The only ‘Saturday Night Live’ star to host an episode when they were still a cast member
It’s become a rite of passage for Saturday Night Live alumni to return and host an episode, but only one cast member has fronted the show while still part of the repertory.
It wasn’t by design, though, but out of necessity. It was a logical and organic choice, too, even if it rubbed some of their co-stars the wrong way that they got the nod. They were the most obvious and qualified candidate by far, cementing themselves in history by way of either illness or a hangover, depending on who you ask.
On December 11th, 1982, Nick Nolte was lined up as that week’s guest host, only to call executive producer Dick Ebersol and tell him that he couldn’t do it. “I’m going to ruin your show,” he insisted. “I’m burned, man.” According to staff writer Elliot Wald, Nolte was sending mixed signals as to why he was in no fit state to step in as SNL‘s compere.
“He supposedly went into rehab,” the scribe recalled. “But he was seen preparing for rehab at Studio 54.” Regardless, that week’s episode was down a host, and since Nolte was doing it, in part, to hype the release of Walter Hill’s 48 Hrs, which had landed in cinemas three days previously, there was only one person who could replace him, and they just so happened to be a cast member.
From almost the second his big-screen debut arrived, it was clear that Eddie Murphy would outgrow SNL in no time. Sure enough, that’s what he did, but when Nolte dropped out, he seized the opportunity with both hands. “I know you folks tuned in to see one of the stars of 48 Hrs host the show,” he told the live audience and the viewers at home. “And dammit, you’re gonna see it!”
It was such an upending of convention that nobody on the current roster has ever hosted a show since, and as you might expect, Murphy managed to get right under the skin of his colleagues when he altered the signature opening line to, “Live, from New York, it’s The Eddie Murphy Show!”
The stand-up-turned-sketch comic and eventual cinematic superstar already had the proverbial rocket strapped to his back, and as much as it makes perfect sense to utilise the tools at your disposal and have the other star of 48 Hrs pick up the slack when Nolte ruled himself out of contention, it didn’t sit well with everyone.
“It was a little hard to swallow,” co-star Mary Gross admitted. “We always knew he was a little more important, but this really said it.” Up until then, they’d all shared a platform, but when Murphy was promoted to host at the expense of a short-notice replacement, it reinforced the belief that he was the golden child, which he was.
In fact, Ebersol literally called Murphy “the most important performer” in the history of Saturday Night Live, so Gross’ complaint was more of an open secret than a case of sour grapes.
