Dana Carvey had 'many warm moments' with George and Barbara Bush (original) (raw)

The comedian opened up to Conan O'Brien about his relationship with the Bushes

Published on April 24, 2018 09:04AM EDT

It was a different time back when Dana Carvey was doing a weekly impression of former President George H.W. Bush on Saturday Night Live. For one, Carvey told Conan O’Brien on Monday night’s Conan, “they didn’t demonize the other side” the way President Donald Trump goes after Alec Baldwin on social media.

The comedian opened up about the impression (wink, wink) his comedic impression had on the Bushes, his relationship to the family, and all the “warm moments” they had together.

Barbara Bush died on April 17 and a funeral was held in Houston on Saturday. Bush Sr., 93, was hospitalized with an infection a day later. “I just love them and I wish the best for everybody,” Carvey said.

The actor from Master of Disguise and Netflix’s Sandy Wexler recalled how he and his wife were welcomed to the White House after the Bushes lost the election of 1992. “We really hung out with them. We really got to know them,” he said, “and they didn’t really know who we were, but Barbara was so funny. I’ve never really seen a marriage that was that effortless. They were so much fun together.”

Bush Sr., too, seemed to have “fancied himself an impressionist.” The actor noted, “He started doing a little James Cagney.”

Carvey added this wasn’t a time consumed by “scorched earth, angry politics.”

Watch Carvey’s interview with O’Brien in the video above.