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

[Pete Martell]

 

[Pete Martell]

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50948921

Neil Innes has passed away. He was very close to Monty Python, and was a part of Eric Idle's spoof band, The Rutles. Innes appeared on SNL in two Idle-hosted episodes, first on October 2, 1976 as part of the Rutles short film, and on April 23, 1977, where he sang "Cheese and Onions." A number of fans mistakenly believed he was John Lennon. He also performed as himself, singing "Shangri la."

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/the-rutles/3004147

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

Buck Henry has passed away. 

Many of my first memories of SNL were the repeats Nick at Nite ran. They were edited to a half-hour, which meant you mostly got the greatest hits. Buck was in many of those sketches, enough to where I was one of the people who took quite a while to realize he and Steve Martin weren't cast members. He might as well have been, as he fit right in with the cast, easy and likeable, the perfect straight man, yet with enough of an edge to not seem like a square. He was the ideal host for that place and time, only cemented by his decision to not host in future seasons. 

So much of that era still makes me smile when I think about it, and that couldn't have happened without Buck...my favorite moments were usually the Nerds sketches, and his dorky dad role. 

I hope the show will remember him when they come back from break, but given how many years it's been I know not to expect anything. 

https://deadline.com/2020/01/buck-henry-dead-saturday-night-live-the-graduate-get-smart-1202825337/

https://deadline.com/2020/01/buck-henry-death-reactions-hollywood-1202825372/

[WendyCR72]

Ah, I see @Pete Martell beat me to posting about Buck Henry. As he said, most of my exposure to the original "Not Ready For Primetime Players", as the cast was known way back when, was via Nick at Nite (as I had only turned 3 the month before SNL made its debut). And I agree that Buck Henry fit right in with everyone. (Loved one of the Samurai Deli skits with him and John Belushi.)

May Mr. Henry rest in peace. Thanks for the laughs!

ETA: Never knew Mr. Henry helped write the film, "The Graduate" and worked on "Get Smart" per Deadline. Sounds like he was a man of many talents.

[Spartan Girl]

He was always the perfect straight man to John Belushi's Samurai Futaba.  RIP

[ajsnaves]

Aside from SNL I will always remember him for delivering one of the funniest lines in 30 Rock. “Wouldn’t be a Lemon party without old Dick.”

I also loved the Samurai sketch where he was injured by Belushi and everyone wore a bandage the reset of the episode?

[Pete Martell]

Jack Burns has passed away. He had a very long career in sketch comedy as writer, creator, or performer, from Second City, to Hee Haw, to Fridays. He was comedy partner to George Carlin and Avery Schreiber, co-wrote the Muppet Movie, replaced Don Knotts on the Andy Griffith Show, was the voice of one of the crash test dummies...

He also hosted an episode of SNL in their second season. 

https://www.thewrap.com/jack-burns-muppet-show-writer-comedian-dead-dies-86/

There are no clips on NBC's site of his episode, but you can find some screen captures and reviews here.

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/08/23/march-26-1977-jack-burns-santana-s2-e17/

https://tv.avclub.com/saturday-night-live-classic-jack-burns-santana-1798204220

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, Pete Martell said:

Jack Burns has passed away. He had a very long career in sketch comedy as writer, creator, or performer, from Second City, to Hee Haw, to Fridays. He was comedy partner to George Carlin and Avery Schreiber, co-wrote the Muppet Movie, replaced Don Knotts on the Andy Griffith Show, was the voice of one of the crash test dummies...

He also hosted an episode of SNL in their second season. 

https://www.thewrap.com/jack-burns-muppet-show-writer-comedian-dead-dies-86/

There are no clips on NBC's site of his episode, but you can find some screen captures and reviews here.

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/08/23/march-26-1977-jack-burns-santana-s2-e17/

https://tv.avclub.com/saturday-night-live-classic-jack-burns-santana-1798204220

That's Burns from Burns & Schreiber, right? That's one of those teams that are burned into my brain since childhood, like Rowan & Martin, Cooke & Moore, Stiller & Meara, so many others that I'm blanking on now...  😞

 

[Pete Martell]

Fred Silverman has passed away. Alan Sepinwall gives a very succinct rundown of his career.

Silverman had a more active role in SNL than most network bigwigs ever would - his tensions with Lorne over, among other things, trying to poach Gilda Radner to primetime led Lorne to lampoon him on air, with John Belushi - an episode hosted by Kate Jackson had an entire runner devoted to "Fred" trying to use her to sabotage SNL.

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/10/22/february-24-1979-kate-jackson-delbert-mcclinton-s4-e13/

As Fred's troubles at NBC mounted, Lorne was planning to leave, with Al Franken and Tom Davis tentatively replacing him. Franken chose the worst possible time to debut a certain Weekend Update piece called Limo for a Lame-o, dedicated to Fred...and changing SNL history. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Limo_For_A_Lame-O

[Pete Martell]

Kirk Douglas, who hosted in season 5 (his episode is being repeated on tonight's Vintage), passed away earlier this week.

https://deadline.com/2020/02/kirk-douglas-dead-spartacus-hollywood-icon-michael-douglas-1202846529/

Robert Conrad, who hosted in season 7, has also passed away.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robert-conrad-dead-wild-wild-west-action-star-was-84-1119262

You can find a number of sketches from Conrad's episode (I'm not sure how many he's in) on NBC's site.

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/season-7/episode/9-robert-conrad-with-the-allman-brothers-band-65131

 

[Pete Martell]

Sy Sperling, founder of Hair Club for Men, passed away.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/us/sy-sperling-hair-club-for-men-dies/index.html

The only reason I'm mentioning it here is because there was a strange period in the mid-90s where Lorne decided to bring in various infomercial or pop culture names for cameo appearances. Sperling must have been liked backstage because he had a fair amount to do compared to most of these appearances - he had a lengthy speaking part in the monologue and appeared near the end of another sketch too.

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/monologue-kelsey-grammer-wears-a-wig/2868158

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/yankee-stadium-opening-day/n10571

If you can't watch those, here's a description and screen captures:

https://www.onesnladay.com/2019/09/13/april-9-1994-kelsey-grammer-dwight-yoakham-s19-e17/

[Pete Martell]

Bill Withers, tremendous singer and songwriter, has passed away. He appeared on SNL in 1976, with Buck Henry. Eerily enough, his episode was rebroadcast a few months ago (with his performance making the cut) when Buck passed. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/music/bill-withers-dead.html

https://www.onesnladay.com/screencaps/season-1-1975-76/january-17-1976-buck-henry-bill-withers-toni-basil-s1-e10/

Edited April 3, 2020 by Pete Martell

[vb68]

He had such a beautiful voice.

[Pete Martell]

Hal Willner, sketch music producer for SNL since 1980, has passed.

https://variety.com/2020/music/obituaries-people-news/hal-willner-dead-dies-music-producer-saturday-night-live-1234573202/

Here's a Creating SNL featuring Hal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RudKvxUoZs

Edited April 7, 2020 by Pete Martell

[vb68]

Damn it.

Love to all his family, friends, and colleagues. 

[Pete Martell]

John Prine, widely acclaimed singer-songwriter, has passed.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/08/john-prine-songwriter-bob-dylan-johnny-cash-bruce-springsteen

He was the musical guest in Karen Black's 1976 episode.

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/08/04/october-16-1976-karen-black-john-prine-s2-e4/

Edited April 8, 2020 by Pete Martell

[ebk57]

15 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

John Prine, widely acclaimed singer-songwriter, has passed.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/08/john-prine-songwriter-bob-dylan-johnny-cash-bruce-springsteen

He was the musical guest in Karen Black's 1976 episode.

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/08/04/october-16-1976-karen-black-john-prine-s2-e4/

Heartbroken about John Prine.

 

But... Karen Black hosted SNL?  Really?? Yikes. 

[Pete Martell]

On 4/8/2020 at 9:26 PM, ebk57 said:

But... Karen Black hosted SNL?  Really?? Yikes. 

Twice. The '70s and early/mid '80s host are bewildering and fascinating. I will say her 1981 episode is surprisingly good. I will post my favorite sketch from it in the classics thread. 

Many cast and crew have said kind things about Hal (I'm not sure I've ever seen so many from the show so united in grief), but all of that can't be posted, so I will just post this from Seth Meyers, who also spoke about John Prine, and showed Prine's SNL performance of "Hello In There." That song just cuts right through you...

 

Michael McCarthy wrote for SNL in the 83-84 season. Here is one of his sketches:

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/romeo-and-juliet/n9181

Edited April 9, 2020 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

Brian Dennehy, who had a memorable role in SNL-adjacent Farley/Spade movie Tommy Boy (produced by Lorne Michaels), and also made a short cameo on the show in 1995 as part of the promotion. 

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/bob-swerskis-super-fans/n10687

https://deadline.com/2020/04/brian-dennehy-dead-obituary-1202910168/

Here's a long interview with him a few years ago where he talks about Tommy Boy and other roles. 

https://www.avclub.com/brian-dennehy-on-dicaprio-rambo-and-why-saoirse-ronan-1829430643

[Jody]

        Hello VB68. I Used To Draw Pictures OF Saturday Night Live And My Drawings Were Always About Me ! I Drew A Picture OF The Sweeney Sisters And They Would Sing Songs From Fiddler On The Roof Because Their Friend Jody Was Jewish ! Jan Would Laugh And Say I Guess I Should Sing IF I Were A Rich Woman And Nora Would Slow Down The Tempo And Sing Sun Rise Sun Set And They Would Sing Dooba Dooba YA For Their Big Finish Like They Always Do ! Jody

          Jan Hooks Has Said That She Could Not Stand Victoria Jackson's Little Girl Voice ! Jody

       Hello Wendy. They Also Had Janice Ian Along With Billy Preston On The First Show With George Carlin ! George Carlin Was NOT In Any OF The Sketches ! I Don't Know For Sure Whether The Muppets Was In The Very First Show Because I Just Remember That Billy And Then Janice Performed Several Songs Each And George Carlin Did Four Monologues ! They Had That Opening Sketch With John Belushi Doing Every Thing His Teacher Did Including Dropping Dead And They Had A Sketch In A Court Room Where Jane Curtain Was On The Stand Testifying, But She Could NOT Say What The Defendant Had Said To Her ! Finally, She Wrote Down What He Said And They Passed That Down The Jury And Gilda Made An OK Sign With Her Hand ! ! Jody

       Hello So Much TV. Before There Was Stiller And Meara Was Elaine May And Dave Nichols Other Wise Known As May And Nichols ! Also, In The Movies, There Was The Marx Brothers And Stanly Laurel And Oliver Hardy Known As Laurel And Hardy ! ! Jody

[Pete Martell]

Fred Willard, comedy legend, who hosted a season 4 episode and  later did the voiceover for the 04-05 Bear City shorts, has passed away. 

(he also appeared in various SNL-tied films like Anchorman and last year had a quick role in I Think You Should Leave, the sketch show produced by Tim Robinson and Andy Samberg)

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/10/07/october-14-1978-fred-willard-devo-s4-e2/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/arts/television/fred-willard-dead.html

This is not from SNL, but I think it sums up the moment. 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Pete Martell

[Pete Martell]

Charlie Daniels, musical guest in April 1982 with Robert Culp.

https://tasteofcountry.com/charlie-daniels-dead/

https://www.bendouwsma.com/blog/2011/02/17/classic-snl-review-april-24-1982-robert-culp-the-charlie-daniels-band-s07e18

[Spartan Girl]

So this pandemic finally got me to buy the out-of-print Samurai Widow by Judy Belushi Pisano and wow I'd forgotten how much crap his family went through after he died. On top of the pain and grief and confusion, the press apparently decided that a drug overdose gave them a free pass to come out with as many horrible exploitive stories as possible whether they were true or not. One article upset his mother so much that she called the paper and asked why they were doing this. The response? "Well, he's dead isn't he?" 

They said that. Out loud. To his mother. Jesus.

And then Wired came out and made everything worse.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Spartan Girl]

In one of my many low moments during this pandemic, I watched the 1989 movie Wired about John Belushi on YouTube (the only place you can find it). And it is BAD. So bad it actually makes the shitty SNL movies look good in comparison. Not only does it pretty much shit on Belushi's grave, but the filmmakers got it in their heads to make up fake SNL skits for flashbacks because Lorne refused to let them reenact the real ones. One involves Beldar Conehead playing Nixon to "Belushi's" Bob Woodward. I wish I could say that was the worst one. It's not.

I cannot wait for the legit Belushi biopic starring Alex Brightman -- I know some are skeptical about whether he was the best casting choice, but at least this movie will be made by people who cared about John and respected his work. 

[WendyCR72]

Scott Michaels, a big Gilda Radner fan and the founder of the Find A Death website, has done a video about Gilda, showing her childhood home and where she went to high school, etc. He also talks a bit about how she and Gene Wilder met and married and, of course, about her illness (with family history of such) and passing. If you are interested, here you go:

 

[Pete Martell]

Regis Philbin has passed away. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/regis-philbin-dead-host-morning-shows-who-wants-be-a-millionaire-was-88-1126718

His SNL involvement is likely best known for the various actors who impersonated him (especially Dana Carvey, who had a series of very funny sketches with the wonderful Jan Hooks as Kathie Lee), but he (and Ron Howard) actually made a cameo appearance in a 1981 episode hosted by George Kennedy. 

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/12/18/october-17-1981-george-kennedy-miles-davis-s7-e3/

[Pete Martell]

Chadwick Boseman, who hosted in season 43, has passed away.

https://deadline.com/2020/08/chadwick-boseman-remembered-black-panther-kerry-washington-dwayne-johnson-lena-waithe-sterling-k-brown-1203026546/

While SNL was certainly not his biggest credit, I thought he was a lot of fun - I love the Black Jeopardy sketch (it may be the very best), but the sketch where he is one of a group of scat singers haggling over paying a check is also a charmer. 

Such a terrible loss. 

[vb68]

It's devastating.  It took my breath away. I had no idea he was so sick. 

[Pete Martell]

On 7/19/2020 at 10:04 AM, Spartan Girl said:

In one of my many low moments during this pandemic, I watched the 1989 movie Wired about John Belushi on YouTube (the only place you can find it). And it is BAD. So bad it actually makes the shitty SNL movies look good in comparison. Not only does it pretty much shit on Belushi's grave, but the filmmakers got it in their heads to make up fake SNL skits for flashbacks because Lorne refused to let them reenact the real ones. One involves Beldar Conehead playing Nixon to "Belushi's" Bob Woodward. I wish I could say that was the worst one. It's not.

I cannot wait for the legit Belushi biopic starring Alex Brightman -- I know some are skeptical about whether he was the best casting choice, but at least this movie will be made by people who cared about John and respected his work. 

Since you'd mentioned these details and the book, etc. thought you might be interested in hearing this. 

https://deadline.com/2020/08/cathy-smith-dead-obituary-john-belushi-drug-overdose-gordon-lightfoot-sundown-1203024794/

[Spartan Girl]

I'm shocked and devastated over Chadwick Boseman. I too loved Black Panther's Black Jeopardy: "Aw hell nah, Karen! Keep your bland ass potato salad to yourself!"

Fuck cancer and fuck 2020.

11 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Since you'd mentioned these details and the book, etc. thought you might be interested in hearing this. 

https://deadline.com/2020/08/cathy-smith-dead-obituary-john-belushi-drug-overdose-gordon-lightfoot-sundown-1203024794/

Yeah, I heard. Not sure I feel sad about this one. Yes she was an addict too and it was an accidental overdose, but...I don't know. I hate the way she tried to exploit the story, even if the Enquirer kind of tricked her into doing it.

Edited August 29, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[helenamonster]

The Chadwick Boseman news hit me like a semi. I thought of his hosting stint too. That version of Black Jeopardy was especially inspired. I thought they could never beat the Tom Hanks one and then they did.

A lot of the cast have been posting their pictures with him from that week. He seemed like a really cool guy.

[Spartan Girl]

I'm already crying 

 

[Pete Martell]

Eddie was a special guest in Valerie Bertinelli's 1987 episode, co-starring in a sketch with her and having a great duet with GE Smith on guitars (GE later revealed that Eddie was unhappy because he'd made a small mistake [it's at about 2:08]).

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/musical-performance---eddie-van-halen/n9553

[ClassicShowsFan]

Today is the 15th anniversary of the passing of Charles Rocket.

[Spartan Girl]

Sean Connery died and although I don't believe he ever hosted, I always loved Darrell Hammond's impression of him. I always wanted the real Connery to cameo and give Trebek the business...but he probably wouldn't have done that. RIP

[vb68]

I hope they have a little tribute with Darrell.

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, vb68 said:

I hope they have a little tribute with Darrell.

I don't know if Darrell still lives in NY, but if so I hope they at least have a short cameo. 

[Jody]

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Sean Connery died and although I don't believe he ever hosted, I always loved Darrell Hammond's impression of him. I always wanted the real Connery to cameo and give Trebek the business...but he probably wouldn't have done that. RIP

 

              I Wonder What Darrell Hammond Thinks About Sean Connery Had Died ! I Liked When They Were Doing Jeopardy With Will Ferrel And Darrell And The Real Alex Trebek Showed Up And Sympathized With Will Having to Deal With Darrell's Sean Connery !

[Pete Martell]

Darrell talks about his Connery impression.

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/darrell-hammond-snl-sean-connery-impression-interview-1084482/

[heatherchandler]

9 hours ago, vb68 said:

I hope they have a little tribute with Darrell.

Ha ha, Trebek, the day is mine!

[Spartan Girl]

Just saw that we lost Alex Trebek.

I will always love him for making a Celebrity Jeopardy cameo during Will Ferrell’s last show. RIP to him and Celebrity Jeopardy.

 

[Pete Martell]

Here is the sketch he had a cameo in. 

Trebek was a naturally very funny man himself; it's too bad he never hosted. Still, the cameo was a treat.

 

[Pete Martell]

Howard Johnson was in the SNL band from 1975-1980.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/01/11/snl-alum-taj-mahal-sideman-howard-johnson-dies-at-79/

[Pete Martell]

Anne Beatts, one of the first women to write for SNL, has passed away. 

https://deadline.com/2021/04/anne-beatts-dead-obituary-saturday-night-live-writer-square-pegs-creator-was-74-1234730339/

Anne went on to much more, but it's hard for me not to think of her with so many of the timeless SNL sketches I have carried with me for decades now, from Todd and Lisa, to Fred Garvin, to some of those that would never get on television today, like Uncle Roy. Just a phenomenal writer whose work lives on well today.

[Pete Martell]

A wonderful interview with Anne from about a week before she passed away.

https://www.vulture.com/2021/04/anne-beatts-snl-final-interview.html

[Pete Martell]

DMX, who was a musical guest in season 25 (Julianna Margulies' episode), has passed away.

https://pitchfork.com/news/dmx-has-died-at-50/

[Spartan Girl]

RIP to Charles Grodin, whose memorable stint hosting back in 70s nearly ruined the show because he just didn’t understand the skits lol.

[SomeTameGazelle]

58 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

RIP to Charles Grodin, whose memorable stint hosting back in 70s nearly ruined the show because he just didn’t understand the skits lol.

Wasn't that just his shtick?

 

https://tv.avclub.com/saturday-night-live-classic-charles-grodin-paul-sim-1798205252

[Spartan Girl]

48 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Wasn't that just his shtick?

 

https://tv.avclub.com/saturday-night-live-classic-charles-grodin-paul-sim-1798205252

[Pete Martell]

Sadly, Vintage is off for a good while so I don't think we will get a repeat, but if you want a rundown of the episode:

https://www.onesnladay.com/2018/09/07/october-29-1977-charles-grodin-paul-simon-s3-e4/