Dana Carvey has returned to work following the death of his son Dex Carvey in November. Dex, 32, died from an accidental drug overdose, which Carvey and his wife Paula Zwagerman announced in a statement on Instagram. This week, Carvey rejoined David Spade for their Fly on the Wall podcast and took the opportunity to reflect on his grief.
In the episode, titled “Welcome Back Dana!,” Carvey thanked his fans for their ongoing support. “If you’re listening to our podcast, you probably know about my family’s loss,” Carvey said during the show’s opening. “I just wanted to say that the amount of outpouring online and emailing and people I still haven’t been able to call back is incredible.”
He continued, “I thought about this over the holidays and decided to come back to the podcast because I think, you know, it’s a long day when you’re not working and you get in your head. And I think it’s going to be a great break, and I think it’s really cool to laugh.”
Spade told Carvey that “there was so much goodwill out there that was going through me to tell you.” He added, “Even Mrs. Farley, Chris’ mom, wrote a letter for me to give to you.”
Carvey replied that while he appreciates the support, he’s not sure there’s much anyone can do for him while he grieves with his family. “It’s me and my wife and our son’s private journey,” he explained. “We’re all together. We do a lot of fun things. We hike, go to church, you just want to be sure that you keep moving.”
He noted that he felt “riffing” with Spade and being back on the podcast would be positive as he continues to deal with his grief. “I’m kind of on the pain train,” Carvey said. “You don’t know how long you’re going to be on it or when it will stop or when it will get better. In the meantime, all this kind of stuff is very healthy.”
Carvey stepped back from the podcast following Dex’s death last year. In the meantime, Spade has recorded episodes with special guests, including Dan Aykroyd, David Byrne, and Michael McKean.
Before his death, Dex followed his father into comedy and opened for his dad’s 2016 Netflix special, Straight White Male. In 2022, Carvey and his sons released The Weird Place, a sci-fi comedy podcast-adventure produced by Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco.
