Turn it Up to 11! This Is Spinal Tap

Michael McKean Before Spinal Tap

Michael McKean was born in October of 1947 in New York City. He graduated high school in 1965 and had always had an interest in music and performance. In 1967, he even became a member of the baroque pop band, The Left Banke, playing on the band’s single, Ivy, Ivy.

David Lander and Michael McKean from the tv show Laverne & Shirley perform onstage.

Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images

He then went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, studying alongside David Lander, whom he would soon work with as Lenny and Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley. These musical characters became really popular, helping McKean become a big name in comedy. It was around this time that he also met Christopher Guest, who played guitar on the Lenny and the Squigtones album, released in 1979.