Denny Dillon (May 18, 1951, Cleveland, Ohio, USA) is an American actress and comedian best known for starring as Toby Pedalbee on the HBO comedy Dream On from 1990 to 1996. Dillon was first known for her stage work and was nominated for a Tony Award on Broadway. Other television credits include spending one season as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1981 and co-starring on the Fox sitcom Women in Prison. She subsequently continued to act in theater and both teaches and performs improv comedy.
Dillon was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She has lived in New York City and Los Angeles before moving to Ulster County, New York. Dillon has performed on the Broadway stage, appearing as Agnes in the 1974 revival of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury; in the 1975 revival of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth; in the 1980 stage version of Harold and Maude; and as Mickey in the 1983 Gershwin musical My One and Only, starring Tommy Tune and Twiggy, for which she received a nomination for a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical. She later appeared as a replacement cast member in the 2003 Broadway play Enchanted April. Dillon made her big screen debut in Saturday Night Fever, playing Doreen, who asks John Travolta's character, Tony, if she can wipe his forehead.
Dillon auditioned for the premiere season of the late night variety television program Saturday Night Live in 1975, and though she was passed over by producer Lorne Michaels, she performed her "Talent Night at the Convent" act during the show's third episode, broadcast October 25, 1975. When she auditioned to be a cast member for the show's sixth season in 1980, Dillon beat out Mercedes Ruehl for the final female cast member slot.
Dillon provided the voice of Meadow Morn in the 1983 animated TV special The Magic of Herself the Elf. Other television roles include the role of Judy on the 1987 TV comedy series Dr. Science and a 1988 appearance on the Night Court episode "Educating Rhonda". Dillon began her role as Toby Pedalbee, loyal assistant to Martin Tupper (Brian Benben), in the series Dream On in 1990.
She portrayed Roseanne Barr in the 1994 made-for-TV movie Roseanne: An Unauthorized Biography. Dillon performed voice work for the 2002 animated film Ice Age.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 
|
Glypto 1 | Ice Age |
| 1983 | 
|
Meadow Morn | The Special Magic of Herself the Elf |