Saturday Night time Reside paused its year-end Christmas episode on Saturday evening (Dec. 20) to pay tribute to Rob Reiner, honoring the filmmaker’s early and influential position within the present’s historical past.
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Simply forward of the episode’s goodnights, SNL aired an on-screen tribute card that includes Reiner throughout his time on this system.
The gesture got here lower than every week after Reiner and his spouse, Michele Singer Reiner, had been discovered useless of their Los Angeles residence. Their son, Nick Reiner, has since been arrested and charged in reference to their deaths.
Whereas Reiner grew to become greatest identified for his work as a director — together with This Is Spinal Faucet, The Princess Bride and A Few Good Males — his relationship with Saturday Night time Reside dates again to the present’s earliest days.
Reiner hosted this system’s third-ever episode on Oct. 25, 1975, at a time when the sequence was nonetheless defining its id.
Not like the present’s first two hosts, George Carlin and Paul Simon, Reiner absolutely participated in sketches all through the episode, serving to set up the host-as-performer format that will develop into central to SNL’s construction. The episode is now thought of a foundational second within the present’s evolution.
Reiner was joined through the episode by his spouse on the time, Penny Marshall, with the pair showing collectively in a number of sketches.
Probably the most memorable moments noticed their sketch interrupted by John Belushi and the Bees — SNL’s first recurring characters — in a scene that captured the present’s early, chaotic power. Notably, the episode featured no musical visitor; as a substitute, Belushi carried out “With a Little Assist From My Mates” whereas impersonating Joe Cocker.
Reiner’s connection to SNL prolonged properly past his internet hosting duties.
In 1993, Chris Farley impersonated Reiner in a chilly open alongside Phil Hartman’s President Invoice Clinton. Many performers from the SNL universe additionally appeared in Reiner-directed movies over time, together with This Is Spinal Faucet, which starred Michael McKean, Christopher Visitor and Harry Shearer — all carefully tied to the present.
Earlier this yr, Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner had been among the many attendees at SNL50: The Homecoming Live performance, underscoring his enduring relationship with this system.
Saturday’s episode was hosted by Ariana Grande with Cher as musical visitor. The published additionally marked the ultimate look of solid member Bowen Yang.
