A brutal gag on SNL has the whole internet talking this week.
“Che is a genius, he got him good. The Show was funny pretty much straight through last night,” wrote one fan.
But first, lets have a look at some of the craziest SNL facts out there …
Because for over forty years, Saturday Night Live has kept audiences rolling with laughter.
Pants
Chris Farley idolized John Belushi so much that once, he stole an old pair of John’s pants from the wardrobe room.
Now that’s…creepy.
Cash
When SNL first came on the air, cast members only made $750 per episode.
Or as Olya Povlatsky would call it…THE BIG BUCKS!
Directors
Dave Wilson handled the ‘70s, some of the ‘80s, and half of the ‘90s.
Paul Miller stepped up to the plate for the chunk of the ‘80s Wilson missed.
Beth McCarthy-Miller took over the second half of the ‘90s up until 2006.
And Don Roy King’s been on the job ever since.
Catchphrase
On the first ever SNL episode, Chevy Chase delivered the show’s signature welcome…
“Live from New York, it’s SATURDAY NIGHT!”
Stefon
Remember how Bill Hader’s character, Stefon’s composure constantly broke on screen?
That was much thanks to SNL writer, John Mulaney!
He’d change the lines up on Hader, forcing him to read things he’d never seen before…live.
So savage.
Eddie Murphy
He really needed work, so Eddie called Neil Levy, the show’s then-talent coordinator, daily begging for a job.
Eventually, Levy caved, and had Murphy in to audition.
Murphy obviously blew him away right then and there, and was immediately offered a contract.
Name Change
Originally, SNL was called, NBC’s Saturday Night. Why? Because the name Saturday Night Live was already in use over at ABC on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.
Soon, though, ABC’s show ended, and Lorne quickly swooped in to claim the title Saturday Night Live for his program.
Controversy
In 1992, Sinead O’Connor got herself banned from SNL forever.
How? By ripping up a photo of the Pope on stage during her performance.
Yup. That’ll do it.
Politics
Ronald Reagan Jr. is the only presidential child to ever host SNL.
He also referred to Terry Sweeney as “Mom” during his entire show week because he was so fond of her Nancy Reagan impression. Aww.
Robert De Niro
He was the one who noted Fey and Palin’s uncanny resemblance to Lorne Michaels.
De Niro, we are forever in your debt.
Larry David
Back in the ‘80s, Larry David wrote for the show and constantly struggled to get any material on air.
One Friday, five minutes before the show’s start time, he up and quit.
Then, he took the weekend, realized how much money he was walking away from, and scurried back to work that next Monday.
Dedication
Sometimes, the show’s writers were so lazy, they wouldn’t even leave their offices to go to the bathroom.
They’d just pee in jars.
Um…yuck!
Mistakes
John Candy and Johnny Knoxville turned down the show. Seems like they both fared fine without it.
Friends
Lorne asked all the Friends friends to host…except Joey.
Poor Joey.
I bet someone could use a nice tasty sandwich, huh?
Location
SNL’s home, Studio 8H’s balcony level seats are on loan from Yankee Stadium.
They’ve been there since the show premiered in 1975 (loaned under the assumption that the show wouldn’t last long) and still remain today, mostly out of superstition.
NBC pays fines to NYC to continue using them and everything.
Candice Bergen
She was the show’s first female host.
And first repeat host.
AND first woman to host the show five whole times.
Go Candice Go!
Racism
Back when Murphy was on the show in the ‘80s, other cast members had to come down curbside with him at night to help him catch cabs.
Cabbies often refused to stop for him, because of his race.
Elections
A few time, SNL’s crew had to shoot the show outside of its normal home in Studio 8H.
Both in 1976 and 1984, they did so because the studio was being used instead for election coverage.
In 1977, they performed one episode live (on a Sunday) in New Orleans.
The Beatles
Lorne offered them $3,000. John and Paul were watching at the time and briefly pondered taking him up on his offer. Alas…they were too tired.
But this week, there’s been a brand new viral SNL moment.
And it was all due to the date the show aired.
Michael Che managed to pull off a totally epic April Fool.
And he even got the audience involved – to hilarious effect!
Colin Jost got brutally pranked.
During the Weekend Update, all of his jokes were just met with lukewarm applause.
While Michael Che got uproarious laughs from the audience.
And while Jost was wondering why he was bombing so hard, an audience member shouted, “You stink!”
Che finally admitted: “I told them not to laugh at you for April Fool’s.”
“That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever done to me… I’m covered in sweat” Jost responded.
