Steve Martin found a ingenious way to take back the record for most time hosting Saturday Night Live by tying Alec Baldwin at 17 — he got to do the opening monologue on NBC’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special Sunday night.
It may not actually count, but Martin made the best of the opportunity with assist from his longtime pal and SNL alum Martin Short as well as former SNL writer John Mulaney, both also former SNL hosts.
Martin dove into politics from the get-go, opening the monologue with, “I’m Steve Martin, Saturday Night Live‘s newest diversity hire.”
DEI has been in the headlines recently as the new Donald Trump administration has revised or eliminated a slew of DEI policies. Also among the fist actions of President Trump was to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Martin had his own take on that too.
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“It was only a few days ago that [SNL boss] Lorne [Michaels] told me I was doing the monologue,” Martin said. “I was actually vacationing on a friend’s boat down on the Gulf of Steve Martin.”
Martin also poked fun at SNL‘s age while also calling the monologue “traditionally the weakest part of the show”.
“A fun fact: a person born during the first season of Saturday Night Live could today be easily dead of natural causes,” he quipped.
Martin also skewered Bill Murray, who took part in the SNL anniversary concert Friday.
“The great Bill Murray is here. We wanted to make sure that Bill would be here tonight so we didn’t invite him,” Martin said of the actor who was a no-show, while thanking bearded David Letterman, who was in attendance, “for leaving the sheep at home.”
Martin also paid tribute to SNL writers over the decades, asking them to “stand up and take bow” before a group of sad-looking writers were shown outside in the rain behind a barrier.
“BTW, that tribute to the writers was written by AI,” Martin said.
Martin was then joined by Mulaney who had something to get off his chest about SNL celebrity hosts.
“I believe that the heart and soul of this show is the celebrity hosts, many of whom are in this room tonight,” he said. “As I look around, I see some of the most difficult people I have ever met in my entire life.
Added Mulaney, “Over the course of 50 years, 894 people have hosted Saturday Night Live, and it amazes me that only 2 of them have committed murder.”
As Short came out, Martin introduced him as “The only Canadian who wasn’t in Schitt’s Creek.“
His time on stage was cut short as Martin asked the Canadian actor — amid tensions between the USA and its northern neighbor under Trump — whether he had his passport on him before calling on ICE, with two people in ICE uniforms escorting Short out.
Said Martin about his longtime friend and collaborator, “Marty and I have worked together for so long that we can actually finish each others… careers.”
Watch the monologue above.
The post ‘SNL50’: Steve Martin Tackles DEI, Gulf Of Mexico Renaming, ICE Raids In Opening Monologue As John Mulaney Roasts Celebrity Hosts appeared first on Deadline.
