Anthony Michael Hall SNL 50

Famous hosts, musical guests and “Saturday Night Live” alumni turned out in full force for Sunday’s “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” tribute.

Transcript

00:00What's it like to be back here a lot of like former cast members describe these like stress pangs

00:04Do you have those for real? I mean listen, it was a grueling and rigorous and challenging job. We would come in on Monday

00:11We would start writing

00:12We would be paired off with writers and we would all write the show around the clock till Wednesday

00:17Then we do a read-through and that famous reader would Lauren

00:20He brings in the department heads all the cast members and then basically whatever got the most laughs

00:24He would then make his notes go back to his office and then work on the famous board with the index cards

00:29He starts designing the show Wednesday night. And then Thursday, we would come in and start rehearsing around the clock

00:34Thursday Friday Saturday

00:36So it was really it's really a six day a week job. So by the time you finish the show live

00:40It's it's just all that energy

00:41It's just a thrill man visceral thrill and it's kind of like theater rock and roll stand-up everything rolled into one, you know

00:47But I just have such great memories of the show and that was a small part of it all those years ago

00:52But we just can't because I want to salute Lauren and NBC for giving me that opportunity

00:57And that's just it's a dream, you know, it was a dream come true then and still is you know

01:00Yeah, is there a sketch from your time on the show that never made it to air that you're still mad about

01:06Not mad, but I think Downey and I did something that was pretty funny

01:10I had a sketch called Rasta white boy that I run up writing us writing some song with GE Smith of the year and I

01:15Don't think that made it to show but we did some fun stuff on update all those years ago Downey and I

01:21Working with Damon Wayans was great. We had a sketch called two Jones's which was pretty funny wouldn't fly today

01:25But they were two junkies basically selling

01:27Tech goods in a commercial. It was really funny

01:29So I had just such a great experience man all the people I got to work with and again

01:34We just want to salute Lauren and NBC for having us and just a dream come true man

01:38It really is my last question. Is there a piece of advice that you got from Lauren that you carry throughout the rest of your career?

01:47Lauren is notoriously dry at times and I've heard a lot of people on a lot of the shows like Dana

01:52Carvey and David Spade's podcast

01:54Well, they'll imitate Lauren and you know, he'll say stuff like that was nice. Maybe we should make it funny for this time

02:00You know do some really dry sarcastic comments, but

02:03Lauren was great. I mean, he's the godfather. He really invented the format

02:06And the people we've met I mean Paul Simon, I mean Stevie Ray Vaughan

02:11I mean it just goes on and on Oprah Madonna all these people I got to work with as a kid

02:17You know, it's just incredible

02:18You know, whether you had a great sketch or not the doing of the show was such a visceral thrill, you know

02:24As I said, it's like rock and roll theater and stand-up rolled into one, you know, and then you'd be meeting great

02:29You know music artists. I mean, we know what the format is, but it's just a real testament to Lauren and

02:35NBC and what they did they took a great chance all those years back in 1975 and

02:39You know the year I was on has been coined that the weird year was a big transition point

02:44But just grateful for it, you know, and I took a different route after this

02:48but I'll never forget the feeling of the show and doing it and

02:51Just a blessing man real dream come true