Childhood & Early Life
David Michael Koechner was born on August 24, 1962, in Tipton, Missouri, USA, to Cecil Stephen Koechner and Margaret Ann. Koechner, who is of German, English, and Irish descent, was raised along with his siblings, Mark, Joe, Cecilia, Mary-Rose, and Joan.
After graduating from high school, he went to ‘Benedictine College’ where he studied political science. He then moved to Chicago where he started pursuing a career in improvisational comedy.
He studied improvisational comedy at the famous improv theater and training center ‘ImprovOlympic’ (iO Chicago) under the tutelage of well-known instructor Del P. Close. Subsequently, he joined a comedy troupe called ‘The Second City.’
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Career
David Koechner became one of the cast members of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1995. During his time at ‘Saturday Night Live,’ he became part of interesting skits, such as ‘Get Off the Shed,’ ‘Bill Brasky,’ ‘Gary Macdonald,’ and ‘Gerald 'T-Bones' Tibbons.’ He also impersonated many celebrities, including Pat Buchanan, William Philip 'Phil' Gramm, Charlie Sheen, William Oliver Stone, Burton Leon Reynolds Jr., and Michael Keller Ditka.
In 1996, he joined the sketch comedy team of the popular late-night talk show ‘Late Night with Conan O'Brien.’ While working on the set of a 1999 mockumentary titled ‘Dill Scallion,’ Koechner entered into a partnership with David 'Gruber' Allen whom he had met on the sets of ‘Saturday Night Live.’
Koechner joined Allen's comedy act ‘The Naked Trucker Show’ where he played Gerald 'T-Bones' Tibbons. The act became famous in the Hollywood improv circuit which helped Koechner land opportunities to perform on shows like ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Meanwhile, he continued playing minor roles in TV series and films like ‘Something So Right,’ ‘Mad About You,’ ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ ‘Greg the Bunny,’ ‘Out Cold,’ ‘Waking Up in Reno,’ ‘American Girl,’ and ‘A Guy Thing.’ He received his big breakthrough in 2004 when he was cast to play Champ Kind in ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.’
In 2005, he was cast to play the recurring role of Todd Packer on ‘NBC’ network's situational comedy TV series ‘The Office.’ He played the role from 2005 to 2013, appearing in 15 episodes. He made his voice acting debut in 2006 when he voiced a character named Dag in Steve Oedekerk-directed computer-animated comedy film ‘Barnyard.’
Koechner played his first leading role in the 2007 Tom Brady-directed satirical comedy film ‘The Comebacks.’ In the same year, he was also seen in films, such as ‘Wild Girls Gone,’ ‘Reno 911!: Miami,’ and ‘Balls of Fury.’ In 2008, he became part of the popular animated television series ‘American Dad!’ where he started voicing various characters.
From 2009 to 2010, he played Grady Funk in ten episodes of situational comedy series ‘Hank.’ In 2011, he played Dennis Lapman in Steven Quale-directed supernatural horror film ‘Final Destination 5.’ In the same year, he was also seen playing Vic George in a comedy film titled ‘A Good Old Fashioned Orgy.’
He played an important role in the 2012 comedy horror film ‘Piranha 3DD.’ The following year, he voiced a character named Mac Antfee in three episodes of an American-British-Irish animated television series titled ‘Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja.’ In 2013, he reprised his role as Champ Kind in ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.’
In 2015, he became part of several TV series including ‘Full Circle,’ ‘All Hail King Julien,’ ‘The Goldbergs,’ ‘Drunk History,’ and ‘Another Period.’ In the same year, he also started voicing Robert Pogrohovich in the popular animated situational comedy series ‘F is for Family.’
Koechner was cast to play Dale in the 2016 Ben Smallbone-directed romantic drama film ‘Priceless.’ In the same year, he played minor roles in television series, such as ‘Angie Tribeca,’ ‘Bajillion Dollar Propertie$,’ ‘Hidden America with Jonah Ray,’ ‘The Soul Man,’ and ‘Tween Fest.’ In 2017, he continued playing minor roles in series like ‘Bones,’ ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Future Man,’ ‘Stan Against Evil,’ and ‘Rhett and Link's Buddy System.’
In 2018, he voiced a character named Buzby in three episodes of an animated television series titled ‘Trolls: The Beat Goes On!’ He then voiced Mr. Meaner in the animated web television series ‘The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants.’ In the same year, he also voiced Pirate in the animated children's television series ‘Ask the StoryBots.’
Family & Personal Life
David Koechner’s father Cecil Stephen Koechner owned a business that manufactured turkey coops. He has two brothers and three sisters and is close to all his siblings. He is also close to fellow actors and friends, Steve Carell, Andy Richter, Will Ferrell, and Neil Flynn.
On June 27, 1998, he married actress Leigh Koechner with whom he has five children. He has the names of his children and wife tattooed on his right arm. Though he has made public appearances along with his wife, Koechner prefers keeping his family away from the limelight.
He is active on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter where he has thousands of followers. He also has a self-titled YouTube channel where he posts his comedy videos. His YouTube channel, which was created on March 9, 2010, has thousands of subscribers.
Koechner performs regularly at the ‘ImprovOlympic’ West theater and ‘Largo.’ He also has a website which provides information about his upcoming tours and events. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California along with his wife and children.
