Legendary comedian Dana Carvey announced on Thursday that his oldest son Dex had died of an accidental drug overdose. Dex was 32 years old.
Carvey, a longtime regular on “Saturday Night Live,” shared the heartbreaking news in an Instagram Story — which he then copied and posted on X as well.
— Dana Carvey (@danacarvey) November 16, 2023
“Last night we suffered a terrible tragedy,” Carvey wrote. “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,” he continued. “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,” Carvey concluded, adding a few words of encouragement to others who were dealing with the pain of addiction — either themselves or those who were close to them: “To anyone struggling with addiction or who loves someone struggling with addiction, you are in our hearts and prayers.”
Carvey went on to share a couple of photos of his son, captioning one, “F*** the tabloids. This is my boy.”
“Dex and me working together. What a joy,” he captioned another.
Dex and me working together. What a joy. pic.twitter.com/i7CXfpbSUg
— Dana Carvey (@danacarvey) November 17, 2023
Entertainment site TMZ reported that Dex’s girlfriend called first responders from a Los Angeles home around 10 p.m Pacific Time on Wednesday, and when they arrived, they found him locked in a bathroom. He was unresponsive at the time, and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Dex had worked alongside his father in recent years, opening for him with a short comedy set at the beginning of Carvey’s 2016 Netflix special, “Straight White Male.”
Prayers for the Carvey family. Very sad.