‘Saturday Night Live’ celebrates 50 years with comedy, music and show’s many, many famous friends
As “Saturday Night Live” turns 50, some of the show’s biggest names – including Seth Meyers and Jason Sudeikis – name their favorite sketches from the iconic comedy show. (Feb. 14)
Amy Poehler says she “grew up” with “SNL” and she’s proud to be a part of its legacy.
Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter duetted on Simon’s song “Homeward Bound” and five-decade “Saturday Night Live” luminary Steve Martin delivered the monologue to open the a 50th anniversary special celebrating the sketch institution that was overflowing with famous former cast members, superstar hosts and other A-list guests.
The 83-year-old Simon has been essential to “SNL” since its earliest episodes in 1975, and performed on the first show after the 9/11 attacks. He was joined by the 25-year-old pop sensation of the moment. He told her he sang it with on the show in 1976.
“I was not born then,” Carpenter said, getting a laugh. “And neither were my parents,” she added, getting a bigger laugh.
Lil Wayne and Miley Cyrus were among the night’s other musical guests, though the show’s musical legacy also had its own night with a Radio City Music Hall concert on Friday.
“SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration” aired live from New York, of course, on NBC and Peacock. The pop culture juggernaut has launched the careers of generations of comedians including Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, who all appeared in early sketches.
And the evening included epic cameos that included Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson and Keith Richards.
Martin, one of the shows most prolific hosts and guests since the first season in 1975, tried to keep it current in the monologue even on a backward-looking night.
Martin said when the show’s creator Lorne Michaels only told him he’d be doing the monologue, “I was actually vacationing on a friend’s boat down on the Gulf of Steve Martin.”
He was joined by former “SNL” luminaries and frequent hosts Martin Short and John Mulaney, who looked at the star-studded crowd full of former hosts in the same Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza that has been the show’s longtime home.
“As I look around, I see some of the most difficult people I have ever met in my entire life,” Mulaney said. “Over the course of 50 years, 894 people have hosted ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and it amazes me that only two of them have committed murder.”
Later, on the night’s “Weekend Update,” anchor Colin Jost said there are so many former hosts and musical guests that wanted to see the show that many had to be seated in a neighboring studio and some had to watch “from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn” as a photo of Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared.
Martin took a jab at the always-difficult-to-wrangle Bill Murray in his monologue.
“We wanted to make sure that Bill would be here tonight,” Martin said, “so we didn’t invite him.”
Murray appeared on “Weekend Update” to rank the show’s anchors since they began with Chevy Chase in 1975. He poked at the whiteness of the group by first ranking its Black anchors, a list of just one, current co-anchor Michael Che.
The extravaganza came after months of celebrations of “Saturday Night Live,” which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, with an original cast that included John Belushi, Chase and Gilda Radner.
It’s become appointment television over the years as the show has skewered presidents, politics and pop culture and been a platform for the biggest musical stars of the moment.
“It is a honor and a thrill to be hosting weekend update for the 50th and if it was up to our president final season of SNL,” Jost said.
Alec Baldwin, the show’s most frequent host with 17 stints, appeared to introduce an evening of commercial parodies, seven months after his trial was halted and an involuntary manslaughter charge was dropped in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Aubrey Plaza made one of her first public appearances since the January death of her husband when she introduced Cyrus and Howard’s performance.
The 87-year-old Nicholson was once a constant in the front rows of the Oscars and Los Angeles Laker games, but is rarely seen out anymore. He appeared to introduce his “Anger Management” co-star Adam Sandler, who sang in his signature style about the show’s history. He gave a roll-call of cast members, giving special attention to several who have died, including his friends Chris Farley and MacDonald along with Radner, Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman.
We got “five years of Jan Hooks and Gilda” he sang, “and eight of Hartman the glue.” He ended with, six years of our boy Farley, five of our buddy Norm.”
The show didn’t have a formal “in memoriam” section, though it pretended to when 10-time host Tom Hanks came out somberly to mourn “SNL characters and sketches that have aged horribly.”
A montage began with the late Belushi’s “Samurai” character. The word “Yikes” appeared on screen in a sketch that included Mike Myers and a young Macaulay Culkin in a bathtub. A “body shaming” label appeared over the beloved sketch of Farley and the late Patrick Swayze as Chippendale’s dancers, and “slut shaming” appeared over one of the show’s earliest, catchphrases, Dan Aykroyd saying “Jane, you ignorant slut” to Jane Curtin.
The oldest former cast member, 88-year-old Garrett Morris, appeared to introduce a film that showed the whole original cast.
“I had no idea y’all that I would be required to do so many reunion shows,” he said.
The first sketch featured a mash-up of former cast members and hosts. Fred Armisen hosted a mock version of “The Lawrence Welk Show” that featured Ferrell as Robert Goulet.
Former hosts Kim Kardashian and Scarlett Johansson — Jost’s wife — gave an updated version of the elegant singing Maharelle Sisters with former cast members Ana Gasteyer and Wiig, who provided the traditional punchline “And I’m Dooneese” with a balding head and creepy, tiny doll arms.
It was followed by “Black Jeopardy,” hosted by the show’s longest running (and still current) cast member, Kenan Thompson, who called the game show the only one “where every single viewer fully understood Kendrick’s halftime performance.”
It showcased many of the show’s most prominent Black cast members through the years including Tracy Morgan and Murphy, doing a Morgan impression.
“Big Dog gonna make some big money!” Murphy-as-Morgan shouted.
Streep walked on as the mother of McKinnon’s constant alien abductee Miss Rafferty, with the same spread legs and vulgar manner.
Streep’s fellow all-time-great actor Robert De Niro paired with Rachel Dratch in a “Debbie Downer” sketch with its traditional trombone accompaniment.
Former cast member Amy Poehler and former lead writer Tina Fey, who partnered as “Weekend Update” anchors and Golden Globes hosts, led a Q-and-A with questions from the absurdly A-list audience.
Ryan Reynolds stood, and they asked him how it’s going.
“Great, why?” he said defensively. “What have you heard?”
Reynolds and wife Blake Lively, sitting next to him, have been locked in a heated legal and media battle with her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Adam Driver, Cher, Jon Hamm, Bad Bunny, Jason Momoa, Peyton Manning and Keith Richards were also featured in the bit.
“I left a scarf here in 1988, I’m kind of wondering if anyone has seen it around,” the Rolling Stone asked.
“Look it’s simply not here OK!” Zach Galifianakis said, a scarf tied to his head.
Poehler also paired with Rudolph for a revival of their mock talk show “Bronx Beat,” that featured Mike Myers as his mother-in-law-inspired, Streisand-loving character “Linda Richman.”
“Look at you, both of you, you look like buttah,” Myers said.
Writer John Carucci contributed to this report.
For more coverage of the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” visit: https://apnews.com/hub/saturday-night-live
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Steve Martin’s opening sets tone for ‘SNL50,’ ‘Update’ keeps it rolling
Cameos and memorials
Sketches and bits jam-packed with former cast and hosts
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SNL 50 : Give Miley Cyrus All the Flowers For This Red Carpet Look
‘SNL50’ concert blitzes New York with Cher, Lady Gaga, Nirvana in musical celebration
NEW YORK – If you’re going to throw a musical party to celebrate a half-century of existence, why not enlist Lady Gaga? And Cher. And Ms. Lauryn Hill. And Jack White. And Miley Cyrus. And Backstreet Boys. And so very many more stars.
Such was the wealth of talent that paraded into Radio City Music Hall Friday night for “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert,” a nearly 3½-hour extravaganza that played to, as host Jimmy Fallon cracked, “thousands here (in New York) and hundreds at home.” That would be on Peacock, which streamed the concert commemorating five decades of “Saturday Night Live,” well, live.
Outside the venerated venue, fans lined the surrounding blocks, screaming at every black SUV that stopped to deliver another star (Amy Schumer was greeted with cheers).
The packed theater of about 6,000 included “SNL” legends (Chevy Chase, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler) and a sleigh full of celebrities, some with ties to the show (Paul Rudd, Jon Hamm, Tom Hanks, Martin Short, Meryl Streep) and some there for the entertainment (Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano).
The musical marathon raced through genres from rock, reggaeton, hip-hop, country and pop thanks to Arcade Fire, Bad Bunny, Snoop Dogg, Jelly Roll and Robyn.
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Though occasionally imbued with a ramshackle spirit – as is the “SNL” way – the show also recalled some of its most enduring nonperformance musical entries in the pop culture encyclopedia.
Bill Murray returned as “Nick Valentine,” the ruffle-shirted lounge singer, accompanied by Paul Shaffer and a trio of the show’s most musically gifted cast members (Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph and Cecily Strong) singing “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Plus, Rudolph teamed with Fred Armisen for their spot-on impersonations of Beyoncé and Prince.
But the most welcome homecomings were Andy Samberg and a needling Lady Gaga jousting on a faux-boy-band masterpiece and Gasteyer and Will Ferrell resurrecting puritanical music teachers Bobbi and Marty Culp. The endearing couple shared their special renditions of Sam Smith’s “Unholy,” Cardi B’s “WAP,” and most brilliantly, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” stretching out the “A minor” line with exaggerated, innocent glee.
The blitz of performances rotated among three stages: a central one boasting the impressively chameleonic Roots, who backed the majority of performers; and two small stages crafted to mimic the arced train station entries as seen on the “SNL” set.
As for the performances, here are some highlights:
More:Iconic ‘SNL’ musical performances: Adele, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Nirvana
A few artists opted to pay tribute to deceased musicians who had performed on “SNL,” and Vedder was the first to conjure an homage. He credibly inhabited Tom Petty’s distinctive nasal tone on “The Waiting,” but it was his remembrance of show cast members who have died – Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman, Chris Farley and John Belushi among them – that resonated.
If the response to the fivesome stepping out of stage doors and onto the set is an indicator, expect to see their newly announced Sphere residency continue far beyond this summer. In their black outfits tailored to suit their personalities – a cowboy hat for AJ McLean, backward baseball cap for Brian Littrell, trench coat for Kevin Richardson, leather-ish jacket for Nick Carter and streamlined look for Howie Dorough – the guys barely had to nudge before a full singalong of “I Want it That Way” erupted.
Following a personalized (and, of course, hilarious) introduction from Kate McKinnon, Carlile and her band strummed the recognizable chords of “The Joke” amid sparkly aqua lighting. This is Carlile’s most potent song and her visceral vocals complemented by the background sounds of SistaStrings, brought pathos to the show. Her final note elicited a deserved roar from the crowd as Carlile humbly smiled.
Following a rollicking performance of “I Will Wait,” the band welcomed veteran lap steel guitarist Jerry Douglas to join them on a reverent rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer.” The very New York song has a history with the show: Simon & Garfunkel played the ballad on the third episode of “SNL” and Simon chose it to open the show’s return after 9/11 in 2001. Marcus Mumford and the band captured its smoky beauty with grace.
This unusual but inspired pair turned the lights down low for the song Raitt dedicated to “anyone with a hurting heart.” Over Martin’s delicate playing, her aching rasp resonated to the rafters, a melancholy shudder that still sounded comforting. As they exited the stage, Martin wrapped Raitt in a warm embrace.
Even though Nirvana reunited a couple of weeks ago at the FireAid benefit concert in Los Angeles with gutsy female rockers handling lead vocals, it was still smile-worthy to hear them introduced as Post Nirvana. Yes, that would be Post Malone, who convincingly simulated Kurt Cobain’s phlegmy yowls, rocking the mic as Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic thrashed and crashed around him.
We would really like to see any other 78-year-old don mesh tights and a high-cut leotard, stutter step across a stage and belt an anthem with the same cheeky confidence as when it was recorded more than 35 years ago. Go ahead, we’re waiting. That’s what we thought. There is only one Cher. End of discussion.
As soon as this sleek award-winning ballad begins, audience members start craning their necks to see which male singer or actor might stroll out for Bradley Cooper’s part. Lady Gaga demonstrated, yet again, she is perfectly capable of a heavy lift all by herself. In her black gown and headdress, Gaga played her black baby grand piano, her stunning voice ringing pure. As she exited the stage, she quickly touched hands with nearly every audience member situated in the pits flanking the main stage, a star until the end.
