Dana Carvey returns to work after son's sudden death: 'I'm on the pain train'

Dana Carvey is back at work for the first time since the unexpected death of his son, Dex.

Carvey returned to his Fly on the Wall podcast with David Spade for Wednesday's episode, his first appearance on the show since Dex's death in November from an accidental overdose at age 32. Carvey thanked fans for the deluge of support his family has received in the time he was away.

"If you're listening to our podcast, you probably know about my family's loss," an emotional Carvey said as the show opened. "I just wanted to say that the amount of outpouring online and emailing and people I still haven't been able to call back is incredible."

Carvey continued, "I thought about this over the holidays and decided to come back to the podcast because I think, you know, it's a long day when you're not working and you get in your head. And I think it's going to be a great break, and I think it's really cool to laugh."

Carvey announced Dex's death in an Instagram post on Nov. 18. "Last night we suffered a terrible tragedy," Carvey wrote. "Our beloved son, Dex, died of an accidental drug overdose. He was 32 years old. Dex packed a lot into those 32 years. He was extremely talented at so many things — music, art, filmmaking; comedy — and pursued all of them passionately."

The outpouring of support the family received after Dex's death included Colin Jost holding up a sign for Carvey and his wife, Paula Zwagerman, at the end of a November Saturday Night Live episode that said, "We love you Dana and Paula." And Spade revealed it also included a letter from a beloved fellow SNL star's mother.

"There was so much goodwill out there that was going through me to tell you," Spade told Carvey on the podcast. "Even Mrs. Farley, Chris' mom, wrote a letter for me to give to you."

"It's very sweet," Carvey said of the support, while noting there's not much anyone can do for him as his family grieves. 

"It's me and my wife and our son's private journey. We're all together. We do a lot of fun things," he said. "We hike, go to church, you just want to be sure that you keep moving."

In the family's initial statement following Dex's death, they added a note of solidarity for "anyone struggling with addiction or who loves someone struggling with addiction, you are in our hearts and prayers."

Since Carvey stepped back from work to grieve, Fly on the Wall aired previously recorded and banked interviews with special guests such as Dan Aykroyd, David Byrne, and Michael McKean with Spade doing solo intros while his cohost was away. This week's new episode saw the pair reteamed and catching up sans guest.

Carvey said that "riffing" with Spade and doing the podcast will be "healthy" as he recovers. "I'm kind of on the pain train," he said. "You don't know how long you're going to be on it or when it will stop or when it will get better. In the meantime, all this kind of stuff is very healthy."

The SNL alums announced that they're also starting a spinoff podcast called Super Fly, which will include video of the pair working on new comedy bits and impressions.

Listen to Carvey's return on Fly on the Wall below.

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