Saturday Night Live characters appearing on Weekend Update

Weekend Update has been a platform for Saturday Night Live characters to grow and gain popularity ever since Gilda Radner used it to create Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna. Many cast members have used Update as the primary vehicle for a certain character. Don Novello was featured almost exclusively on the news segment as his breakout character, Father Guido Sarducci, and Tim Kazurinsky, in the face of Eddie Murphy's overshadowing popularity, created characters almost exclusively for Update. Before becoming an anchor on Update, Colin Quinn used the segment as his main sounding board as well.

Significant characters who appeared chiefly on Weekend Update are listed here in chronological order of their first appearance on the show. Each character's write-up is followed by a list of episodes in which they appeared. The episodes also denote who the SNL news anchor was at the time (if there is no anchor listed, it was the same as the previous listing). Some Update characters don't appear here because they fit better into one of the other categories listed below.

Character lists: Alphabetical and Chronological

Character categories:

• TV show sketches
• Animal sketches
• Musical sketches

Emily Litella

Main article: Emily Litella

Emily Litella was an elderly woman with a hearing problem played by Gilda Radner in the late 1970s. She would frequently rant about topics about which she had misread or misheard, such as "Violins on Television," "Canker Research," "Endangered Feces," or "Presidential Erections." (To satisfy the censors at the time, Litella was made to explicitly state that she was referring to erecting statues of presidents.) Her catchphrase was "Never mind!", said after she was informed of her mistake.

Roseanne Roseannadanna

Main article: Roseanne Roseannadanna

Roseanne Roseannadanna was another character played by Gilda Radner, as a commentator on Weekend Update from 1977 to 1980. She was a brash New Yorker with a thick Brooklyn accent who would read a letter asking a series of questions, almost always by "Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey" (Fort Lee being the site of an NBC studio). While answering the questions, she would go off on a disgusting tangent—usually relating a story of seeing a celebrity doing something disgusting, or a mundane topic, such as relating a story of a hair she found on a bar of soap—and have to be halted by anchor Jane Curtin.

Lester Crackfield

Played by Al Franken, Lester represented (as correspondent Laraine Newman put it) "the plight of the modern coal miner". He appeared only twice.

Father Guido Sarducci

Main article: Father Guido Sarducci

Father Guido Sarducci was a chain-smoking priest with tinted eyeglasses played by Don Novello in the 1970s who worked as a gossip columnist and rock critic for L'Osservatore Romano, a Vatican newspaper.

He appeared on a number of TV shows, albums, and cartoons outside of Saturday Night Live, and also made newspaper headlines when he visited Vatican City wearing his full outfit and taking photos. Novello was arrested and charged with "impersonating a priest", but the charges were later dropped. The character first appeared in the 1970s on The Danny Finkleman Show on CBC Radio.

Chico Escuela

Chico Escuela (translation: "Kid School"), played by Garrett Morris, was the Weekend Update sports correspondent. A retired Hispanic ballplayer with limited command of the English language, he wrote the tell-all book Bad Stuff 'Bout the Mets (sample: "Tom Seaver - he once borrow Chico's soap and no give it back"). In spring training of 1979, Chico's unsuccessful comeback attempt was documented on several Update segments. The character was first introduced in a St. Mickey's Knights of Columbus sketch, but subsequently Escuela appeared solely on Update.

Typically he would be introduced by Jane Curtin, thus compelling him to say, "Thank you, Hane!" Soon would follow his standard catchphrase: "Beisbol been bery, bery good to me!" Sammy Sosa, at the peak of his stardom in the late 1990s, would sometimes repeat that line as a joke, to the media, albeit in his true-to-life strong Hispanic accent.^{[citation needed]}

Big Vic Ricker

Ricker, portrayed by Harry Shearer, succeeded Chico Escuela as Weekend Update's sports commentator. He was prone to speaking very fast and in a gruff voice.

Dr. Jack Badofsky

Dr. Jack Badofsky was played by Tim Kazurinsky in a series of appearances on SNL Newsbreak or Saturday Night News (the monikers for Weekend Update during the Ebersol years). The doctor would inform the audience about different strains of diseases like influenza or rabies, and each strain would be a rhyming pun (i.e. "Should you be bitten by an ownerless dog, that’s Straybies, and a foaming French poodle can give you Qu’est-ce Que-C’estbies"). Badofsky stuttered in a timid, wavering tone, suggesting the sort of "ultra uptight" and extremely introverted character he was supposed to be, when thrust into the spotlight. There is, indeed, a real Jack Badofsky. He collaborated with Kazurinsky in writing the sketches and—as a nod to Badofsky—Kazurinsky named the character after him.. At the time, Badofsky headed up Smith, Badofsky & Raffel, a Chicago ad agency known for Badofsky's humorous radio commercials. Badofsky also has written many essays and humor for newspapers and magazines as well a material performed on the stage and TV.

Siobhan Cahill

Cahill, played by Mary Gross, commented on the Irish-American news. Though she was a recurring character, she appeared on "Saturday Night News" only once. During the 1991-92 season, SNL would have featured players by the names of Siobhan Fallon and Beth Cahill.

Patti Lynn Hunnsacker

Patti Lynn Hunnsacker was Saturday Night News's teenage correspondent who complained about matters concerning adolescents, such as proms and dates. She was played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Dwight MacNamara

He was a narrator for educational films played by Gary Kroeger. At times, he would imitate the warbly sound of an incorrectly threaded film projector.

Worthington Clotman

An NBC censor played by Tim Kazurinsky. He was an uptight gentleman who wore a bow-tie and glasses. The character was based on the head NBC censor at the time, Bill Clotworthy.

Wayne Huevos

Huevos was a suave albeit smarmy Latin-American businessman played by Tim Kazurinsky. He often appeared on "Saturday Night News" with ideas to clean up New York City.

Lew Goldman

Goldman was a stereotypical elderly Jewish man played by Billy Crystal. He was prone to commenting on his disrespectful family while doing various commentaries. He also coughed and cleared his throat frequently, due to an apparent excess of phlegm. One of his most memorable insults was: "I have coughed up things that were more interesting than you!"

Buddy Young, Jr.

Buddy Young, Jr. was a Las Vegas lounge comedian played by Billy Crystal. This is a rare example of a little known character spinning off into a feature film. Although Buddy Young, Jr. appeared only four times on SNL, he was the principal character in the 1992 film, Mr. Saturday Night.

Nathan Thurm

This was a character created by Martin Short. A shady lawyer, Thurm was a chain-smoker (often letting his cigarette burn to the point of becoming mostly ashes), quite paranoid, and constantly in denial about his paranoia. "I'm not being defensive. You're the one who's being defensive." When questioned, his response often included, "It's so funny to me that you would think..." He would also look into the camera and express his puzzlement at the questioner by asking, "Is it me, or is it him? It's him, right?" Other times, he would deny an accusation, then immediately reverse his position when the accuser reaffirmed the statement. "No, it isn't!" ("Yes it is.") "I know that! Why wouldn't I know that? I'm well aware of that!"

Perhaps the best known appearance of Thurm was in a 1984 SNL sketch that was a send-up of 60 Minutes. Harry Shearer played Mike Wallace, accusing Thurm of being involved in corporate corruption. Thurm of course denied everything and nervously tried to turn the tables on Wallace.

Thurm was later reprised on Martin Short's short-lived talk show in 1999-2000.

Tommy Flanagan, the Pathological Liar

The Pathological Liar is a character created and portrayed by Jon Lovitz, often appearing on Weekend Update segments to share his farcical views. The character's name was Tommy Flanagan (pronounced /fləˈneɪɡən/, US dict: flə·nā′·gən, not to be confused with the jazz pianist), and he would tell outrageous whoppers in an effort to make himself seem important (such as his claim that he invented Rock and Roll). One recurring lie was claiming he was married to Morgan Fairchild, and thus had seen her naked, "more than once." His devious look, hand rubbing and nervous speech made it clear he was making up lies, one after the other, on the spot. After a particularly outrageous lie he would often add the catchphrase: "Yeahhh! That's the ticket!"

One of his biggest lies, however, would in fact work to his great advantage. During the cold opening when Jerry Hall hosted, Flanagan claimed to be an old friend of her then-boyfriend Mick Jagger; when Jagger himself entered moments later, he shocked her by revealing that the two were longtime friends, and had actually spent the previous weekend together (when she had no idea of his whereabouts) on a fishing trip - as he and Hall get up to leave, Jagger tells Flanagan "I owe you for this one" before opening the show.

Frenchie

Frenchie would appear on "Weekend Update" during Dennis Miller's tenure. Jon Lovitz portrayed Frenchie dressed in stereotypical French clothes and would speak in a stereotypical French accent. When Frenchie would finish a statement on something he would add "Did I mention I'm French? ... I'm Frenchie!"

Babette

Mr. Subliminal

Played by Kevin Nealon, he was originally an advertising executive (named Phil Maloney) who used subliminal messages to influence people. His appearances on Update utilized the subliminal technique (i.e. saying things rapidly and under his breath, in between sentences) to reveal what he is really thinking. For example, in an editorial on the 1994 caning of Michael Fay, he stated that:

"...the boy admitted to spray painting cars but he's only eighteen and young people often do stupid and impulsive things they later regret Shannen Doherty. I happen to think [pause] that everyone's entitled to one mistake Euro Disney. And I'm not saying there aren't [pause] those who I'd love to see get a good flogging Urkel, it's just that [pause] I'm afraid we've become so insensitive that we've learned to accept the idea of a man's beating in public Pee Wee Herman."

A Grumpy Old Man

Portrayed by Dana Carvey, he was an embittered archetypical grandfather figure with white hair, glasses, and a sour sneer. He would usually appear as a commentator complaining about the state of the world, mainly in regard to many modern conveniences. His complaints always included differences between today and "his day" ("In my day, we didn't have safety standards for toys. We got rusty nails and big bags of broken glass! And that's the way it was, and we liked it! We loved it!" or, "In my day we didn't have condoms; you just took a rabbit-skin, wrapped it around your privates, and tied it on with a bungee cord! And we used the same one, over and over again! And that's how it was, and you liked it! You loved it!").

Annoying Man

Portrayed by Jon Lovitz, he spoke in a high-pitched nasal voice and did annoying things in front of Weekend Update's Dennis Miller, such as chewing with his mouth open, or scratching a fork across a slate chalkboard. These sketches often ended with Lovitz saying something in a calm, cultured, refined tone, i.e., "You don't have to yell," or "I love you."

Queen Shenequa

Queen Shenequa, played by Ellen Cleghorne, was an Afrocentric social critic who dressed in African garb, observed Kwanzaa, and made commentaries on race. She had a somewhat disdainful persona, such as when she observed about Michael Jackson: "'Black or White'? If it doesn’t matter, then why are you so white?", or when she commented that Kwanzaa "is a Swahili word which means 'Santa don’t come to my house'".

Jan Brady

The middle sister from The Brady Bunch, she was portrayed by Melanie Hutsell. She would usually begin a commentary on a subject, which devolved into a comparison to something that happened on one of the Brady Bunch episodes and her frustration with her siblings who get more attention. Her catchphrase was "Marcia, Marcia, MARCIA!", referring to her older sister, as well as a catchphrase from the popular TV series.

Cajun Man

Adam Sandler portrayed a man from Cajun country in Louisiana who dressed like Huckleberry Finn and spoke in a heavily exaggerated Cajun French dialect. When interviewed he would simply respond with one or two word answers, all ending in the "-tion" suffix, or similar sound. For example, when asked where his girlfriend is, he would answer "long vacation" and then being asked how he occupies his time, would answer "masturbation." The character is essentially a send-up of TV chef Justin Wilson who specialized in Cajun cuisine, and would frequently enunciate the second syllable in the word "onion".

Later, Sandler would tweak the character and give him a full length movie in The Waterboy.

Buster Jenkins

Opera Man

Adam Sandler portraying a stereotypical opera singer, singing news stories in a faux-foreign language (to which the words appeared in subtitles).

A few of his well-known verses include:

• "Amy Fisher, Buttafuoco,
  El-knock-oh, el-shoot-oh,
  In Jail-oh, no bail-oh,
  Senora, you're a whore-ah!"

• "Brad Pitt sexiest,
  People wrote-oh,
  Operaman say,
  Recount the vote-oh!" (A picture of People magazine appears onscreen with the cover caption: Operaman: Sexiest Man Alive)

• "Tom Hanks-o, nominato,
  second time-o, you're-a great-o!
  Next year vacacion, go to France-o,
  Give someone else a freakin' chance-oh!
  (A movie poster of Billy Madison appears.)

The earlier appearances of Opera Man featured him singing a higher quantity of accurate Italian lyrics, though the subtitles showed the lyrics rather than an English translation. Jon Lovitz showed up in one episode to play his older brother just in from Italy. Opera Man also appeared in his own sketch one time where it was done up like a genuine opera, and titled "One Match Short of the Jackpot". Phil Hartman narrates, explaining to the audience that Opera Man has just filled up his car at a gas station and included a New Hampshire Lottery scratch ticket with his purchase. Opera Man gets more excited as every box he scratches off reveal a million dollar prize, until the last one mismatches and he dejectedly says he must continue his job as a security guard for Montgomery Ward.

Opera Man also performed at the 2001 Concert for New York City.

Hank Fielding

Hank Fielding was a commentator played by Robert Smigel who provided the "Moron's Perspective". He appeared to be an average commentator, but his speech was indicative that he was extremely slow, and that he clearly had a difficulty discerning fantasy from reality. In one appearance, he commented on President Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, complaining that his overly long speech pre-empted other shows like Jake and the Fat Man, making actor William Conrad wait nervously backstage as the President "rambled on". His appearance was supplemented by an extremely slow scrawling of his signature across the screen.

Bennett Brauer

Bennett Brauer was played by Chris Farley. In each appearance, Brauer provided commentary for Kevin Nealon's Weekend Update, vividly describing his poor hygiene, his lack of social grace, and his anger towards the viewers for preferring other photogenic commentators to him. Brauer would make regular use of air quotes to emphasize every point he made. For example:

Maybe I'm not "the norm". I'm not "camera friendly". I don't "wear clothes that fit me". I'm not a "heartbreaker". I haven't "had sex with a woman"; I don't know "how that works". I guess I don't "fall in line". I'm not "hygenic". I don't "wipe properly". I lack "style". I have no "charisma" or "self esteem". I don't "own a toothbrush" or "let my scabs heal". I can't "reach all the parts of my body". When I sleep, I "sweat profusely".

In one instance, Brauer was made to fly (via cables), although a technical glitch delayed the ascent, thereby creating one of SNL's most famous bloopers. As Kevin Nealon tries to get the cables untangled, Brauer exclaims, "I have a weight problem! Can't they lift me?" Brauer is then lifted high above a cheering audience in a manner akin to Peter Pan. Kevin Nealon then continues the Weekend Update and the closing music is playing when a loud crash is heard. The cable has broken and a disheveled Bennett emerges from the counter; which has been damaged by his fall.

The British Fops

The British Fops, or Lucien Callow (Mark McKinney) and Fagan (David Koechner) appeared in several episodes during the SNL 1995-1996 seasons. The characters first appeared on Weekend Update as the presidents of the Norm Macdonald fanclub, but later appeared in several other sketches, namely monologues. The Fops would appear in late Restoration period clothing, and used a silly take on the period's language, mannerisms, and culture, not sparing the subsequent perversion also known for the time.

Joe Blow

Joe Blow was played by Colin Quinn. A blue collar worker by trade, Blow came onto Weekend Update as a New York public service to deliver local news from Brooklyn, New York. Most of his "news" included family problems and neighborhood gossip. Joe Blow regularly concluded his commentary by asking anchor Norm Macdonald if he would join him for "a beer", which Macdonald (who clearly did not want to socialize with him) would avoid by making up an excuse, or putting it off until a later date.

Lenny the Lion

Visiting from the Bronx Zoo, Lenny the Lion (Colin Quinn in a lion suit) would come onto Weekend Update to talk about the plight of the animals, all of which had parallel problems to real life issues going on in The Bronx. Lenny would always end his rant with the line "Fur is murder".

Gary Macdonald

Gary Macdonald was the fictitious younger brother of anchor Norm Macdonald. Played by David Koechner, he was supposed to be the funnier of the two Macdonald brothers, but would be overcome by fear and freeze on camera and end nearly everything he said with "no". Because of this, his commentary consisted of choppy, nervously delivered lines such as, "Hey, Janet Reno. Hey, how does that song go, '(Dude) Looks Like A Lady,' no."

Cinder Calhoun

Portrayed by Ana Gasteyer, Calhoun was an activist, feminist singer who played at the Lilith Fair festival. In one episode, she is introduced as the warm-up act for the festival. Ultra-politically correct, she would go out of her way to pronounce ethnic-named cities in their native dialect and would frequently dedicate her songs to activist causes. On a Christmas episode she sang a song called "Christmas Chainsaw Massacre", referring to the "senseless cutting down of innocent trees for our twisted holiday pleasure". She also performed the anti-Thanksgiving song "Basted in Blood" in a duet with Sarah McLachlan, referencing in her introduction as being inspired by Fiona Apple's criticism of Butterball Turkey for having a 1-800 number for Turkey recipes. She professed her love for Garth Brooks in a song entitled "Adonis in Blue Jeans" when he hosted the show.

Dominican Lou

Dominican Lou, played by Tracy Morgan, is the building super at 1901 Burnside Avenue in The Bronx. On Weekend Update in 1998 he attempted to sell Colin Quinn the signed 62nd home run ball of his fellow countryman Sammy Sosa for a million dollars, even though it was later discovered to be a foul ball hit by Gary Gaetti and signed Dominican Lou.

He also did the weather report on Good Morning, Bronx.

Gunner Olsen

Played by Jim Breuer, Olsen recapped the night's news in the style of a lead singer in a Heavy metal band.

Jacob Silj

Jacob Silj was a Will Ferrell character who suffered from 'Voice Immodulation Syndrome', a disease which makes him unable to control the volume or inflection of his voice. Jacob begins each segment by reporting on a news item totally unrelated to Voice Immodulation Syndrome, but inevitably gets interrupted by the Weekend Update anchor, who can't stand his loud, relentless monotone. Silj then begins to educate the anchor on Voice Immodulation Syndrome, and describe situations that make the disease particularly unbearable (like praying in church, or soothing a baby to sleep). Depending on which of Silj's segments you believe, the disease affects either 700 or 6 people each year and is apparently caused by a late birth and exposure to gold dust.

Jasper Hahn

Portrayed by Horatio Sanz, Jasper Hahn was touted as an illustrator for children's books. During his appearance, he would begin drawing what would initially be perceived as something phallic. Colin Quinn, and later Jimmy Fallon, would bristle and try to stop him, but the drawing would usually end up as a moose or other animal with a phallic-shaped nose or proboscis.

Comedienne Jeannie Darcy

An uninspired stand up comedienne with a mullet played by Molly Shannon. At the end of each bit, Jeannie Darcy would use the catchphrase: "Don't get me started, don't even get me started."

Gay Hitler

Gay Hitler (Chris Kattan) was a character loosely based on a theory described in German historian Lothar Machtan's book The Hidden Hitler^[1], which attempts to prove that Adolf Hitler was a homosexual. The flamboyant Hitler character was known for the catchphrase "Sprechen sie dick?" Gay Hitler was the author of the fictional autobiography Mein Boyfriend, a satire of Hitler's actual autobiography Mein Kampf. Gay Hitler also appeared as Speed Skating Hitler, rendering the Sieg Heil salute repeatedly as he skated in place.

A scene in the film Step Brothers shows fellow SNL cast member Will Ferrel dressed as Nazi asking the antagonist "Sprechen sie dick?".

Drunk Girl

Drunk Girl was played by Jeff Richards between 2001 and 2003. Her eyes are always squinted shut and she has shoulder-length blonde hair, and often a bared midriff.

Drunk Girl tends to do certain things while drunk:

• tells people to "shut up!", whether they have actually said anything or not
• asks people if they want to know something repeatedly, even after they say no, slurring the words more and more as she repeats the phrase. (During the Weekend Update Halftime Special, even though Jimmy Fallon said he wanted to know, she continued to repeat the phrase anyway.)
• bursts into tears for no reason
• acts sexually promiscuous; also takes off her bra and/or lets something inappropriate, such as food, fall out of it in later episodes
• falls out of chairs frequently in later episodes

Fericito

Fericito is a character from Saturday Night Live played by Fred Armisen. A Venezuelan nightclub comedian, he premiered in the October 5, 2002 episode in Weekend Update. He has appeared on SNL seven times so far, most notably on ¡Show Biz Grande Explosion!, a sketch vehicle launched to feature his character. Prior to this, he appeared on an episode of Late World with Zach.

Tim Calhoun

Tim "Boo" Calhoun (Will Forte) has made eleven appearances between 2002 and 2008, ten of which were on Weekend Update. Calhoun is a soft-spoken political candidate with slicked back hair, a slight Southern drawl, and many unconventional ideas. Calhoun is also a career criminal with many arrests, which he often inadvertently mentions. Constantly nervous and fidgety, Calhoun reads his speeches from index cards which he stacks neatly on the table as he finishes each one. Usually, the final word in his statements are on a separate card. His voice is exaggeratedly slow and deliberate, hardly rising above a whisper. When talking, he moves his extended index and middle fingers up and down.

An Independent, he first appeared on Weekend Update under the equal-time rule when John McCain hosted.

The Kelly Brothers

Gunther Kelly (Fred Armisen) and his brother Patrick (Will Forte) appear as experts from an impressive institution or think-tank. Called on to discuss or debate complex topics (such as tax codes or immigration), they tell the audience that they will present their information in a song, so the nuances can be better absorbed. However, their songs, while snappy and possessing humorous two-part harmonies in counterpoint, are repetitive, usually contain nothing but nonsense lyrics, and impart no information whatsoever.

On the May 6, 2006 show with Tom Hanks and Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Kelly brothers appeared on Weekend Update for a debate which turned out to be them simply singing, "Ya." Patrick sang in an exaggeratedly high tone.

Billy Smith

Billy Smith (played by Fred Armisen) is a Native American comedian who has performed stand-up on three Weekend Update episodes and made a small appearance in Liam Neeson's monologue in 2004. His jokes usually begin as fairly average stand-up jokes (why did the chicken cross the road?), but his punchlines suddenly veer into obscure references to Native American culture. This of course results only in confusion and nervous titters from the audience, at which point Billy Smith patiently explains the cultural reference so that the audience can understand the joke.

Two Guys from a Religious Cult

The Two Guys from a Religious Cult, played by David Spade and Adam Sandler, would appear with the intention of presenting a standard news item, such as a weather report or a restaurant review. Dressed in matching sunglasses and leather vests, they start their reports with incoherent religious rants. Anchorman Norm Macdonald would try to steer them back onto the subject they had come on to report, with limited success. Chris Farley once appeared as the cult leader.

Jorge Rodriguez

An alleged expert on world events, Jorge Rodriguez is an aloof halfwit (played by Horatio Sanz) that constantly falls for the various hare-brained schemes of his friend Pepe. His catchphrase is "I'm looking for Pepe."

Aunt Linda

Portrayed by Kristen Wiig, Aunt Linda is Amy Poehler's fictitious, unfriendly aunt who gives almost entirely negative reviews of the latest films. But instead of allocating the films a star rating or thumbs up, she reviews each film with her own catchphrases, such as "Whaaat?" or "Oh, brother!" For example, when reviewing Ocean's Thirteen she gave it "13 "Ghaas!" and a "Puhhhleez!"."

Her reason for disliking the film is often due to her own misunderstandings, such as when she thought Happy Feet was supposed to be a live action film, or when she thought Ocean's Thirteen was going to be the thirteenth film in the series.

Oddly, she usually ends her sketch by praising a film that you wouldn't expect her to like, such as when she praised Saw III and was asked by Amy Poehler "you went to see Saw?" and Aunt Linda responded, "See it! I liked it so much I kidnapped Tobin Bell and forced him to play a game with me!".

Two Gay Guys from...

Two Gay Guys from... portrayed by Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, originally appeared as the Gay Guys from Jersey, a homosexual couple introduced to Weekend Update when the State of New Jersey legalized civil unions. They embodied many stereotypes of New Jersey residents, similar to those on The Sopranos (including hinting about Mafia connections and activities), and wore matching track suits and large gold medallions. They acted like good friends, sprinkling their conversations with reminders that they are homosexuals. In a later episode Hader and Armisen appeared as Gay Guys From Connecticut, a snobbish wealthy couple who enjoy tennis and yachting. In a later episode, they appeared as Two guys in the Army, commenting on life in the army and its Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. They refused to comment on their homosexuality and instead made comments involving lots of double entendre.

Roger A. Trevanti

Roger A. Trevanti, played by Fred Armisen, is a fictive television studio executive and member of the AMPTP. He appeared on Weekend Update on November 3, 2007 to comment on the impending 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.^[1] Although this was the last live SNL to be broadcast until the strike was over (the next new episode was on February 23, 2008),^[2] Armisen resurrected the Trevanti character independent of NBC, in order to parody the studio response to the strike. For example, in one short video posted on YouTube several weeks later (November 19, 2007) Trevanti harassed picketing writers, encouraging scabs (or strikebreakers).^[3] In a second video posted on YouTube (December 6, 2007),^[4] Trevanti appeared to explain the 'groundbreaking' nature of the AMPTM's proposed new economic partnership with the Writers Guild of America. Trevanti concludes each commentary with a message to the writers: "I hope you get ass cancer and die!"

Nicholas Fehn

Nicholas Fehn is a recurring character on Weekend Update, played by Fred Armisen. Claiming to be a political comedian, he takes the top headlines from New York newspapers and offers his own "skewed view" of them. However, he never actually manages to say anything satirical or clever, often simply shouting "C'mon!" or "No!" and sometimes "Who asked?!" When confronted with his lack of humorous material, he will try to defend himself, but will get only about a dozen or so words into each thought when he will go off on a tangent, resulting in his argument going nowhere. His first appearance was in Season 33 of Saturday Night Live. On a live episode of WTF with Marc Maron, Armisen revealed that Fehn was partially inspired by Maron, David Cross, and himself.

Judy Grimes

Judy Grimes is Weekend Update's Travel Expert, played by Kristen Wiig. Grimes suffers from extreme stage fright, causing her to appear visibly nervous and talk in long, fast-paced sentences; she often uses the phrase "just kidding" to punctuate her run-on sentences. In her first appearance she talked in small portions and laughed nervously throughout them, but now it has shifted into very long parts.

Jon Bovi

Jon Bovi is a Bon Jovi opposite band played by Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis. They sing songs that sound exactly the same as Bon Jovi songs, except all of the important words in the song are the opposite of the real lyrics. In some cases, they don't even sing Bon Jovi songs, like in their third appearance when they sang the opposite of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)" by Beyoncé, and turned it into what would be "All the Married Dudes (Pin a Brooch on it).

Jean K. Jean, French Def Jam Comedian

Jean K. Jean, portrayed by Kenan Thompson, is a Black comedian signed by Def Jam France, but ironically speaks perfect English and whose act consists of Americanized urban quips and zings. The punchline of these zings incorporate French words or references. Once accomplishing the zing, he shouts "Zut Alors!", stands up, and grooves to a hip-hop beat, waits three seconds and gives the cut-off hand signal (swift hand movement across the neck). The music stops sharply on his cue, he sits back down, and shouts "Incroyable!" His attire consists of various outfits, but the only stereotypical French items appearing in all of his appearances is a beret and a scarf. Jean K. Jean is occasionally introduced as being from Paris but according to one segment he claims to be from Marseille.

Stefon

Stefon (Bill Hader) is the show's city correspondent, and has appeared on Update five times in Seasons 35 and 36 (he also made one appearance outside of Update). Stefon is asked to give suggestions for family-friendly New York, but always begins his remarks with "New York's hottest club is..." and then gives a list of all the outrageous things to be found at the club, such as midgets dressed in weird costumes and the answer to a one-word question. Stefon's attire is stereotypically homosexual, though when Snooki (portrayed by Bobby Moynihan) proposed sex, he claimed he had a girlfriend. Stefon has a tendency to put his hands over his face, which was originally cover for when Hader broke character.

Anthony Crispino

Anthony Crispino (Bobby Moynihan) is Weekend Update's secondhand news correspondent. His info is always inaccurate due to his sources such as "Danny at the deli" or "My cousin, 'Fat Vanessa'"; the errors usually involve misheard or misinterpreted information, such as interpreting royal-wedding gossip about Duchess of York Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson as being about Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas. During his appearances he is always looking furtively around the studio, which is always noticed by Seth Meyers. When Seth points out Anthony is wrong, Crispino says "OKAY! Okay!", and moves on to another subject.

See also

• Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches (listed alphabetically)
• Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches (listed chronologically)
• Saturday Night Live TV show sketches
• Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live
• Saturday Night Live commercials

Notes

1. ^ The original title in German is Hitlers Geheimnis (Hitler's Secret).

References

1. ^ NBC.com - Saturday Night Live
2. ^ SNL Archives | Season
3. ^ YouTube - Studio Boss Roger A. Trevanti at the NY Picket Lines
4. ^ YouTube - Roger A. Trevanti Explains The AMPTP's New Proposal

• The SNL Archives
• Drunk Girl on a Jeff Richards fan site