nurse. His maternal uncle, Stanley Koch, worked with scientist Allen B. DuMont to create the cathode ray tubes. His father was of Italian and German descent and his mother was of Polish ancestry. His father's surname was originally Caroselli but it was changed to Carell in the 1950s. Carell was raised Roman Catholic and was educated at Nashoba Brooks School, The Fenn School, and Middlesex School. He played ice hockey and lacrosse while in high school. He played the fife, performing with other members of his family, and later joined a reenacting group portraying the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot. He attributed his interest in history to this, earning a degree in the subject from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in 1984. While at Denison, Carell was a member of Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe, and was a goalie on the school's Big Red hockey team for four years. He also spent time as a disc jockey under the name "Sapphire Steve Carell" at WDUB, the campus radio station. Career Early work Carell stated that he worked as a USPS mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts, but quit after seven months because his boss told him he was not very good at the job and needed to be faster. Early in his performing career, Carell acted onstage in a touring children's theater company, later in the comedy musical Knat Scatt Private Eye, and in a television commercial for the restaurant chain Brown's Chicken in 1989. The Dana Carvey Show (1996) In 1991, Carell performed with Chicago troupe The Second City where Stephen Colbert was his understudy for a time. Carell made his film debut in a minor role in Curly Sue. In spring 1996 he was a cast member of The Dana Carvey Show, a short-lived sketch comedy program on ABC. Along with fellow cast member Colbert, Carell provided the voice of Gary, half of The Ambiguously Gay Duo, the Robert Smigel-produced animated short which continued on Saturday Night Live later that year. While the program lasted only seven episodes, The Dana Carvey Show has since been credited with forging Carell's career. He starred in a few short-lived television series, including Come to Papa and Over the Top. He has made numerous guest appearances, including in "Funny Girl," an episode of Just Shoot Me! Additional screen credits include Brad Hall's short-lived situation comedy Watching Ellie (20022003)