Frederick Allan Moranis (/məˈrænɪs/; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, producer, songwriter and writer.

Moranis appeared in the sketch comedy series Second City Television (SCTV) in the 1980s and starred afterward in several Hollywood films, including Strange Brew (1983), Streets of Fire (1984), Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel Ghostbusters II (1989), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989, and its 1992 and 1997 sequels), Parenthood (1989), My Blue Heaven (1990), and The Flintstones (1994).

Their spoof of Hockey Night in Canada was popular, and they periodically performed it on the road, including a charity sports dinner in Sarnia, Ontario.

Both pilots starred Finkleman and Moranis in a series of irreverent sketches, including an early mockumentary sketch featuring Moranis as a Canadian movie producer, and another featuring the dubbed-in voiceovers of Nazi war criminals as they appear to be discussing their Hollywood agents and the money one can earn being interviewed on major documentary series like The World at War.

[citation needed] He became especially noted for his impressions of celebrities ranging from pop culture icons like Woody Allen, Merv Griffin, and David Brinkley[9] to somewhat lower-level stars such as comedian George Carlin[10] and musician Michael McDonald,[11] and even to the marginally notable Teri Shields (mother of Brooke).

By the time NBC ordered 90-minute programs for the U.S. in 1981 (the fourth season of SCTV overall), there had been such favourable feedback from affiliates on the McKenzies that the network requested the duo have a sketch in every show.

[12][verification needed] Bob and Doug became a pop-culture phenomenon, which led to a top-selling and Grammy-nominated album, Great White North,[13] and the 1983 movie Strange Brew, Moranis's first major film role.

The sketch aired before the debut of MTV in the United States, leading both Sound & Vision and Martin Short to dub Moranis as the creator of the video jockey.

"[14][15] After his SCTV work, and the Strange Brew and Streets of Fire movies, Moranis had a busy career in feature films that lasted over a decade, most notably Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989); Brewster's Millions (1985); Little Shop of Horrors (1986); Spaceballs (1987); Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and its 1992 and 1997 sequels; Parenthood (1989); My Blue Heaven (1990); and Barney Rubble in The Flintstones (1994).

By the mid-1990s, his only appearance in the genre was a 1993 music video, "Tomorrow's Girls" by Donald Fagen, in which he played a man married to an extraterrestrial woman.

He worked for Disney twice more (with his fellow SCTV alumnus Dave Thomas), voicing Rutt the moose in the 2003 animated film Brother Bear and its 2006 direct-to-video sequel.

In a 2004 interview, Moranis talked about his favourite kinds of films: On the last couple of movies I made—big-budget Hollywood movies—I really missed being able to create my own material.

"[20] After having declined an invitation to make a cameo appearance in 2016's Ghostbusters, Moranis clarified in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that despite his hiatus he had not, in fact, retired from acting in films, but instead had become selective about future roles.

On February 3, 2006, Moranis performed "Press Pound" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and discussed the development of his music career.

Moranis declined to voice the role of Bob, which was taken over by Dave Coulier, but remained involved in the series as an executive producer.

Proceeds from the benefit went toward caring for Jake Thomas, Dave's nephew, who suffered a spinal cord injury that has left him paralyzed from the waist down.

[26] On May 9, 2018, Moranis returned as the character Pannakin Crybaby / Lord Dark Helmet from Spaceballs in an episode of The Goldbergs, albeit as a voice.

[28] Moranis appears in the Martin Scorsese–directed Second City TV reunion documentary, titled An Afternoon with SCTV, set to premiere on Netflix.