Craig Anton

Summary

Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Pettus in Lizzie McGuire and Lloyd Diffy in Phil of the Future.

Craig Anton
Born
Craig Ward Anton

(1962-08-28) August 28, 1962 (age 61)
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Years active1989–present
Spouse
Lesley Gray
(m. 1994)
Children2

Early life edit

Anton was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, the eldest son of Antoinette (Akromis) and Arthur Ward Anton.[1] He has a younger brother, Brian, and two sisters, Toni and Megan. Anton graduated from Omaha Burke High School in 1980, and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1996.[citation needed]

Career edit

Anton started acting as a kid in Omaha, Nebraska and made his career as a stand-up comedian at age 17, performing in comedy clubs in 1978 while in high school. He attended the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1983 with a B.A. in Theater and English. Anton began his career as a college circuit comedian in the 1980s. In 1984, he traveled the Mediterranean and Middle East as part of an all-comedy USO tour, spending two months in Turkey, Greece, Bahrain, Italy, Israel and Spain entertaining troops. In 1985, he was named Showtime's Funniest Person in Nebraska. In the late 1980s, Anton moved to New York City and pursued some acting opportunities, then moved to Los Angeles. He currently teaches at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia.

2 Headed Dog edit

He is a member of comedy group 2 Headed Dog with comedians Jim Turner, Mark Fite, and Dave (Gruber) Allen.[citation needed]

First Time Out and MADtv edit

In the fall of 1995, Anton booked two TV pilots in Los Angeles. He was cast as Nathan in The WB sitcom First Time Out which premiered in September and was later cast on the FOX sketch comedy series MADtv in October. Anton's other show First Time Out was quickly cancelled two months after the premiere of MADtv. His most enduring character was Clorox from the "Star Trek: Deep Stain Nine" sketches. Clorox was supposed to be the main nemesis of the sketch and he was loosely based on Q from Star Trek. He impersonated Dennis Miller and Nate Richert before leaving the show in 1998 at the end of the third season.[citation needed]

Other television projects edit

Since leaving MADtv, Anton developed an extensive resume on television. He has made appearances on such television series as Mr. Show with Bob and David, Coach, Boston Legal, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The King of Queens, Ally McBeal, Lizzie McGuire, Phil of the Future, Everybody Loves Raymond, Weekends at the D.L., 2 Broke Girls, and Mad Men.[citation needed] After leaving MADtv Craig was cast as Mr. Pettus in Lizzie McGuire. After Season 1 ended Craig Anton left the show. He was eventually cast as Lloyd Diffy in Phil of the Future.

Film projects edit

Anton has appeared in such films as Mail Bonding (1995), Deliver Us From Eva (2003), The Goldfish (2003), Run Ronnie Run (2002), D-WAR (2005), and Careless (2007). He also took part in the feature film is The Mother of Invention (2010).[citation needed]

Voice acting projects edit

In 2004, Anton starred in the animated series Tom Goes to the Mayor. He provided the voice (and body) of one of the three city council members.[citation needed]

Tomorrow Show edit

Along with comedians Ron Lynch and Brendon Small, Craig hosted the Tomorrow Show, a weekly live comedy show at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles, California. Though Anton and Small are no longer actively involved with the show the two occasionally make surprise appearances including a yearly anniversary performance.[citation needed]

Personal life edit

Anton married Lesley Gray in September 1994. They have twin daughters, Delphine and Ruby. They currently live in Savannah, Georgia.[citation needed]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Ice Cream Man Short film
1995 Mail Bonding Poet
2002 Run Ronnie Run Hollywood Agent
2003 Deliver Us From Eva Theo Wilson
The Goldfish Duncan Poole
2005 D-WAR Dr. Austin
2007 Careless Officer Bill
2010 The Mother of Invention James Gilmore
2016 Saw 8 Bad Dad
2022 The Bob's Burgers Movie Mr. Dowling Voice role
TBA Bride Hard Post-production

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1995–1998 First Time Out Nathan
MADtv Various Characters Sketch Comedy
1995 Mr. Show with Bob and David Expert Truck (voice)
1996 Coach Brian
1998 Driven to Drink The Bartender
The Army Show Lt. Branford Handy
1999 Random Play Various Roles
2000 Curb Your Enthusiasm Craig
2001 Lizzie McGuire Mr. Pettus
Late Friday Himself
Ally McBeal Roger Clayton
Primetime Glick Various Characters
2001–2005 The King of Queens As Mitch in "Package Deal" (Season 3), and Neal Berger in "Awed Couple" (Season 7)
2002 Everybody Loves Raymond Neil
2002 Live From Baghdad American Hostage #2
2003 Lucky Unknown
2004 Tom Goes to the Mayor City Council Member/Various (voices)
2005 Weekends at the DL Winston Sicklebee
2006 Boston Legal Ray Richardson
2006 The Office Craig Episode: "Valentine's Day"
2004–2006 Phil of the Future Lloyd Diffy
2010 True Jackson VP Snackleberry Junction Chef
2010 Workaholics Bart
2012–2023 Bob's Burgers Mr. Dowling (voice) 4 episodes
2013 Mad Men Frank Gleason
2014 The Middle Bob Branderson
2014-2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Roger Tamblin and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Mooselager 2 episodes
2016 Walk the Prank Doug 1 episode
2022 The Girl from Plainville Samuel Sutter 2 episodes

References edit

  1. ^ "Vail Daily obituary: Artie Anton, 1939-2013 | VailDaily.com". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.

External links edit