15 ‘Saturday Night Live' Sketches That Went Viral
From the hilarious viral sensation about gifting your girlfriend your privates to spot-on impersonations of some of the world's most popular political figures, 'Saturday Night Live' has never missed a beat when it comes to entertaining the masses, and that's why it has remained a TV staple in American pop culture for 50 years.
Check out our list below of the sketch comedy show's most viral skits.
Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg rapped about what it's like to do absolutely nothing on a Sunday in their 'SNL' digital short 'Lazy Sunday.' In the skit, the two jokesters express how excited they are to wake up in the late afternoon just to do lax activities like chowing down on Magnolia bakery cupcakes and watching 'The Chronicles of Narnia.'
'More Cowbell' is one of the most classic skis in all of 'SNL.' Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon star as the members of fictional rock band Blue Oyster Cult who are in the studio recording the latest track '(Don't Fear) the Reaper.' With guidance from producer Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken), the musicians surely have a hit on their hands — as long as they add more cowbell.
'D—k in a Box' is one of the most popular, and catchy sketches 'Saturday Night Live' has ever done. 'D—k in a Box' is a digital short and song by American comedy group The Lonely Island featuring Justin Timberlake. In the sketch, Timberlake and Andy Samberg star as two early '90s musicians as they sing about the gifts they'd like to give their girlfriends for Christmas: their penises.
There would be no 'Celebrity Jeopardy' skit on 'SNL' without Will Ferrell's first run as late host Alex Trebek. The lineup of competitors were Sean Connery (Darrell Hammond), French Stewart (Jimmy Fallon) and Burt Reynolds (Norm Macdonald).
In 'SNL's' 'Club Shay Shay' skit, Devon Walker and Ego Nwodim starred as Shannon Sharpe and Katt Williams as the show took on Sharpe's popular podcast interview series, specifically the viral episode with Williams. The skit took off online, engaging folks who were fans of both Sharpe's show and the veteran comedian. Nwodim was applauded for her seamless impression of Williams.
In 'Beavis and Butt-Head,' NewsNation interviewee Prof. Norman Hemming (Kenan Thompson) just can't focus as he attempts to discuss the pros and cons of artificial intelligence because two audience members, Mikey Day and Ryan Gosling, share an uncanny resemblance to the popular MTV animated characters Beavis and Butt-Head. However, the pair have never heard of the cartoon. Gosling and Day looked so much like the moronic besties that Heidi Gardner couldn't hold in her laughter.
One thing 'SNL' is going to do is make a mockery of politicians and the political climate Americans are experiencing. One of its most popular moments was its satirical remake of Katie Couric's viral multi-part interview with former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, who at the time was the Republican vice presidential pick for Sen. John McCain. Palin's performance was received poorly by the GOP, which gave 'SNL' the opportunity to make it one of their gags. The 'SNL' stars of the reenactment were Tina Fey as Palin and Amy Poehler as Couric.
When it comes to its celebrity hosts/guests, 'SNL' does a great job of crafting skits around how that celebrity is perceived in popular media. The show completely understood the assignment when it cast actress Sydney Sweeney as a new Hooters waitress who just can't help but win the attention of the restaurant's male patrons. While sweet and timid, the waitress inadvertently upsets the rest of the waitresses. During an appearance on the 'Fly on the Wall' podcast 'SNL' writer and star Bowen Yang said Sweeney was completely up for any gags about her physical appearance, calling the actress an example of a host who came in and understood how she was being consumed and perceived already.'
One of 'SNL's' biggest guests was Beyoncé, who appeared as a guest on the show after releasing her mega hit 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)' and its iconic music video that sparked a dance craze movement. In true 'SNL' form, the show wanted to parody the video. In the skit, Justin Timberlake, Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg starred as Beyoncé's goofy backup dancers. In the documentary 'Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music,' Timberlake says the 35-time Grammy winner was initially apprehensive about the sketch.
'She was very polite about it, but she was very hesitant. And when I say hesitant, I mean like, she was not having it,' he said. 'I'm like, 'Does she know how funny this is gonna be? How beloved this whole moment will be?''
In 'Black Jeopardy with Tom Hanks,' the iconic actor starred as a MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporter in a Jeopardy game that featured satirical, Black culture-centered categories. By the end of it, he realizes he has a lot more in common with the Black community than he thinks — at least until he lands on the 'Lives That Matter' category.
Season 49 of 'SNL' delivered a series of heavy hitters, and another one of them was Scarlett Johansson's take on Sen. Katie Britt's Republican response to former President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address.
'Star Wars Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base' sketch was an entertaining watch for 'Star Wars' loyalists and 'Undercover Boss' fans as Adam Driver reprised his role as Kylo Ren to go undercover as Matt, a radar technician. With hidden cameras watching, Kylo gets an inside look at how his crew is running the First Order.
Actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy became an angry, gum-swallowing Sean Spicer as he took questions from journalists as the former White House press secretary. The panel tackled several interesting categories, including 'Movies That Start With the Word Jaws,' 'Petit Déjeuner' and more.
While Ryan Gosling came back for a second round of the 'SNL' sketch 'Close Encounter' for Season 49, he garnered just as many laughs in his first go at the skit in 2015. Gosling, Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong play three people who were recently abducted by aliens and each of them share their very unique stories.
Whether she's a musical guest or hosting, Ariana Grande's 'SNL' visits usually lead to one viral moment or another, but the earworm 'Bridesmaid Speech' sketch took things to another level thanks to TikTok, a delightfully off-key Grande, the already oh-so-catchy melody of fellow pop songstress Sabrina Carpenter's 'Esspresso' — and of course, Marcello Hernández's Domingo.
The post 15 'Saturday Night Live' Sketches That Went Viral | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
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Boston Globe
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- Boston Globe
Joan Anderson, unsung heroine of hula hoop history, dies at 101
'Everyone was having such fun,' she added, 'I thought, 'I'd like to do that, too.'' Back in Los Angeles, Ms. Anderson asked her mother to mail her one of the rings from Australia, and it soon brought joy to the Anderson household. Her children played with it. Ms. Anderson swerved it around her hips for friends at dinner parties. When someone told her that it looked as if she was 'doing the hula,' the traditional Hawaiian dance, Ms. Anderson was struck with inspiration. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up She named the object the hula hoop. Advertisement What transpired next would place Ms. Anderson at the center of what she described as an American tale of shattered dreams and promises, a business deal made on a handshake, and, eventually, a lawsuit. Ms. Anderson died July 14 at a nursing facility in Carlsbad, Calif., north of San Diego. She was 101. Her daughter, Loralyn Willis, announced the death. The hubbub over the hoop started when her husband, Wayne, saw opportunity in the object and decided to pitch it to Wham-O, a toy company that soon became known for the Frisbee. As it happened, he was acquainted with one of Wham-O's founders, Arthur Melin, known as Spud, so he arranged a meeting. Advertisement The encounter, she recalled, occurred in a parking lot outside Wham-O's offices in San Gabriel, Calif. The Andersons opened up the trunk of their car and took out the hoop. 'There were no witnesses,' Ms. Anderson said in the documentary. 'Just Spud and my husband and myself.' 'We told him, 'We've called it the hula hoop,'' she continued. 'He said: 'Looks like it has some merit. If it makes money for us, it's going to make money for you.'' The deal was sealed with what Ms. Anderson characterized as a 'gentleman's handshake' and nothing more. Wham-O began experimenting with the hoop, developing a plastic version of it and trying it out on children at a Pasadena, Calif., elementary school. The company also started giving them away to generate buzz. By the time Wham-O was selling the hoop, lines were forming outside department stores. As the popularity of what Wham-O trademarked as the Hula Hoop grew, Ms. Anderson said, she and her husband heard less and less from Melin. 'We called Spud and asked him what was going on, and he kept putting us off,' she said. 'Then they just ignored us.' The hoop quickly became a national sensation. From Ms. Anderson's home in the suburbs of Monterey Park, Calif., she watched as newspapers landed on her porch with headlines like 'Hula-Hoop Sales Soar to $30 Million in 2 Months.' Over the years, stories about Wham-O's success sometimes spoke of a 'friend' visiting from Australia who first told the company about the hoop. 'I think that bugged me more than anything,' Ms. Anderson said. 'It was never reported correctly at all. I was not a 'friend.'' Advertisement In 1961, the Andersons filed a lawsuit against Wham-O. But the company presented records demonstrating its own woes. Just as quickly as the Hula Hoop sensation took off, it swiftly ended, entering the annals of American fads. Wham-O was left with heaps of unsold hoops and argued that it had not made a profit after production costs. The case concluded in a settlement, and the Andersons walked away with just a few thousand dollars. The couple moved on with their lives. Wham-O went on to release the SuperBall, the Slip 'N Slide ,and Silly String. Melin died in 2002. (Wham-O was sold in 1982 to the Kransco Group Cos. for $12 million. It was later sold to Mattel, which then sold it to a group of investors, and it has continued changing hands ever since.) 'We often talked about the money we could have made from it and maybe changed our life a little bit,' Ms. Anderson said in the documentary, 'but it didn't work out that way.' 'The world isn't fair. But life goes on.' Joan Constance Manning was born Dec. 28, 1923, in Sydney to Claude and Ethel (Hallandal) Manning. Her father was a real estate broker. As a young woman, Joan was a swimsuit model known as the 'Pocket Venus' because she was 5 feet 2 inches tall. In 1945, Wayne Anderson, a US Army pilot on leave from duty, approached Joan on Bondi Beach. They married a few months later and moved to California. Anderson, who went on to run a prosperous woodwork machine manufacturing business, died in 2007. Advertisement In addition to her daughter, Loralyn, Ms. Anderson is survived by two sons, Warren and Gary, and six grandchildren. Another son, Carl, died in 2023. Over the years, Ms. Anderson's brush with hula hoop history faded into family lore. When her children grew up, they sent letters about her story to Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres, but nothing came of it. Fate intervened in 2016, when Ms. Anderson's daughter was recounting the story to coworkers while dining at a restaurant in La Mesa, near San Diego. At a table nearby, eavesdropping, was the mother of Amy Hill, a filmmaker. She asked for her telephone number and passed it along it to Hill. Intrigued by the tip, Hill began vetting the story with her husband and collaborator, Chris Riess. They decided to pursue the project and interviewed Ms. Anderson at La Costa Glen, the retirement community where she lived. The resulting short documentary, 'Hula Girl,' premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. At 94, Ms. Anderson flew to New York to promote the film, and a writer for Vogue interviewed her for an article. The documentary was also shown at the Sydney Film Festival and received coverage in The Atlantic and Smithsonian magazine. It was screened as well for Ms. Anderson's fellow residents at La Costa Glen. Her friends watched in fascination as they learned about her connection to the hula hoop. At La Costa Glen, Ms. Anderson stayed fit by swimming every week and taking ballroom dancing lessons. She also became a formidable bridge player. And in her apartment, she kept the original wood hoop that her mother had mailed to her from Australia, although it mostly sat collecting dust. Advertisement 'I do it once in a while for exercise,' she said, 'but not as much as I should.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bob Odenkirk thinks he was 'too hard' on 'SNL' as young writer: 'This show could be better'
The "Nobody 2" star also tells EW he "would love that opportunity" when asked if there's a chance he'll host the season 51 premiere. Bob Odenkirk has found new respect for Saturday Night Live after leaving the show. While discussing Nobody 2 at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, the actor tells Entertainment Weekly that he has gained a better perspective on SNL in the years since he finished his tenure as a writer, which lasted from 1987 to 1991. Although he's previously said that he had a less-than-stellar view of SNL while he worked there, he now realizes that he judged the show too harshly. "I was too hard on the show," he says. "I had a lot of attitude when I got hired there, like, 'This show could be better, this show could be Monty Python, this should be more cutting edge, this should be more dangerous.' And I was frustrated by it not representing purely my point of view. I wanted it to be me, my show." Odenkirk now understands that his desire to personally transform the entire voice of SNL was foolhardy. "It's not my show! It's a show that is shared by everyone who's in that cast, and everyone who's in that writing staff, and it's shared by generations, and not one generation," he says. He continues, "Everybody in America watches it, and it's a reference point for everyone. I think the 50th just made me more aware [than] ever of the amazing work that's been done there." The Better Call Saul star also thinks that he got to write boundary-pushing comedy on a later project. "I think Mr. Show, the show I did with David Cross, I consider my effort to do something edgy and new and try to blast through some barriers and go to another level," he says. Odenkirk also admits that he didn't fully appreciate how SNL's lightning-fast weekly schedule makes its production so difficult. "It's a bigger challenge than I thought it was when I worked there," he explains. "When I worked there I was 25, I was like, 'C'mon, dammit! We can do better! This is easy!' And it literally was the years since I've left that I went, 'Wait a second, that show is almost impossible to do at all.'" Additionally, when asked if he'd consider hosting the show during its upcoming 51st season, Odenkirk responds strongly in the affirmative. "I would love that opportunity," he says. "I have mad respect for the effort of that show, and I would dream of being able to host."Though he's never hosted the show before, Odenkirk says that it remains within the realm of possibility. "There's been conversation about it," he explains. "They don't have me locked out. I'm friends with everybody there, and I know so many of the writers, and I know so many of the actors. It's just part of my life." Watch EW's full livestream of Friday's Comic-Con interviews above. Check out more of . Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 hours ago
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After ‘Eddington:' 7 Offbeat Westerns to Watch Next
We've got some movies that'll scratch that itch Ari Aster's 'Eddington' is here. The movie, which pits a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) against his mayor (Pedro Pascal), set during the early days of the global pandemic, is fierce and raw. Considering this is from Aster, the director of 'Midsommar,' 'Hereditary' and 'Beau is Afraid,' it is also confrontational and strange and deeply funny, with the action set at the precipice of the complete breakdown in communication that accompanied lockdown. (Indiewire called it 'the first truly modern American Western.') More from TheWrap After 'Eddington:' 7 Offbeat Westerns to Watch Next 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Post-Credits Scenes Explained: Who Was That? Jamie Lee Curtis Watched Her Parents' Success 'Slowly Erode' as They Aged: 'That's Very Painful' 'Coyote vs Acme' Takes Digs at Warner Bros., 2026 Release Date Announced And if you come out of 'Eddington' looking for more offbeat westerns to watch, we've got seven that should fill that void nicely. 'Bad Company' (1972) In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a slew of what were referred to as 'acid westerns' – westerns that were set in the distant past but that embraced the counterculture of the period, including, of course, recreational drug use. (Hence the 'acid' in 'acid western.') These parallels are made explicitly clear in 'Bad Company,' which is one of the very best movies from that era and one of the more underrated. The movie stars Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown (who tragically took his own life before the decade was up) as two young men who dodge the draft during the American Civil War. The movie has an episodic structure, with the pair getting into misadventures along the way, gorgeously shot by legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis, as their wayward drifting transitions to out-and-out lawlessness. If you've seen it and are a fan of it or want to check it out now for the first time, Fun City Editions put out a terrific Blu-ray edition recently that is very much worth checking out. 'Walker' (1987) After making 'Repo Man' and 'Sid & Nancy,' British director Alex Cox turned his sights on a one-of-a-kind western. The movie stars Ed Harris as William Walker, an American physician, lawyer and mercenary who organized military expeditions into Mexico and at one point made himself president of Nicaragua. Like 'Eddington,' 'Walker' leans into the events of recent (and current) history – it was actually filmed in Nicaragua during the Contra War, a conflict that would have major implications for American politics. (Just Google Iran-Contra.) What makes 'Walker' really bonkers is Cox's use of historical anachronisms – there will be a Zippo lighter or a Coke can in scenes, and, if you don't know this going in, it can make you feel like you're going insane. Incredibly, Universal Pictures released the movie, selling it as a more straightforward western (in the trailer you here but never see a helicopter) and it promptly tanked. Since then, it has caught a second wind, and Criterion put out a killer Blu-ray that is very much worth your time. 'Unforgiven' (1992) Aster has openly stated that he was influenced by 'Unforgiven' in making 'Eddington,' and it's both easy and somewhat difficult to see. There is a meandering quality to the story in both 'Unforgiven' and 'Eddington,' and we mean that in a positive. If it's been a while since you've seen the Best Picture-winning Clint Eastwood film, there's a whole section of the movie where the wronged prostitutes hire an assassin named English Bob (Richard Harris), who totally punks out and leaves them high and dry, before they even find Eastwood's 'Will' Munny. There are so many narrative left turns and surprises, which translate to 'Eddington' (we don't want to give anything away), even if 'Unforgiven' is a much more traditional Western in tone and look. But hey, if you were looking for an excuse to rewatch 'Unforgiven,' consider 'Eddington' the reason. 'Lone Star' (1996) John Sayles' masterpiece, set in modern times and starring Chris Cooper as a sheriff who investigates the murder of one of his predecessors (Kris Kristofferson) years earlier, investigates time and how the past impacts the present. (These are things very much in 'Eddington.') What was striking about 'Lone Star' at the time – and what's still striking now – is how much iconography and narrative convention from a classic western could be grafted to something that would be considered a 'contemporary' film. These are themes and characters and even shot compositions that would not be out of place in a classic western, but dealing with modern concerns and moral ambiguity. (We don't want to ruin anything if you've never seen 'Lone Star.') Just watch it; it has a handful of award-worthy performances and a script by Sayles that was nominated for the Oscar for original screenplay. It also has a must-own 4K from Criterion. 'The Proposition' (2005) 'The Proposition' is bleak, even bleaker than 'Eddington' and with fewer jokes. But they do share a connective tissue in their desire to showcase a particular moment in time and the people who inhabit that moment. In 'Eddington,' it's 2020, and the breakdown of law and order around the pandemic is evident. In 'The Proposition' it's the 1880's, when criminals populated the Australian bush (like famous outlaw Ned Kelly) and English were brutally exterminating Australian Aboriginals. Like we said – bleak. Chances are you've never seen this one, which marked the breakthrough film of Australian director John Hillcoat, working from a screenplay by Australian musician Nick Cave, so we'll spare the details. We'll just say that Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone enter into a truly screwed up agreement that has dire consequences. Just watch it. It's worth it. Even if you have to close your eyes occasionally. 'The Counselor' (2013) Both more straightforward and more bonkers, Ridley Scott's underrated masterpiece 'The Counselor' is the perfect chaser to 'Eddington.' Like 'Eddington,' it is set in modern times, with deeply conflicted characters occasionally bumping up against and colliding with one another. In the only original screenplay written by the great Cormac McCarthy, Michael Fassbender plays a lawyer who gets in deep with some underworld types and attempts to save himself and his new wife (Penelope Cruz) from damnation. It's heady, for sure, but also extremely pulpy, with some of the best dialogue this side of the Rio Grande. (Most of it is too filthy to directly quote here.) Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt all offer up superb supporting performances. And if you really want to feel the full power of 'The Counselor,' which we would put in the top 5 Ridley movies, watch the extended version. It gives everything more time to luxuriate. We are desperate for a longer 'Eddington', too, for that matter. 'Hell or High Water' (2016) What a movie – aesthetically 'Hell or High Water' is probably closest to 'Eddington' in its attempt to replicate the feeling of the old west in contemporary context. The movie, which people forget was nominated for four Academy Awards (including Best Picture), follows Chris Pine and Ben Foster, who are robbing banks to save their family ranch. Jeff Bridges is the Texas Ranger on their tail. They both tackle current-day social issues (the pandemic vs. the country's abysmal economic condition) but do it in an incredibly entertaining way, with Scottish director David Mackenzie upping the tension and Nick Cave and Warren Ellis delivering a beautiful, elegiac score (they also scored 'The Proposition,' see above). While 'Hell or High Water' might be more outwardly entertaining, it is still very much of a piece with 'Eddington.' Again: with fewer jokes and conspiracies. The post After 'Eddington:' 7 Offbeat Westerns to Watch Next appeared first on TheWrap.
