Michael McKean Struck by Car and Breaks His Leg, and a Look at His Memorable Roles

Yikes! Those Manhattan streets can be rough! Just ask actor Michael McKean, who was struck by a car in New York City earlier this week. According to McKean's spokesperson, the veteran actor and comedian was taken to St. Luke's Hospital immediately following the accident, where he is said to be in stable condition, according to the NYPD.

According to McKean's rep, the actor suffered a broken a leg, but nothing else serious. Audiences have seen McKean's work in everything from television to films, most notably in a series of improvisational films starring McKean's co-starring Michael's good friends Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer. He's currently starring in a Gore Vidal play on Broadway, but no word on whether an understudy will play the role while her recovers. Here's a look at some of McKean's most memorable roles.

Lenny on "Laverne & Shirley" - Though the role originated on another 1970s-era sitcom, "Happy Days," for seven years he played Lenny, one half of the greasy, conniving pair of friends Lenny and Squiggy. Audiences loved how flabbergasted Lenny could make the titular characters through his schemes and pestering. According to the show, Lenny was also the 89th person in line to become the king of Poland.

David St. Hubbins in "This is Spinal Tap" - It's probably McKean's most recognizable, quotable, and best loved performance. As the lead singer and guitarist in the faux band Spinal Tap, David is every bit the vein and self-obsessed front man you'd expect from a band with songs like "Tonight I'm Going to Rock You Tonight" and "Big Bottom." To this day, the performances are so believable that many people incorrectly assume that they were real people in an actual band.

Larry Dittmeyer in "The Brady Bunch Movie" - What makes McKean so fantastic is that he can play characters that are nice or nasty, depending on what the role calls for. As the Brady family's next door neighbor, Dittmeyer isn't bowled-over by their simplistic ways; he's annoyed by them. That annoyance allows him to be mean and manipulative to the heroes of the story and the audience can actually sympathize with him a little bit, even when he's especially nasty to little Cindy Brady.

Jerry Palter in "A Mighty Wind" - As with "This is Spinal Tap," this film gave Michael a chance to show that he's got quite a range of gifts as a performer. Playing another musician in a group with Shearer and Guest, the twist this time is that they are The Folksman, a trio of folk singers who wanted more commercial success than they got in their day, but who still remained true to the art form. Any time you put those three on camera together you will get comedy gold, and this film was no exception.

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Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles