Terry Sweeney is an American artist, actor, and writer. He was a writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, co-wrote the 1989 film Shag, and has written for the television series MADtv, Hype, and Tripping the Rift. Early life and career Terry Sweeney was born in Queens, New York and raised in Massapequa Park, New York as the younger of two children to Terrence, a butcher, and Lenore Sweeney. As a child, he was bullied and found solace in books and movie musicals as well as in performing his own Broadway plays. At a young age, his interest in the performing arts grew and he became a star of the high school talent show. He graduated Farmingdale High School in 1969 and attended Middlebury College, where he continued his studies in Spanish and Italian, and graduated in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree. Saturday Night Live Sweeney was a regular cast member of Saturday Night Live (SNL) during that program's 1985–86 season. After college, Sweeney started out doing performance art as various drag characters at New York City venues. A rave New York Times review of "Banned in France" led to an audition at SNL for the series producer Lorne Michaels. Sweeney, who is not related to fellow SNL alumna Julia Sweeney, was also a sketch writer for SNL during the early 1980s under producer Jean Doumanian prior to being hired as a member of the cast. Sweeney was SNL'''s first openly gay male cast member; he was out prior to being hired as a cast member. Sweeney's run on the show came at a time when there were few openly gay characters or actors on television. During his season on SNL, he became known for his celebrity impersonations, particularly female impersonations of stars like Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, Joan Collins, Brooke Shields's mother Teri Shields, and Joan Rivers, as well as Ted Kennedy (the only male celebrity he impersonated). His most notable recurring character was a portrayal of then-First Lady Nancy Reagan. While at SNL, Sweeney’s roles were almost exclusively gay stereotypes and exaggerated female impersonations. While hosting the show, former cast member Chevy Chase engaged in so much allegedly homophobic taunting, Sweeney described him as a "monster". Other credits Sweeney has written for the FOX TV series MADtv, The WB's short-lived sketch comedy series Hype (and co-created), and Sci Fi Channel's Tripping the