Podcasts about chicago second city

We're back and it's season 6! As is typical we've assembled a group to draft the nominees we will discuss this coming season. Join jD, Matt, and Thomas as they get together to build season 6!Transcript:[0:00] Thank you, Doug Donance. It's JD here, and I am thrilled to be back in the SNL Hall of Fame. Let me see if my key works, but before I do that, I'll wipe my feet. The SNL Hall of Fame is a weekly affair where each episode we take a deep dive into the career of a former cast member, host, musical guest, or writer, and add them to the ballot for your consideration. Consideration once the nominees have been announced we turn to you the listener to vote for the most deserving and help determined who will be enshrined for perpetuity in the hall and that's how we play the game it's just that simple but you know what behind the scenes folks it's not that simple because we have to curate a list of who we are going to discuss every season and we found the most fun way to achieve that is with a draft and we're going to do that again this year before we explain the rules i want to introduce the other two drafteteers they are your friends and mine matt ardill and thomas santa how are you doing fellas hello jd good Good to see you. Hey, J.D., great thanks.[1:28] That's a little inside baseball there, Thomas.[1:33] So, Thomas, do you want to go through the intricate rules of the draft? You are the master of the draft, after all. All right, sure thing. So, this is the third season, I think, that we've done a draft and had a draft episode. So, there's parameters. So the three of us, we each get five picks. So 15 total, we each get five picks. We each have to pick two cast members. We each have to pick one host.[2:05] We each have to pick a musical guest or a writer, and then we have the wild card. We can do whatever the heck we want with this, as long as it's a cast member, host, musical guest, or writer. But we have the wild card there. So that adds up to five picks each, 15 total, and I have in my hand a coaster that I'm going to flip. I'm going to give either JD or Matt the first pick. Uh so i want matt to call heads or tails matt uh tails tails it is so matt ardeal gets the first pick uh jd you get the second pick and i'll i'll round things out and get the last pick that's how the draft is working today folks um okay well i think for my first draft pick i am going to go with Garrett Morris aside from being an original cast member he's a Juilliard trained performer he can sing, dance, act the entire Nine Yards he just has incredible chops.[3:16] Amazing sketches or bits like the White Guild Relief Fund impressions of Chubby Checker that he did with Carrie Fisher first appearance of a Marvel character as ant-man um that's right and uh you know i i watched this one interview where he was talking about death row follies and it's like it was really interesting he was talking about how he was with harry belafonte's band and they were just chatting and he's like so the entire process was lauren just had an idea for a sketch and sent them off to write he didn't give him any direction It's like you're on death row, you're performing. And he's he went back to this memory. He's talking about how the core of improv is drawing from your experiences. He went back to this memory of talking to Harry Belafonte, band member who had watched an old like 1950s TV show. And if you remember the sketch, his bit is I'm going to get me a shotgun and kill all the whitest I see. And he's like well that actually originated from this old 1950s this is your life type of show where this woman had written over 300 songs and they brought her up from the audience and sat her down to interview her and.[4:32] Kind of of how the song went but she was a white woman from the south and uh so you can imagine how that was so he took it and flipped it and used that for comedy and it's just like you know it just brings so brought so much to the table and i feel like out of the original cast he's one of those people who just is is not given as much respect or acknowledgement as he's due and And I think it's his time to shine. JD, so this is Garrett's one of the last remaining original cast members that we have yet to discuss. This is exciting. What do you think, Jamie?[5:13] Yeah, I'm excited that we're kicking it off with an old school, an original seven. Is it seven? Right, it was seven. Do we count George Coe and Michael O'Donohue? Oh, no, I'm not. The core. I'm talking about the core. It's almost the same as the NHL where they have the original six, but there was errors before that had eight teams, you know, but whatever I digress, I think it's a great pick. I think it's an exciting pick for a show like ours. I know that he will be a tent pool, a tent pole rather in terms of episodes, you've probably noticed in the past that we, we stack, front stack and back stack with more high-profile performers or nominees, and Garrett Morris will certainly be one of those. That being said... I don't see him as a first ballot Hall of Famer. Lorraine Newman didn't make it in on the first ballot. And I can't imagine him doing better than Lorraine Newman.[6:18] Because I think, based on a time and place, he was critically misused. Yes. You know? He was the epitome of, you know, the South Park gag, the token, right? It almost smacks you in the face because you don't see him ever. And then when you do see him, it's like there's flashes of brilliance, like you were mentioning that. So I anticipate him going in, but not as a first ballot Hall of Famer. Yeah, there's not as much meat on the bone as far as his resume as a lot of cast members, but not necessarily his fault. Which i'll be interested to see if what if the voters may take that into account or anything but definitely you know a beloved original cast member i think this is uh this is an interesting um choice that makes sense for for an episode for us yeah i i think so i'm going to start with somebody who just really epitomizes my experience with snl in the last 12 years i would say I started watching this performer and I didn't like him that much unless he was with this other guy.[7:40] And then I started to like them as a duo.[7:44] And then I really saw that this next nominee was outshining not only his comedic partner, but several other male cast members. And I'm talking about Beck Bennett, who just recently became eligible for the Hall of Fame. So that may hurt his chances of getting in right away. But i think he's versatile i think he's the kind of guy and i know we overuse this statement but you ask him to do anything and he'll do it you know like he doesn't know an impression you know what he'll put it together in a week it's like that old school mentality yeah i don't know how to do a putin impression oh i know what i'll do i'll take off my shirt you know and and sound vaguely russian you know but it was one of my favorite reoccurring characters and i think one of the last sketches he did i might be wrong but it's a solo sketch with him as vin diesel yep that was his and that was the last sketch of of the of the night right yep yeah the onya taylor joy episode yeah that's right i just got such a kick out i got such a kick out of it so it was like Like, I sound so old when I say that, but I am. So there you go. By the time you're hearing this, I'm 50. I'm 50.[9:11] So that's my pick. Matt, what do you think? I agree. I think that's an awesome pick. I've always felt he's one of those performers that really grew on me. The longer he was on screen, the more I saw him. And yeah, I think I think that's a terrific choice. Also, he's he's in DuckTales. So, you know, I can't fault him there, you know, like.[9:37] Talented man of many many talents so if you ever want to hear a fantastic episode of it's a great podcast it's a stand-up comedian that hosts it there i'm narrowing it down substantially aren't i uh and it's got um he used to be in the hbo show called crashing oh pete homes pete homes yes Yes, he has a podcast, and he interviews Beck Bennett on an episode. Sorry, folks, for that previous ramble. That was very riveting podcasting, I know. But at any rate, he is featured on this episode of the podcast, and it's a long-form interview. It's like a three-hour interview, but they get into it. And he was a multimillionaire when he signed to go work at Saturday Night Live on the basis of those insurance company commercials he was doing with the kids. Oh, wow. I don't know if you ever saw that campaign, but it was a national campaign in the US and he booked it. And it became a reoccurring thing. And by the time it reoccurred for the fifth time, they signed him for six figures to do it. Oh, jeez.[10:49] And pete holmes pulls that out of him like afterwards he's so mortified because pete holmes like is like he's like would you get like 50k he's like no he's like 200k he's like oh i don't really want to talk about it like 750k it's like okay it was a million dollars.[11:10] I digress on the insurance commercials yeah yeah it was it was uh their telephone phone commercials telephone commercials yeah he had a group of kids and he was almost like the moderator and ask kids questions or whatever and so when he got hired to snl i was like oh that's the guy from the commercials so i had already known his face and i'm like i didn't know he did comedy and he's on snl now that's gonna be interesting he turned into like a steady hand he turned into like like basically almost the rock of the show like he and keenan we're almost like the steady hand rocks of of the of that era of snl i'm excited about talking about back, Yeah, it's going to be a great episode, I suspect. Who do you have for us? Yeah. Try. So I am going to go, I want to go a different route. I'm going to use my musical guest early. And probably in a lot of ways because I think I already have a guest booked for this. One of my favorite guests to bring on the SNL Hall of Fame to talk music. So I'm going to pick you two as a nominee. And with the understanding that musical guests haven't had such great luck here on the SNL Hall of Fame, I think Paul Simon is in, and that's about it. I think I'm going to keep banging this drum all season. Dave Grohl should be in, and I will be talking about that as much as I can.[12:40] This is Dave Grohl's final season on the ballot. But I digress. You two, amazing band. Some memorable appearances at SNL four times on the show. And I think I have an awesome guest lined up to talk about U2. So I'm going to take U2 off the board early as my musical guest. They would have been one of my picks tonight, I suspect. They were on my musical shortlist if I didn't pick a writer. So they could have ended up a wild card for me. That being said, when did their appearances start? Were they always like a superstar band on the show? Well, that's the thing. Yeah, no, I don't think they appeared until the 90s.[13:23] Until like Octane Baby. Yeah, that's one of the things about them. From my recollection, I think they did pop. But they didn't appear when the Joshua Tree came out. They kind of missed like that. So I think their first appearances were in the 90s. So that'll be discussed, I'm sure. On our show as far as like timing of their appearances to me it reminds me maybe a little bit of prince in some ways uh as far as timing of their appearances for me they appeared after i'd already burnt out on them like i was that joshua tree era fan and really wasn't that zuropa.[14:03] You know kind of era didn't really click for me but i do know a lot of people of my age who were completely over the moon when they were on snl uh so yeah i mean they're a great band no arguments there but uh i don't know it's just for me they don't they aren't as as it isn't as memorable but i i can understand why because they are still such an amazing band and they did really put it all on the table whenever they did perform i just think for me the fact that the first time they showed up on SNL, if they were touring Octoon Baby, then it was either the Zoo TV tour, which was a stadium tour, or it was the one that had the cars hanging from the arena. I forget what that part of the tour was called before they went into Zoo TV and stadiums. So you have this band that's playing stadiums around the world coming into 8H.[15:00] This little wee stage. Right. That's what I mean. That's frickin' Hall of Fame. Yeah, I agree. That's one of the fascinating things about SNL and musical guests is sometimes we take for granted, like Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift or somebody like that. We're seeing these acts in a more intimate setting instead of these stadiums. U2 definitely qualifies. I think that's a really good point. Yeah, so that's my pick. We have Garrett Morris, Beck Bennett and you, too. It's back to Matt.[15:32] I'm going to go with my host card next. I am going to nominate Adam Driver. Again, one of those really strong players. He really brings his heart to every performance and he'll do things that like I'm pretty sure other people of his caliber of stardom would really push back on. I mean, you look at that cold open sketch that where he was Epstein and John Lovitz was Alan Dershowitz during the impeachment trial, the dark gallows humor that he was willing to go to in that for that sketch.[16:11] But then you also see like really over the top, silly things like when he was playing Dr. Rock hard, the porn doctor. And it's just, he's willing to like, you know, he's another one of those performers like Jon Hamm, like the star, his stardom doesn't get in the way of him doing silly stuff that takes down his own myth, like even like the undercover boss is Kylo Ren is so I'm going with Adam driver. Great pick. I think Adam driver, he wasn't on my short list, but I think it's a fantastic pick because he's. He doesn't have a dud. He doesn't have a dud episode. And that's key to being a Hall of Fame host, in my opinion. I tend to lean toward the five-timer being, you know, sort of a cutoff for me, and he just misses that.[17:06] But man, I can't wait to see those other performances working with this group that is starting to really find itself yeah this adam driver is one to me he's one of the better hosts of this whole era of snl and matt you did me a favor because adam driver was on like a short list and i was going to be debating between the shipping driver these other people so you just made that decision easier for me uh by taking adam driver because he was definitely on my like short very short list of hosts uh that i was considering he's just a guy He did some comedic stuff in Girls. He had some comedic moments, but I wouldn't describe him as a comedian or a comedic actor, but he showed those chops on SNL. I think a lot of times that's what happens. A lot of those good actors tend to do really well as SNL hosts because they can just slide in and do really quality sketch work. He was definitely up for anything. I love this. I'm super pumped to talk about Adam Driver. Yeah, it's going to be a great conversation. Anyone in mind off the top of your head? Not at all.[18:15] I'll put the fillers out there. I'll get somebody good, I'm sure of it. Yeah, that's great. All right. I'm up next. And I'm going to go with an old favorite.[18:27] To me, the first season of SNL that my little peepers got to see was Lauren's first year back. I saw the back half of that season. and was blown away. I had seen some Eddie Murphy episodes prior to that, but not much, and I don't have memories of them. But that season, I have memories. I have memories of one particular actor, and it's not Dennis Miller, who I thought was the coolest dude of all time, but the guy that made me laugh the most consistently because he was hammy, but not in a hammy way. And it's John Lovitz who I'm talking about. I think he's got a terrific resume. He was one of the very few. Nora Dunn, Dennis Miller, and he were the only survivors of the massacre that ensued following that season that Lauren came back. And they carried over into what became the second golden era of Saturday Night Live. In many ways, they formed, you know, the foundation of the next.[19:47] 20 years of that show you had the you know with the weekend update you had the solo performer doing weekend update you had this character actor that would do fantastic characters all the time and again i'm talking love it's just really terrific stuff uh i'm i'm really excited to see who you line up to talk about john lovitz i'm sure there'll be quite a a few people who want to do that but i'm curious what you guys think yeah people are going to be chomping at the bit to talk to talk about this and i i know off the top of my head at least uh, a couple snl podcasters out there uh would love maybe have already talked to me about hey if you guys do john lovitz let me know that would be one that i'd be interested so i know i have no shortage of options for john lovitz this is such a good one too it's funny jamie i'm keeping track of this i'm typing as as we go along and as soon as you started saying this person stood out to me at the end of lauren's first season i wrote john lovitz i'm like and i'm really excited because and you did me a favor too just like matt did me a favor with adam driver john lovitz was on like my very short list like i i was saying to myself am i really gonna go another draft without picking john lovitz we have to have john lovitz on on the season so i'm so excited about this jamie.[21:09] Great minds. He was on my list as well, honestly. I mean, like Tommy Flanagan, the devil in the people's court, you know, like just these consistently hilarious.[21:19] I mean, at the time when I was a kid, I didn't get him as much. But going back and rewatching him, I was like, I get it now. I get why everybody loves him. And I just think my tastes were not refined enough to appreciate him at the time. But yeah, having gone back and rewatched his era, I watched it on TV at the time, too. He's just a freaking genius. He knows when to go big. He knows when to be small.[21:54] And he'll do completely bonkers characters. And right now, he's adopted this, you know, well, I say right now, but over the last 25 years, he's adopted this butt of all jokes, you know, SNL based.[22:11] And I think that's hilarious. Like when they did the Immemorium, and he was on there. There's been other instances as well. So a lot of fun. Yeah absolutely yeah john love it's awesome so we're back to me uh i'm gonna um pick a cast member i'm gonna utilize one of my cast member choices and we've talked about molly shannon congratulations molly on being an so hall of famer we've talked on a gas dyer so i'm gonna go with a very talented woman who who was.[22:42] Their cohort who often upstaged them and who maybe popped dropped even more so than the other two which is saying a lot uh we haven't heard a ton from her since snl but i still think sherry o terry should get some love and get an episode of her own wow so i want to choose sherry o terry uh as my choice we're gonna have a sherry o terry episode and i think it's well deserved i think she was a big uh really big part of the resurgence of snl back in the late 90s oh totally agree like she was just like an amazing workout horse great great impersonations and impressions and just terrific a terrific energy like like i mean it was she was in a cast with some really amazing people but she always you know she could hold her own you know with with the rest of rest of the cast and her barbara walters is like when i imagined barbara I actually imagine her impression more than I imagine actually Barbara Walters. And it's like that just speaks to how much of a stamp she put on her performances. Yeah, I think in particular, her work with Will Ferrell was spectacular.[23:54] They found each other in scenes together quite often. And she could keep up with him physically and emotionally. You know, turn a phrase in a character type way. Really terrific stuff. Yeah, I can't wait. We've talked about a lot of the people from that era, and they're always really fun conversations because a lot of listeners, some of my guests, that's like their prime SNL years. It was like the Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon on a gas tire. We've taught Chris Parnell, we've taught Daryl Hammond. So I think it's about time Sherry O'Terry gets her episode. So i'm glad you guys are excited about this one well i guess it's my turn again uh i am going to go to the writer's pool uh for this one i'm going to plumb my gen x credentials and choose one of my favorite sketch you know sketch performers writers um later dramatic actors is Bob Odenkirk. He's, you know, probably in a lot of ways coming out of the writer's room. He don't like a lot of the writers do very successfully afterwards, but they're not necessarily as high profile. Whereas in a lot of ways, he's probably one of the most high profile former writer of the show as an actor, like with Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul.[25:22] But, you know, You know, he, you know, his writing with Robert Smigel and Conan O'Brien, but, you know, came out of the Chicago Second City community and created us, created characters like, you know, the the. Chris Farley's inspirational speaker, Matt Foley. And he went on to become like a very big voice in Gen X comedy with Mr. Show and working with Ben Stiller and Chris Elliott and writing for Dennis Miller when he had his own show. So, yeah, I'm just a big fan of Bob Odenkirk and I'd love to see him inducted. Yeah I wonder uh our buddies at the um Saturday Night Network um are definitely great as far as helping us out with credits and stuff so I'm curious there's probably gonna be some Odenkirk stuff that I didn't know that he was behind that I'll find out through this that tends to happen when I start researching the writers and doing all of that so I'm excited to find out a lot of what I don't know about Bob's SNL tenure obviously I think he might get a little bit of a bump too because of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad and he's still relevant now. So I think we might see what I'll call the Conan O'Brien bump. Maybe not to that level, but I think there's going to be a little bit of a surge for him. But I'm excited to see just what I don't know about Odenkirk.[26:46] Yeah, and it's very little. that uh like i didn't uh i forgot completely about the motivational speaker matt foley being a brainchild of his but i've watched the second city version of it and it's it's you know it's really great i think you are going to find somebody that's going to make a fantastic case for bob odenkirk i would have difficulty being the person to do that because i am not good at research and it's a it's a blind spot for me so i think that that is something that i'm trying to wrap my head around a little bit when i think about him as a as a hall of famer i look at the other writers who are in the hall you get seth myers you get conan o'brien yeah conan o'brien is this outlier. I can't wait to listen to the episode. So, you know, I want to be swayed. Yeah, hopefully it's a good one for you all. I'm sure it will be. I'm looking forward to see who takes on the assignment of being my guest for the Odin Kirk episode. I'm going to go with hosts next.[28:02] And it's someone who breaks my rule that I already outlined, you know, 300 strikeouts or 500 home runs to get into the Hall of Fame. And that's five stints as a host. This gentleman only has four. That's good, Jamie. I was going to talk you out of that anyway. So you shouldn't be so beholden to that. Okay, that's fine. That's fine.[28:28] So i think um i remember a party years ago i was still at an age it was season 19.[28:36] And i was of an age where i had to watch saturday night live live like every like every week like did not miss it and there was this big house party and i put it on and sat down on the couch to watch And I remember it vividly because it was Nirvana hosting. Nirvana was the musical guest, and it was my next nominee's first time hosting the show. And that was all the way back in 1993, I believe. And this is Charles Barkley. yeah and he he's very relevant nowadays because he's he says he claims he's retiring from tv.[29:18] We're recording this uh a little ahead of time uh until it comes out he says he's retiring from tv because tnt uh isn't gonna have basketball right i don't know what's gonna go on with inside the nba i don't know if i quite believe him honestly one of the most entertaining people uh in sports television always entertaining when he hosts snl she's a really charismatic dude just really funny guy uh so i i like this i i have to say i i think that's a great choice because i mean he's one of those few i'm not a big fan of sports personalities right on the show and he's one of the few i felt because i mean i still remember like i were we're months apart in age so uh i was watching that same night and uh that that you know that was a.[30:06] I had my shaggy shoulder length, greasy hair and grubby beard and my flannels. So I was right into Nirvana at that time. And yeah, it was like it was a surprising performance for me to do as well and be as strong as he was. But it was a great, great showing. I think one of the other, you know, sort of not rules, but little guidelines I like to look at for a host is how many eras did they work in? And he also qualifies there for me. His first appearance was again in season 19, and it was 1993. Then we didn't get him again until 2010 in season 35. Then he showed up relatively quickly with Kelly Clarkson in 2012 on season 37.[31:02] But then he wasn't back till season 43 in 2018. So that would have been almost an entire turnover at that point. I think to me that somebody that can host that many good episodes, I think season over season, era over era is somebody that should be at least considered for the Hall of Fame. Do I think he's a first ballot? No, but I think to use the parlance of his former sport, he's a slam dunk at some point. Oh, very nice, J.D. It's like a mic drop on your Charles Barkley. I like it.[31:41] So Charles Barkley is a host. I'm going to pick a host as well. You guys, I have a musical guest. I picked a cast member.[31:50] I'm going to go with the host. Somebody who's been very important to SNL. A former cast member but i don't think she quite has the resume to talk about as a cast member but i think she has some underrated episodes definitely when i went back and looked at her work as a host it surprised me as far as uh how strong she was as a host and maybe it shouldn't because she was a cast member she's hilarious i'm talking about julia louis drive is ah which does break your your rule jamie about she's only a three-timer uh but she she's she's worked with uh at least two different eras she hosted in 2006 2007 and she hosted in 2016 so she's worked with at least two different eras um but she always just really she was a steady hand as a host she did a great job to me the two this is a chance to celebrate julia um just all around as well and i think that's what this show SNL Hall of Fame is about is the chance to celebrate these folks and so I'm excited to celebrate just a super talented woman who has had an impact on SNL maybe I think more so maybe as a host than as a cast member but it'll be fun just to talk about her maybe touch on her entire body of work just a great comedic actor I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus So I want to talk about her for me. It feels when she came back to host, it was very much like a returning champion.[33:15] You know, like she came back and she'd conquered and she was able to, to relish in that glory.[33:21] And, and you know, I was like, I remember watching her in her era on the show and coming back and seeing her. And she's just so much more confident in every scene and so much more like she was great originally, but you see this growth in her. And it was great to see her at the peak of her ability coming back to the show. What I think is fascinating is I don't know off the top of my head if there is another host Hall of Famer that was a former cast member. And I don't think there is. I don't think so. I think this might be the first. Yeah. I think that that's a fascinating aspect of this candidacy. You know, that here she is, somebody that has three years on the show under her belt, and she gets called in. She knows what she's doing, not only comedically and as a comedic actress, but as a former cast member.[34:22] She sort of knows the ropes, and that is terrific fodder for conversation, I think. Yeah, absolutely. I think there's two people, there's two cast members in the SNL Hall of Fame that I think have cases to be in the SNL Hall of Fame as hosts. And I think Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig probably have cases for both things, which is pretty impressive. Um if we're talking former cast members as hosts you know the two of two of the preeminent ones are already in the hall i think julia is a good uh next level uh as far as that goes yeah well how do you follow julia louis-dreyfus um so i think i'm gonna go with another cast member uh and i was speaking about dr rockhard earlier and i'm gonna go back to his his waiting room.[35:16] And showing Aidy Bryant who is just another one of those incredible talents um solid delivery 10-year veteran on the show just you know her her musical bits you know and on top of that possibly the best Ted Cruz impersonation that I have ever seen um yeah and I mean she got her start like as a producer for comedy bang bang and she just brought that willingness and energy that you get in that LA alt comedy scene to SNL and I thought it was a great addition I did not know that's where she came from that's, amazing the former TV show or the, podcast the TV show oh so cool wow yeah I think this is a another great pick.[36:10] Matt um ad bryant is a spectacular cast member and again she was alongside kate mckinnon you know and kate mckinnon was was gilda radner was jan hooks was kristin wigg you know begat kate mckinnon and yet ad stood beside her and could shine brighter and that to me not all the the time but you know from time to time for sure and that to me is um a great place to start your argument for why she belongs in the hall yeah so beloved i'm curious to see what the voting percentage will be like from her if we're reading the tea leaves with kate mckinnon um it probably won't go in 80s favor the first time um but she's definitely to me she's hall worthy i'll say that and and she's definitely episode worthy this is something when when 80 stepped away from the show this was something that i was excited like i know in a couple years in a few seasons or whatever we're gonna be able to do an 80 brian episode so this is something i've been looking forward to ever since she left the show matt so this this is this is awesome the research is gonna be fun i'm gonna know i'm gonna have a great guest there's people gonna be lining up to talk about 80 bryant she's just such a beloved figure on snl and and i think we're seeing kind of hard to replace.[37:37] Honestly yeah all right so i'm up to bat i'm gonna close my eyes and point no.[37:46] I'm not gonna do that i'm gonna go in order i'm gonna stay in order i did two cast members i did a um host now Now I'm going to do a musical guest slash writer.[37:57] But I'm going to choose a musical guest who was a fantastic songwriter, quite frankly. One of the best songwriters and most well-known songwriters in his generation, which was predominantly the 70s, although adult contemporary played him throughout the 80s. And he made his presence known on SNL, I believe, in 80, 83, and then 86. He was on the Ebersole era he was on the original Lorne era and then Lorne brought him back for that first season I'm talking about if you don't know Randy Newman, who is not my bag necessarily, but I recognize the brilliance in his songwriting and his ability to inflect his sense of humor. He's got a wicked sense of humor, and he uses that in his music in a really fun kind of way. The only contemporary artist I can think of that reminds me of something similar is like Ben Folds. But Ben Folds certainly wasn't ever as big as Randy Newman was or is, although I do love Ben Folds.[39:16] Anyway, I think that's my – well, I don't think. That's my pick, Randy Newman, and I'm sticking to it. Yeah, six-timer Randy Newman. Six-timer, yeah, absolutely. So he had quite an impact on the show. I already have maybe somebody in mind as a guest for Randy Newman.[39:34] So I think not totally like 100% my cup of tea. There's a lot of stuff that he did that I did like, but maybe an era before me. But you can't argue his impact as a songwriter. Just what a reliable guest that he was on SNL.[39:52] So I think this is a really great choice. We're celebrating an older era of SNL that deserves to be celebrated with one of the predominant musical guests from that era. I like it, Jamie. Same here. I mean, like he's one of those performers that, you know, especially in that early era, SNL tapped into the zeitgeist musically in a way that was seldom seen on television. Like, you know, you wouldn't see him on a lot of TV shows other than these shows like SNL pushing the edges of musical talent and bringing in voices that were not necessarily always paid attention to. But I mean, he's gone on to. Yeah, I mean, he's been gone on to become like this cultural touchstone, like the Toy Story theme songs, like all the he's like all sorts of movies and television shows that he's touched. And I think that a lot of that comes back to these six episodes that he did that that helped elevate him so this will be a great conversation good job Jamie I love it so and another musical guest and uh we can see how musical guests of different eras kind of do I'm always fascinated yeah I don't have high hopes yeah but I do I do think uh sorry I said it's the journey that that that's that's what I think that's what's important here it's the journey not like if he makes it or what's that.[41:17] You got it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's important, but, you know, I've learned my lesson with Dave Grohl and I just had to appreciate doing the Dave Grohl episode and whether he gets into the hall, you know, that's, that's, um, I almost have to take that as like a bonus. So I'm up next and I'm, I have another cast member, uh, that I need to, I, so I picked Sherry O'Terry as my first cast member and I'm going to go a little more current than Sherry O'Terry and And talk about Bobby Moynihan. I think Bobby's had such a huge impact on SNL. And he was often, he never was somebody who was looked at as the leader of any of his casts. But he was so, so important. And I think he was always such an underrated cast member. Until he left the show and then people started reevaluating his time at SNL. Completely. Yeah, right? Yeah. Yeah, people were like, wasn't Bobby Moynihan so good? And then we start thinking of all these characters, all his sketch work. He still loves SNL. He still appears on it. He's an SNL podcast listener.[42:24] I'm about 5% convinced that he might listen to the SNL Hall of Fame. That's how much he loves SNL. So Bobby Moynihan, if you're out there, we love you, and we're going to do an episode on you. For me, he was like, when he popped for me, he just like there's the one sketch and i liked him but you know it's sort of on the fence but my wife's like ah i just i don't he's not but then he did the peppa up in here character and we're just like we're in love we're in love with bobby he's just so brilliant and.[43:03] Yeah, I can't wait to hear this episode. I think you really hit it on the head when you were talking about his departure and reflecting back and, you know, seeing that Bobby Moynihan-shaped hole.[43:19] I think that his versatility is something that isn't discussed enough. He was great in sketches.[43:28] He was great at being a character. and he did weekend update bits of the yin yang that were almost all home runs if that's not hall of fame worthy i don't know what is what i am going to be interested to see is the two current big boys so far are beck bennett and bobby moynihan those are you know sort of current era level hall of fame nominees i'm curious which one will get more ballots this year i don't think either goes in this year but do.[44:05] A little side bet but i'm curious who gets the most ballots yeah yeah maybe we can get a sponsorship from exactly yeah um yeah so i'm glad you guys like this pick bobby monahan super excited to start delving into his all his work uh i mean i know a lot of it a lot of it's imprinted in my mind but it's just so fun to go back and watch him cook like the weekend update desk is something that he he was just he just lived in and made his own riblet and drunk uncle like there's just like things that are so classic oh yeah we still go back to a drunk uncle like just everyone's always like yeah this is a drunk uncle moment yeah definitely yeah so bobby moynihan uh matt circling back around so we're down to the home stretch it's our the final pick for for all three of us so yeah.[45:02] I am going to go back to the beginning. Alan Zweibel, you know, one of the original band of writers, penned for that first season of SNL. He went on to get a really close relationship with Gilda Radner, writing a memoir about the relationship, Bunny Bunny, Gilda Radner, a sort of love story, which was adopted into a play for Gary Shandling, her enthusiasm. Enthusiasm but also he created i i say two of the most iconic sketches of that original era which are belushi samurai sketch and and rosanne rosanna dana i feel like those are two wow yeah those early characters that really you you think back to them it's like they just pop and they're both they're both from his pen so uh yeah that is my final pick yeah i think that's a great pick uh Alan's White Bell, they talk about him being under the Weekend Update desk, handing off jokes. He was a joke writer. That's what he was. He was a joke writer, and he was among the last people to be hired, I think.[46:11] But they knew what they needed, and they knew that he could deliver, and deliver he did. Bonding early on with Gilda Radner, using that bond to create. An iconic character, co-create an iconic character, like you say, that may have overstayed her welcome. But she was on quite a bit those first couple seasons. But nevertheless, she was great. And he's great. And I think that the people that listen to this show are.[46:47] Need to start understanding that this is a show that has performers that do great work and are coming from a school of improvisation. But virtually everything you see every week on Saturday Night Live is written, and it's written by really talented people, and they need to be reflected in the hall as well. Well said here here and uh yeah as why bell when i go back and watch old uh snl episodes he makes me do the leonardo dicaprio pointing at the tv because he will he will appear like you'll see a sketch and then you'll be like oh it's why there's alan's why bell in the background or they used a picture of alan's why bell on weekend update for something or he'll just kind of pop up he's like uh where's waldo uh in that era's why bell will pop up when you least expect him and he had a really funny cameo and a curbing enthusiasm as well he had a funny interaction with larry david uh when he ran into him in new york city at a bar that one of my favorite scenes in the show's history is why belt was a part of so we love oh oh this is gonna be a fun one to listen to yeah i've got a lot to learn and that is where i start with my wild card pick i've got Got a lot to learn. I don't know a lot about this next fella.[48:07] I know not a lot about him because of the era he came into, but I know that he was part of the bread and butter. There was Eddie Murphy carrying the load, but the glue guy was Joe Piscopo. I felt you were going there. And Joe Piscopo is somebody that I think, while he's got some interesting things to say these days, I think that reflecting back on his actual career, which is what we want to do and we want to look at, I think that he was pivotal. He was pivotal. There are a handful of people that are responsible for SNL staying afloat. I'm not going to say keeping it alive in this case, because I don't think he was that valuable a cog.[49:02] Uh over overall but he kept it afloat for sure like he was somebody who kept it afloat he was he was a steady rower and it was a time that things were not steady other than steady eddie of course so joe pescabo he's got my back he's probably the most buff uh former cast member in the show's history if i i would i mean i haven't done the proper research for this uh but But my guess is he's the most ripped cast member in history. What do you guys think? I have to agree. Beck Bennett is surprisingly close, but I think Joe in his heyday has that title. I think he's the only one who's appeared on a men's health magazine, that's for sure. Probably. Never saw Kyle Mooney in men's health.[49:53] Now I've got that sketch in my head where he got like wearing the bodysuit like. Like, that's what Joe Piscopo actually looked like at one point. Let's write a sketch about Joe Piscopo. Jamie, this is great. I think people always talk about Eddie Murphy, rightfully so. Like, Eddie Murphy was amazing in that era. But Joe, Joe Piscopo was right there with him in a lot of these classic sketches. Sketches and i think i know a lot of snl super fans who really go to bat for for talking about how how important joe piscopo was and what an actual like good cast member he was uh so this will be uh really neat to go back and watch frankly a lot of sketches that sort of get lost in time from that era if eddie murphy wasn't a part of them um it's almost like they just kind of get lost in snl history so this will be a fun one for me and when you find them out there they're They're usually hacked to bits, right? Like there's like three sketches and then meet one musical performance or something like that. You know, exactly. What have you got for us, Thomas? Oh, sorry, man. Sorry. I was just going to say, I can't wait as well. Like I, I mean, he's such a, he, I love his mobster characters when he, when he goes into that sort of like rat rat pack, channeling like uh frank sinatra that he would often do yeah and they use that like that like later on in his career he appeared on star trek the next generation as like a rat pack era.[51:21] Comedian and yeah like he mentored data on how to be a stand-up comedian and it's just like he just He exudes the feel of that era, but that's because he just is so good at committing to a bit. So, yeah, I can't wait. Thomas, you're bringing this home. Yes, sir. I'm rounding this out. I have a wild card pick as well, and I'm going to add another host into the mix and end it with a host. It's a five timer. So I'm adhering to that to that loose rule, I guess, of having a five timer. It's somebody who actually hosted six times between 1982 and 1999. Bobby Moynihan apparently actually impersonated this person on the show one time. So I'm talking about Danny DeVito. Danny DeVito. I was going to guess that. Yeah. So it's Danny DeVito. He was always like a very reliable host. He hosted one time with his wife, Rhea Perlman. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. I remember him having memorable sketches of really funny. Everybody talks about the delicious dish with Alec Baldwin, but Danny DeVito was in a really clever delicious dish sketch in his own right that I'll definitely talk about. I always loved Danny. He's such an interesting, quirky personality.[52:41] And it's just going to be so fun to chat about his hosting gigs at SNL. Like I said, 82 to 99. So not quite like he never hosted with a lot of the new cast. But he's got to see a lot of SNL so Danny DeVito is my choice, I like it. It's a bold choice. It's sort of sitting in the bushes, you know, but it's very obvious once you play those cards. And the fact that the run is from 82 to 99, and you got a lot of quality appearances you know again another stat quality appearances.[53:31] They together with ria perlman i thought um was a fun episode and for a time it almost seemed like he was going to challenge alec baldwin he even had the episode with his spouse You know, they were rolling out around the same episodes, and then Baldwin just took off in a bolt. I think that Danny DeVito is somebody that will, you know, probably hit around the 35% mark in his first year, which to me is somebody that's likely to get in. But it'll take a couple years of us pestering people and telling people, no, no, watch the episodes. This guy was really good. And Danny DeVito is one of those interesting. I remember watching Taxi as a kid and he was just like so abrasive. But it was again, it comes back to his.[54:32] His capability of understanding the moment and what he needed to bring to any scene. And then, you know, you go on to watch twins and all of this stuff growing up. I actually don't remember his SNL days. So I'm going to have to go back and rewatch those episodes. Not quirky sketches. sketches it's very some a lot of them are very danny devito which is a good thing good thing yeah yeah yeah yeah it's gonna be fun yeah definitely i think it's always sunny in philadelphia is gonna help him too because a lot of younger he's very relevant yeah a lot of younger people like it's always sunny i like it my my uh 16 year old niece loves it so that's you know he he a lot of people from different generations know danny devito and i think it's always sunny he's going to help him a lot here. I wonder if he'll come back. I wonder if he'll do a stint again. Yeah, I was looking at hosts. If that show ends or something. I think he'd be game. He's really game for anything.[55:31] He's not a person to turn down an opportunity to perform. So I would say he'd go for it. Maybe we can hire him for the SNL Hall of Fame Christmas party this year. Oh, I'll put some fillers out. I'm efforting as we say in the business. Well, Thomas, do you want to run down our picks one more time? Absolutely. So in order of whether they're drafted, we have... Garrett Morris, Beck Bennett, U2, Adam Driver, John Lovitz, Sherry Oteri, Bob Odenkirk, Charles Barkley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, A.D. Bryant, Randy Newman, Bobby Moynihan, Alan Zweibel, Joe Piscopo, and Danny DeVito. I spared you guys my Don Pardo impression. I drew that, by the way, so you're welcome.[56:27] Listen i think that that's a formidable class of nominees rather not inductees but nominees i think that uh we've got an interesting season at our at our hands on top of those 15 episodes of course we're going to do another don pardo award there will be of course our famous round roundtable episode and then we'll wrap it all up with the class of season six. I wonder who on the ballot will make it. It'll be interesting to see. Thomas, Matt, thanks so much. This was a blast. That was great. Well, that's what we've got for you. So if you do me a favor and on the way out, as you pass the weekend update exhibit, turn out the lights because the SNL Hall of Fame is now closed.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/snlhof/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mal and Jo went to see Melissa Hart, a Chicago Second City member, when she played Sally Bowles in Cabaret. 1968.

Who is Jeff Michalski: JEFF MICHALSKI Improv practitioner, teacher, and actor, he is featured in over thirty films, most recently The Laundromat playing opposite Meryl Streep. He has taught all forms of improvisation for over twenty years, as well as developed his own long-form techniques. He has performed across the United States, Canada, and Ireland in theatres and nightclubs and has directed Second City companies in Chicago, Los Angeles, Kilkenny, and Toronto. Founder of the Second City ETC, he also helped create the Second City Training Program in Chicago and Los Angeles. As a producer, director and performer, he has worked with Dan Castellaneta, Chris Farley, Amy Sedaris, Mike Meyer, Steven Colbert, Ryan Stiles, and many more. Jeff worked in comedy clubs across the country with the Original Comedy Rangers and was a member of the Groundling in Los Angeles before settling with the Chicago Second City in 1980. During his years with the Second City, Mr. Michalski studied with Paul Sills and his historic Story Theatre. While traveling the country with Second City's National Touring Company he continued training with Second City founder Paul Sills, and artistic directors Del Close, Fred Kaz and Bernie Sahlins. Jeff has also written for comedians and television shows including Emo Phillips and "Exit 57". He has also been a director of the Cats’ Laugh International Comedy Festival in Kilkenny, Ireland. Who is The Real Deal: The Real Deal is a spiritual teacher to the Hollywood elite who believes we are all holograms, His influences by Marshal McCluhan, Joyce and Chompsky although he is completely original. 

Jeff Michalski is an actor, director, improvisor, teacher, mentor and so much more. He worked in comedy clubs across the country with the Original Comedy Ranger and was a member of the Groundling in Los Angeles before settling with the Chicago Second City in 1980. During his years with the Second City, Jeff studied with Paul Sills and his historic Story Theatre. While traveling the country with Second City’s National Touring Company he continued training with Second City founder Paul Sills, and artistic directors Del Close, Fred Kaz and Bernie Sahlins. In 1984 Michalski and his wife, Jane Morris, founded theSecond City ETC. His directorial debut , “Cows on Ice” made the ETC an instant hit and was followed by the even larger success of “Mirrors at the Border”. His achievements brought him to the Second City Toronto where he was nominated for a Dora Award for his direction of “Who’s Tory Now?” Michalski continued as director and Artistic Director of the ETC until 1988 when his success in Chicago led him to be chosen as director of the premiere production of the Second City in Santa Monica, also a critical success. While still in Chicago with the ETC, Michalski also helped found the Second City Training Center, a comprehensive training program from which the next generation of Second City players are chosen. He also founded the Second City Training Program in Santa Monica. Mr. Michalski and Ms. Morris founded the Upfront Comedy Showcase in 1990, and The Comedy Underground in Santa Monica in 1998. He is currently teaching people from all walks of life to improvise at the fanaticSalon in Culver City. As a producer, director and performer, he has worked with Dan Castellaneta, Chris Farley, Amy Sedaris, Mike Meyer, Steven Colbert, Ryan Stiles, and many more. Jeff can be seen in the upcoming film The Laundromat with Meryl Streep.

Welcome to Stream of Thought's first mobile episode! Rix and Victor record at Second City Chicago where the two sit with Greg and Mike Coady, twin brothers and castmates of Victor in the Second City production of "Sabotage".  Rochester natives Greg and Mike share a plethora of laughs as they discuss what it was like to grow up as twins, what brought them to Chicago/Second City and the handful of times they escaped the perilous grips of death... and arrest. Welcome to a new edition of Stream of Thought as Rix and Victor open their discussion with the outside world. Prepare for the podcasts very first guests and the many more to come!  With that being said, we hope you... enjoy!  

  Join Travel Brigade in the Windy City as we make our way to top attractions, eat delicious food, hit the theater district, enjoy great hotels and the experience Lakefront parks. We will have interviews with The Second City comedy club, the Art Institute of Chicago, a food critic, Water Tower Place shopping area on the Magnificent Mile and the city’s own “Local Tourist.” Come check out the great attitude of the friendly people in this huge city. Enjoy the trip! Follow us on Twitter @TravelBrigade.