"But nooooo!" The John Belushi Memorial Thread For SNL Players

[Spartan Girl]

Since we are now allowed to have more SNL threads for this forum than we did on TWOP, I was thinking we could start various discussion topics about some of the past cast members, living and dead, so that we can pay tribute to some of the late greats like Phil Hartman, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley...so but because he was the first to go, I thought I'd start with John Belushi.

 

His sketches were always hilarious: The Hulk in Superman's housewarming party, The Samurai, Blues Brothers, the Bees, and especially the Weekend Update rants.  But looking back at the first four seasons, there were some sketches that unintentionally foreshadowed his fate.  There was the classic "Don't Look Back in Anger" skit, but one that was even creepier was this backstage cold opening where he joked that he planned to be dead by thirty.  Gave me chills.

 

I do love reading about him.  By all accounts, underneath the drugs and whatever faults he had, there was a good guy.  I hope the upcoming biopic with Emile Hirsch gives him the respect he deserves.  We do not need a repeat of that godawful Wired.

[Princess Sparkle]

Unfortunately I'm at work, so I can't link to the sketch on Hulu.  (Why that is blocked but Yahoo Screen isn't, I will never know), but I think my all-time favorite Belushi sketch is the Samurai Hotel one with Richard Pryor.  Just the end line of "Well, I can dig where you're comin' from.. I'll take these bags up to the room.." is hysterical to me.

[annzeepark914]

I have a foggy memory of a sketch in which Belushi played The Thing That Wouldn't Leave.  The scene opened with people mingling at a party. Then they start leaving, saying their goodnights, etc.  One guest remains on the sofa.  The hosts are exhausted but they sit down on either side of him and make pleasant chit-chat but include broader & broader hints that the evening's over: hint--time to call it a night, etc.  I'm not sure if I've got the exact title of this episode but it was something like the thing that wouldn't leave.  He also played Gilda's husband in several sketches as a Long Island married couple. Then there was the sketch in which he played an immigrant taking a lesson in English from Chevy Chase in which Chase's character suddenly keels over & dies. Of course, after parroting all the English words so robotically, the immigrant is so committed to learning that he too keels over & dies.  I think that was in the first SNL show back in 1975.

[Spartan Girl]

Anyone else hoping that Robin Williams is having a clean yet kick-ass party with Belushi in the afterlife right now?

[vb68]

I have a feeling they are cracking all the Angels up right now!  :) 

[vb68]

RIP  Don Pardo

 

You will be missed.

 

ETA:  I guess this video of when Don turned 90 only works on youtube.

 

Here's another.

 

 

Edited August 19, 2014 by vb68

[alynch]

Jan Hooks died.

[VCRTracking]

Now watching this is going to be even more sad.

 

Love is a Dream w Jan and Phil Hartman:

 

http://www.frequency.com/video/in-time-for-valentines-day-love-is-dream/140078178/-/5-7937

 

and Brenda the Waitress with Alec Baldwin is still brilliant:

https://screen.yahoo.com/brenda-waitress-000000407.html

Edited October 9, 2014 by VCRTracking

[A Boston Gal]

I gasped out loud on the subway when I saw this flash across my phone...Jan Hooks was my absolute favorite female cast member of all time. IMHO, there was nothing she couldn't do. I am at a loss for words, except to extend my sympathies to her other fans, friends and family.

[vb68]

This is awful.  Absolutely awful.  I was such a fan and talked about it many times over at TWOP and now here. 

 

In my mind she was the most underrated cast member of all time.  She was everything Phil Hartman was, and I feel she could rival Darrell Hammond as the best impressionist.

 

I knew she had been in bad health for years and years but had hoped she would come back and do something on the show.

 

What a talent.

 

RIP.

Edited October 9, 2014 by vb68

[ajsnaves]

I wonder if they will change the Saturday's "Vintage" to one that highlights her.  It was supposed to be Alec Baldwin/Paul McCartney from 1993.  Maybe Alec Baldwin/ B-52's from 1990 with "The Diner".

[nyxy]

Rest in Peace, funny lady. You will be missed.

[Bees]

My mom called me to tell me about it (I was busy cooking dinner) and man, I am so beside myself right now. She was my favorite female SNL cast member of all time and easily the most underrated. I like to think that she and Phil are up there putting one hell of a comedy sketch together. 

 

Man, this sucks...

[Janimo]

Aw, jeez......

Ms. Hooks, you will be missed. :'(

[peeayebee]

I, too, gasped when I saw the headline on Yahoo. Only 57! She was so so good. I hope Saturday's Vintage show will be highlights of her performances.

[Fisher King]

You said it well, vb68.  I loved Jan so much.  I remember seeing her on Bill Tush's show here in Atlanta many years ago, before SNL.  I could not have been more pleased to see her get national recognition.  She made me hurt from laughing so hard. 

 

RIP, Jan

[vb68]

Here's one of my favorite sketches with Jan as Bette Davis.

[ajsnaves]

One of my favorites Barbara and Nancy.

 

I had been looking for this one recently, they must have just put it up.

[nowandlater]

Click here to listen to Kevin Nealon talk about dating Jan Hooks when they both audtioned for SNL..

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2014 by nowandlater

[VCRTracking]

Damn they looked hot.

 

More classic sketches:

 

The People's Court where Jan's occupation is "barfly":

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/peoples-court-000000848.html

 

The 1988 Presidential debate with Jan as Diane Sawyer:

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/george-bush-debate-000000832.html

 

Jan and Phil as Hillary and Bill Clinton with Dan Aykroyd as Bob Dole:

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/dole-clinton-cold-open-000000740.html?query=hillary+bill+snl

 

As Ann-Margaret in the "Waikiki Hockey" sketch with host Wayne Gretzky:

http://waikikihockey.blogspot.com/2008/07/waikiki-hockey-hall-of-fame.html

Edited October 10, 2014 by VCRTracking

[peeayebee]

Thanks for sharing those clips. Jan was amazing. (I also loved Jon Lovitz, and Dan Ackroyd was fantastic as Dole.)

[VCRTracking]

Three more.

 

Phil and Jan as Donald and Ivana Trump:

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/trump-divorce-cold-opening-000000571.html

 

'Donahue' with Phil Hartman as Donahue and Jan as one of the guests:

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/donahue-exploited-women-000000557.html?query=donahue

 

And the classic "Sinatra Group" with Phil as Frank and Jan as Sinead(Sigh-nayd) O'Connor:

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/sinatra-group-000000236.html?query=sinatra%20group

 

People think this was from SNL but it's actually the short lived "Dana Carvey Show" from 1995:

 

Edited October 10, 2014 by VCRTracking

[Spartan Girl]

I'm so sad about Jan Hooks.  She was one of the funniest ladies on SNL.

Now watching this is going to be even more sad.

 

Love is a Dream w Jan and Phil Hartman:

 

 

God, I wept buckets when I first saw that.  I really hope she met up with Phil Hartman in the afterlife and they're doing funny stuff with John, Chris, and Gilda.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Spartan Girl

[vb68]

The quality of the video isn't fantastic, but it's still watchable.

 

Here's  The Sweeney Sisters opening the 1988 Emmy awards.  I always remember it.  It's like a time capsule now.  Micheal J Fox had just gotten married.  I also think Mary Tyler Moore enjoyed her tribute as she later did a sketch as the oldest sister when she hosted.

[Fisher King]

I have that same Dana Carvey/Jan Hooks clip - along with most of the short-lived season - on VHS that I recorded when it aired!

[Babyfoot]

The People's Court skit was one of my favorite sketches ever on SNL. One of the best lines, and best line delivery ever, was when Kevin Nealon as Doug Llewelyn told Jan Hooks as Barfly that she looked too young to be Vonda/Rosanna Arquette's mother: "Why, thank you, but I am 33 years old."

Edited October 10, 2014 by Babyfoot

[vb68]

Nora Dunn posted on her Facebook page -

 

"It was Jan Hooks who came up with the idea for The Sweeney Sisters. On the spot while we were shooting a commercial parody for Saturday Night Live. It came like a minor explosion, as most of her ideas did, and she delivered the concept and our names in a matter of seconds. Then she started belting out medleys of classic swing songs. There was no way I could keep up with her. She was a seasoned improvisor who never credited herself as a writer and at the heart of her matter she was a genuine actress. Saturday Night Live wasn't summer camp. It wasn't fun until and unless you were in front of the camera doing a bit you loved. And I loved nothing as I loved being a Sweeney Sister. In character Jan and I knew exactly who were without discussion. It happened on its own. As Liz and Candy we shared an uncomplicated bond and an enduring sisterly love. The fact that they became a hit was secondary to the joy of being them. We opened the Emmy's in 1987 and back stage we decided to chat with George Will and Sam Donaldson in character. They shunned us as if we were two backstage barflies trying to slut it up with a couple of genuine prime time newsmen. No one enjoyed something like that more than Jan Hooks. She did have stage fright, but once in front of the camera, she carried the show. It was our costume designer, Pam Peterson, who found our lounge gowns and it became part of the gag that we wore them in every single sketch. I don't know where those dresses are now, but they should be in the Smithsonian. In our finest sketch, we performed with Mary Tyler Moore, who was the one and only third Sweeney sister.

I'm not ready to accept that Jan died, at 57. That's not fair. But neither is life. It's sorrowful, and there isn't one comedian worth her weight in salt if she doesn't understand that. No matter how long we are here, it's not long enough. But I always thought I'd see Jan again. I knew she wasn't well, but we always think things will get better. It takes a long time, a long history, to know that the best things, the best moments in life, are gone in what seems like a flash. She and I had our best moments together on television, and sometimes late at night in our offices where we were talking and not writing, and sometimes out in a so-so tavern in midtown Manhattan while we were drinking too much. She and I spent an evening with George Harrison in Lorne's office one night, drinking wine and playing records and listening to one of the Beatles, who was engaging and prolific, I remember her saying afterwards, "Did that really happen?" And I hear myself saying that now, as I read this piece. Did it?"

.

[ParadoxLost]

Here's one of my favorite sketches with Jan as Bette Davis.

 

I've always loved this one too.  Watch her at 3:20 (on the time remaining version of the counter- why are there two versions of the clock?).  For a second you think she's going to break but really she's got this grin like the cat that got the canary and you can almost hear her thinking maniacally 'Yes [audience] I've got you now' and from there she starts really playing up that joke of coming in and out of the pause and FF.

[ParadoxLost]

I wonder if they will change the Saturday's "Vintage" to one that highlights her.  It was supposed to be Alec Baldwin/Paul McCartney from 1993.  Maybe Alec Baldwin/ B-52's from 1990 with "The Diner".

 

I think they changed it.  NBC's website is promoting the Alec Baldwin/ B-52's from 1990 with "The Diner" with a picture of Alec and Jan in bed together.

[Inquisitionist]

She and I spent an evening with George Harrison in Lorne's office one night, drinking wine and playing records and listening to one of the Beatles, who was engaging and prolific, I remember her saying afterwards, "Did that really happen?" And I hear myself saying that now, as I read this piece. Did it?"

 

OK, now I'm crying.  Thank you, Nora Dunn.

[peeayebee]

That was lovely. Thanks for posting it, vb68.

 

I hadn't seen that Bette Davis skit before. I love it! Jan is hilarious. Just wonderful.

[nowandlater]

Thanks, vb68. That was terrific and touching.

 

Here are some articles.

 

The New Yorker has a great appreciation: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/sarah-larson/jan-hooks-1957-2014-appreciation

 

Kevin Nealon penned a piece for Time: http://time.com/3491489/kevin-nealon-jan-hooks/

 

And Time's TV critic says Hooks had a special talent as a live performer: http://time.com/3490022/jan-hooks-dead-remembrance/

[ParadoxLost]

Thanks, vb68. That was terrific and touching.

 

Here are some articles.

 

The New Yorker has a great appreciation: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/sarah-larson/jan-hooks-1957-2014-appreciation

 

The "Love is a Dream" clip got me crying.  Its very reminiscent of the tribute clips they showed of Radner/Hartmann/Farley when they passed.  I hope they show it on one of the shows tonight.

[Milburn Stone]

There have been many references in the media in the last few days to Jan Hooks being "not well," or struggling with some kind of illness, for some time. Does anyone know anything more specific about what it was?

[prican58]

Yes, it is going to be the B 52's show. So happy to see that, I was guessing that maybe Lorne would have said some words and  introduced some vintage moments but this is probably a better idea. I know it's been too soon but I wish that NBC would have had a few promos like during the evening news, the Today show and Jimmy Fallon's show. That probably would have covered the folks who actually watched during her stint and some newer viewers. Saturdays is a bad night for tv viewing so some advance notice would have been nice. 

 

Still, Jan was so damned funny and she deserves to be back in the spotlight for one last time.

 

I watched the waitress episode on line the other day so I really want to see some Sweeney Sisters. Clang, clang, clang, everybody.

[Dancingjaneway]

I LOVED the Sweeny Sisters sketch. The look on Paul Simons face always cracks me up. Also I remember when she was on Desiging Women. I was shocked when I saw that she had died. Definitely too soon. 

[prican58]

When Jan appeared on 30 Rock I did not recognize her but I did sense that she was familiar but could not place her. I caught her name in the credits and was floored. She looked different...older (she was only 1 yr older than me), heavier. Not sure what I thought about it...I hoped she wasn't ill but a woman her age doesn't usually look as old as she seemed to be.

 

No matter. She will be missed but it's funny how much time has passed since she was active in show biz. As much as I liked her I hadn't really thought about her much. So much has always been made of the Belushi's and Farley's that one forgets the other mega talents. Even Phil H.

[Peace 47]

Now watching this is going to be even more sad.

Love is a Dream w Jan and Phil Hartman:

http://www.frequency.com/video/in-time-for-valentines-day-love-is-dream/140078178/-/5-7937

and Brenda the Waitress with Alec Baldwin is still brilliant:

https://screen.yahoo.com/brenda-waitress-000000407.html

I actually did cry when they showed the "Love is a Dream" sketch as a tribute to Jan on tonight's live episode. Not to take anything away from Jan's remembrance, but I was a huge Phil Hartman fan. There was a fun period in '97-'98 when I was obsessed with The Simpsons and NewsRadio, then got into SNL reruns on whatever station was showing them back then (might have been Comedy Central--what a novelty!). News of his death was, to this day, the celebrity death that made me the saddest of any I've heard of. So to see Phil and Jan waltzing together, so young and happy and to know that neither got to live to the old age of the sketch--it was just very poignant. It's lovely, though, that they leave a legacy of doing very good work together on SNL.

Jan was such a versatile talent. That "Diner" sketch with Alec Baldwin was a master class in comedic delivery.

[vb68]

That was an interesting piece in the New Yorker posted above.  I never knew that it was Jan specifically that came up with "The Glue" nickname for Phil.   I was also glad to see it mention one of my favorite sketches, The Self Esteem Beauty Pageant, that I have been searching for online and can't find.  Jan had me howling as Miss Georgia who learned so much from "books" and went into a hilarious meltdown when she didn't win.

 

I was also reading an article at Deadline and this comment made me grin.   It's funny because it is true. 

 

"Rest in peace, Jan. You were the first to warn us about Victoria Jackson. For that, we’ll always love you."

[peeayebee]

Did Jan actually say something about Victoria Jackson before VJ revealed herself to be a wacko?

[vb68]

It was clear in Live From New York that she couldn't stand Victoria. 

 

The one thing very specifically that she said in public that I remember was on  Dennis Miller's early '90s talkshow where she told him that one reason she liked the Designing Women job was that nobody was jumping up and down on the couch calling her The Devil.  Dennis nodded very sympathetically.  

 

I feel like there are probably more anecdotes like that out there.  

[prican58]

I wonder if there will be a dvd Best of...for Jan. I mean Cheri Oteri has one. No offense to Cheri as she was very funny in her own way but Jan deserves one too. Does anyone know if Phil H's Best of has lots of Jan in it? I'm shocked at myself for not having that set. 

[peeayebee]

Thanks for the info, vb68. :)

[vb68]

Here's  Victoria's reaction.  It starts off nice enough.  But the crazy starts to peek out near the end.  I did have to laugh that she made a point to say that Jan played a slutty character on 3rd Rock From The Sun named Vicki.

Edited October 20, 2014 by vb68

[Inquisitionist]

I didn’t “proselytize” at work but I did give Jan and the whole cast the Bible-on-cassette one Christmas. I wish I could have given her some books by C.S. Lewis.

 

 

She wishes she could have?  What was stopping her?

 

[peeayebee]

Just looking at the stills she posted, I wish I could see all those sketches.

[vb68]

If there was ever any doubt, Tina rocks!   Love  her.

 

"Jan should have had a bigger career. Jan deserved a big movie career. Certainly as big as Rob Schneider's f---ing career. She was a bigger star on SNL."

[VCRTracking]

British singer Joe Cocker passed away at 70 and I immediately thought of this:

 

[Janimo]

Thanks, VCRTracking. Joe's gonna be missed. :'(

[VCRTracking]

Found the full clip this link:

 

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=26b_1315119865