I’ve been blogging about people banned from ever appearing on Saturday Night Live again, but in this blog, I will talk about some of the most notorious moments in this long running (31 years!) comedy show.
5. Chevy Chase’s Fall
In the season premiere of 1976, Chevy Chase, playing then President Gerald Ford, took a pratfall into a podium. Unfortunately for Chevy, the podium wasn’t padded and he missed the next two episodes due to injuries.
4. John Belushi Hits Buck Henry with a Sword
In one of his famous Samurai skits, John Belushi accidentally gashed Buck Henry’s forehead with his sword. Because Buck had to wear a bandage on his head for the rest of the show, the cast too wore bandages in support of Buck.
3. Stunt or the Real Thing?
Crazy couple Drew Barrymore and Tom Green had joked about getting married on stage during a SNL broadcast. When Green hosted the show in 2000, he even brought Barrymore up on stage and joked about getting married that night. The stage was set for a wedding, but it never actually happened. Neither the viewers nor media knew if it was a stunt or just a case of cold feet. Regardless, the couple went on to marry in July 2001, but filed for divorce by December 2001.
2. The Water Tank Trick
In 1985, magicians Penn & Teller decided to perform Houdini’s famous Water Tank trick for the first time on SNL. Teller’s mechanism failed, leaving him under water with a dangerously low water supply for 10 minutes. It was not until the tank was unlocked that anyone realized there had been a problem.
1. Ashley’s Lip Synching
I distinctly remember seeing this one. Ashley came back on for her second performance but rather than playing her second song on the overhead, they played the first one again. She started, realized the mistake, kinda did a little jig and the network quickly cut to commercial. I remember thinking “What the heck?” She later blamed it on her drummer, and then said she had acid reflux.