Comedian Dana Carvey and his wife, Paula Zwagerman, are mourning the death of their son Dex Carvey, who they said died Wednesday night of an accidental overdose.
“Last night we suffered a terrible tragedy,” the couple posted in a statement to Carvey’s X account on Thursday afternoon. “Our beloved son, Dex, died of an accidental drug overdose.”
A representative for Carvey confirmed the authenticity of the post to The Times on Thursday afternoon.
“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,” they continued in the statement.
Carvey — “Wayne’s World” star and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member — and Zwagerman described their son as a “beautiful person” and someone who “loved life.”
“And when you were with him, you loved life too,” the statement read. The couple said they treasured his handmade birthday cards. “He made everything fun. But most of all, he loved his family; his friends and his girlfriend, Kaylee … We will miss him forever.”
The couple ended their statement by acknowledging others who are “struggling with addiction or who loves someone struggling with addiction.”
Carvey and Zwagerman married in 1983 and welcomed Dex in 1991. They had a second child, Thomas Carvey, in 1993. Both of Carvey’s children have followed in his footsteps, pursuing a career in comedy, starting with stand-up. Dex most recently collaborated with his father and brother on the podcast series “The Weird Place,” which was launched with Conan O’Brien’s company, Team Coco.