The first member of the ‘Saturday Night Live’ Five-Timers Club
The Five-Timers Club is one of the most prestigious clubs in show business. In the halls of Saturday Night Live, the Five-Timers club was originally a joke that went on to become more important and celebrated as the club grew bigger. Now, you can expect anyone who is celebrating their fifth time appearing on the show to have a sketch dedicated to their induction.
The first time viewers became aware of the Five-Timers Club was when Tom Hanks hosted Saturday Night Live for the fifth time on December 8th, 1990. He was greeted into the club by Steve Martin, Elliot Gould, and Paul Simon, despite Simon having only hosted four times. Over the next three decades, famous names like John Goodman, Scarlet Johansson, and Paul Rudd all managed to get their own inductions.
But when Hanks first visited the club in 1990, one essential member was missing: the very first member of the Five-Timers Club. That would be Buck Henry, the veteran character actor. Henry was a frequent presence at Studio 8H during the first half-decade of SNL, first hosting during the show’s debut season. By the time he hosted the show for the final time in 1980, Henry had racked up ten hosting gigs in just five years.
That frequency meant that Henry reached the Five-Timers Club quickly. His hosting gig on November 19th, 1977, was Henry’s fifth time hosting the show in just over a single calendar year. There wasn’t any fanfare or special sketch to honour Henry’s accomplishment, and after Henry’s final appearance hosting the show in 1980, Henry didn’t return to SNL for any of the subsequent Five-Timers sketches.
In that way, Henry’s designation as the first Five-Timer is hardly remembered. But Henry’s contribution to SNL was essential, proving to be a solid and reliable guest host. Even though John Belushi’s katana memorably sliced Henry during the Halloween 1976 episode, he remained game to continue hosting for another four years.
Check out Buck Henry talking about his most memorable brush with the censors down below.
