a producer in Christopher Guest's 1989 Hollywood send-up The Big Picture; as Reggie Mantle on 1990s Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again and in the lead and title role on the spoof film A Man Called Sarge.

He has enjoyed some success as a host of television game shows, most notably revivals of The Newlywed Game and Beat the Clock. He was also the announcer for the 2001 revival of Card Sharks and the 2002 revival of Press Your Luck called ''Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck''. He hosted a short-lived revival of the game show Beat the Clock in 2002 on PAX TV (later i: Independent Television, now ION). In addition, he appeared on the sitcom Hidden Hills and as a weatherman in an episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. From 1990 to 1991, he was host of Fox's Comic Strip Live.

Kroeger also made a guest appearance in the episode Columbo: Death Hits the Jackpot (1991) as the murder victim. In 2000, he hosted an infomercial for DirecTV, which played in-store at many Best Buy locations. In 2002, he hosted the 26th annual Miss America pageant.

Kroeger gave up ownership of the restaurant Figaro Figaro in Simi Valley, California in 2003, but reopened in Cedar Falls, Iowa in December 2017. The restaurant closed in 2019. He has relocated to his hometown in Iowa and can still be seen in local theater, as well as the occasional infomercial. Kroeger is currently a weekly columnist for the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier and also runs an occasional blog called "Gary Has Issues".

He is now a creative director for Cedar Falls, Iowa-based Mudd Advertising and well as CEO of a consulting firm, Outlier Creative Solutions.

He announced his candidacy for the US House of Representatives from Iowa's 1st congressional district on April 6, 2015 but announced on March 2, 2016 that he was dropping his bid in order to run for the Iowa House of Representatives.

Business Career
Kroeger gave up ownership of the restaurant Figaro Figaro in Simi Valley, California in 2003 but reopened in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 2017. The restaurant closed in 2019. Kroeger has relocated to his hometown in Iowa and can still be seen in local theater as well as the occasional infomercial. Kroeger is a weekly columnist for the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier and also writes a blog called "Gary Has Issues".

As of 2013, Kroeger is creative director for Cedar Falls, Iowa-based Mudd Advertising and well as CEO of a consulting firm, Outlier Creative Solutions.

Personal Life
Kroeger was married to Leigh Kroeger from 1997 until 2007 with whom he shares two sons named Christopher and Alexander. Ten years later, Kroeger married Shannon Alexander, a user experience manager from Massachusetts since 2017.

Goodson-Todman show hosted
Beat the Clock (2002-2003)

Goodson-Todman show announced
Card Sharks (2001-2002)

Link
Official Website