Eddie Murphy as Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler’s musical memories, and all the best moments from ‘SNL50’
It’s hard to believe that Saturday Night Live is almost old enough to qualify for AARP benefits. Yet the groundbreaking sketch comedy series is indeed celebrating five decades on the air, commemorated the SNL50 special live on … Sunday night.
What started as a scrappy replacement for reruns of The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson morphed into a comedic institution, built upon youthful rebellion and an anarchic sense of humor. The brainchild of Lorne Michaels has been a breeding ground for comedic talent far too vast to list off, and some of its best known characters, sketches, and catchphrases have entered the cultural lexicon. To celebrate SNL‘s golden jubilee, here are the best moments from the 50th anniversary event.
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Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter’s opening performance
Saturday Night Live is nothing if not famous for its musical performances, and in a show of its intergenerational appeal, SNL50 kicked off with a “cold open” duet between Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter. Before performing “Homeward Bound,” Simon reminded the audience at home that he first performed the song SNL alongside George Harrison in 1975. “I wasn’t born in 1975,” Carpenter replied, “and neither were my parents.” “Well, I’m glad they’ll finally get a chance to hear it,” Simon joked. It was a perfect start for a evening that would include musical performances by Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard, Lil Wayne and the Roots, and Paul McCartney.
Steve Martin’s monologue
Who better to kick off Saturday Night Live’s 50th party than Steve Martin, who has hosted the series 15 times? “I’m Steve Martin, Saturday Night Live’s newest diversity hire,” Martin joked. His monologue was equal parts silly, self-effacing, and politically relevant, everything you would hope for from an SNL opening. Martin was unaware he would be doing the monologue, he revealed, until Lorne Michaels called him while he was “vacationing on a boat on the gulf of Steve Martin.” He teased the upcoming guests, including SNL alum Bill Murray. “We wanted to make sure Bill Murray would be here tonight,” he revealed, “so we didn’t invite him.” He paid tribute to the show’s writers, who were grouped together outside. “By the way,” Martin added, “that tribute to the writers was written by AI.” He was joined by John Mulaney, who congratulated the veteran comedian on a series of awards nominations he had failed to receive during the past year. Of course, Martin did earn a Golden Globe bid for Only Murders in the Building, as did his costar Martin Short, who also dropped by during the monologue. “Do you have your passport on you?,” Martin asked his Canadian pal, before calling ICE to drag him away.
Black Jeopardy
SNL’s 50th Anniversary Special included callbacks to several of its famous sketches, including Black Jeopardy, hosted by Kenan Thompson. Competing on tonight’s episode were SNL alums Leslie Jones as Shanice, Tracy Morgan as Darius, and Eddie Murphy as… Tracy Morgan? Thompson thought there was a striking resemblance between Darius and Tracy, prompting him to ask if the two were related. “Well, my biological father was James Earl Jones,” Murphy/Tracy said, so maybe. No matter, because the important thing was the gameplay, which included a category called “Live from New York” with the question, “This legendary late-night show created some of comedy’s biggest stars.” “In Living Color,” Tracy/Darius guessed. No. “Showtime at the Apollo,” answered Murphy/Tracy. No. “It’s Soul Train!,” declared Jones before Thompson brought on Chris Rock to explain to the contestants what Saturday Night Live was. One person who had heard of the sketch series was Tom Hanks, who popped up as a MAGA contestant to correctly identify the Church Lady (whom Jones misidentified as Madea).
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler answer audience questions
There were plenty of special celebrity guests seated for SNL’s big night, many of whom had questions about the long-running sketch series. Who better to answer these than the famous Saturday Night Live team of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Although former SNL writer and Late Night host Seth Meyers thought it was a cynical ploy to get more celebrities on the telecast (including Ryan Reynolds, Jon Hamm, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Fey and Poehler assured him that wasn’t the case, asking audience members Ray Romano and Al Sharpton to back them up.
Weekend Update
“It’s hard to believe this is the 50th and, if our current president has any say in it, final season of SNL,” opened Colin Jost on Saturday Night Live’s longest running sketch, “Weekend Update.” Michael Che, who, along with Jost, is the longest running “Weekend Update” host, paid tribute to the late SNL anchorman Norm Macdonald, who was fired by NBC for making jokes about O.J. Simpson during his infamous murder trial. “He’s obviously one of my heroes,” Che said, “so if you’re up there watching: We love you, O.J.” Thus began a baton-passing of former “Weekend Update” anchors, including Seth Meyers, who interviewed Lorne Michaels’s best friends from childhood (Vanessa Bayer and Fred Armisen), and Bill Murray, who presented a Top 10 ranking of former hosts (in honor of Black History Month, he gave a special section for the African American hosts, of which there was only one: Che).
Adam Sandler’s “50 Years” song
No SNL special would be complete without Adam Sandler, who dropped by to perform a tribute song to the show’s five decades (introduced by his Anger Management costar Jack Nicholson in a rare public appearance). Sandler, who was on Saturday Night Live, shouted out the various comedians who got their start on the series, getting visibly choked up when talking about his late friends Chris Farley and Norm Macdonald. “Thank you for 50 of the best years of our lives,” Sandler sang before signing off.
Bronx Beat/Coffee Talk crossover
Saturday Night Live has produced decades-worth of memorable sketches and characters, including “Bronx Beat With Bette and Jodi.” Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph reprised their famous characters to interview celebrity guest Miles Teller, whom they both loved in Top Gun: Maverick (or, as they called it, Top Gun 2 with Tom Cruise). But the real fireworks started when Mike Myers dropped by as Linda Richman from “Coffee Talk,” a character he played from 1991 through 1994 (and reprised during an appearance in 1997). It was enough to make one get a little verklempt.
In Memoriam
A somber Tom Hanks, who has hosted Saturday Night Live eight times, popped back up to introduce the “In Memoriam” segment. Only this was no ordinary “In Memoriam”: rather, it was a send-off to the many problematic — aka cancel-worth — jokes SNL has done that wouldn’t fly by today’s standards, including bits about ethnic stereotypes, sexual harassment, and child molestation. There was current Oscar nominee Adrien Brody in dreadlocks. And there was even a remembrance of the many problematic guests who have (dis)graced Studio 8H, including O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Paul McCartney medley
The former Beatle brought the house down with the rousing medley of “Golden Slumbers”/”Carry That Weight”/”The End” that closes Abbey Road — and also served as the closing for SNL50. At the end, the entire cast and Lorne Michaels took the stage for a final bow. One heart-tugging touch: original cast members Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman held up a photo featuring their late partner-in-comedy Gilda Radner.
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