If you’ve read a lot of behind the scenes stuff or watched a lot of documentaries about Saturday Night Live, you likely have a certain picture of Lorne Michaels in your head. You likely see him as aloof, maybe a little standoffish and unapproachable but kind-hearted deep down. That comes from numerous former cast members telling stories about him, most of which involve being intimidated by him, having problems with him and/ or not really knowing how to read him. Some of that still exists, but according to David Spade, a lot has changed since he worked in Studio 8H.
The popular comedian recently made a cameo appearance on SNL to play Hunter Biden in a sketch alongside his longtime buddy Dana Carvey. The two reflected on the appearance during the most recent episode of their Fly On The Wall podcast, and Spade revealed he was “floored” by how the cast interacted with Michaels. Apparently Sarah Sherman just came right out and texted him to ask why her sketch got cut, which was shocking to Spade. Here’s a portion of his quote…
What about at SNL when Sarah Sherman’s like, ‘Then I texted Lorne and said why did my sketch got cut?’ I’m like ‘You text Lorne?’ That floors me… Lorne was giving notes when I was doing Hunter Biden. We’re all sitting there. Lorne’s got a mic out, and he’s like ‘Cold Open.’ He starts reading and then he goes, ‘Sarah’, because she was playing Matt Gaetz, ‘You’re not in the light enough. Can you face more toward the middle?’ And she goes, ‘I’ll try.’ I went (shocked face). How about, ‘Yes, Sir.’
Some cast members have always had a bit more of a friendly relationship with Michaels, but in general, it seems pretty clear that for the first three or four decades of the show, he was a much more intimidating presence than he’s been the last decade. In fact, Bowen Yang and other current cast members have talked about how they’ve formed very friendly bonds with him after being very intimidated initially.
That’s likely a sign of Michaels relaxing a little bit as he’s gotten older (he’s 80 now), but it’s also likely a sign of how communication styles in the workplace, both in show business and outside of it, have changed quite a bit over the last decade. People are often a lot more comfortable now to address concerns directly with their bosses, and they’re also a lot more comfortable airing their concerns in public, which we’ve seen from the SNL cast in recent years when they’ve been upset about various hosts or things going on behind the scenes.
On another note, it was a joy to see David Spade back on SNL. The comedian was a central cast member in the early to mid 1990s, and while he’s had a great career playing a key role on numerous sitcoms and cranking out some underrated movie gems, there’s a segment of the population that will always remember him most fondly on Saturday Night Live.
Thankfully, the show is turning 50 this season, and they’ve been working in a steady stream of cameos and former cast member appearances to celebrate. There will also be a special in February, and if it’s anything like the 40th Anniversary, we’ll all be in for a treat. Details, as well as the show’s next slate of upcoming hosts, should be revealed soon.
