Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff - Jim Pitt

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Jim Pitt joins Mark to discuss working at SNL booking Nirvana, Bill Murray’s musical guest demand, Paul McCartney music rehearsal, shooting hoops with Michael Jordan, and Chris Farley messing with a U.S. Senator.

Hi, I am Mark Malkoff and welcome to Inside Late Night presented by latenighter.com. Today's guest is music producer Jim Pitt. He has worked for decades in late night on shows such as Saturday Night Live, Conan O'Brien, and currently at Jimmy Kimmel Live. This week's episode, we discussed Jim's seven years on Saturday Night Live. Next week, the conversation continues as we talk about Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Now, it's time to go inside late night. Jim Pitt, thanks for talking with us. Hey, it's my pleasure, Mark.

I've been a fan of your work for a while. You know, I was a big supporter and listener to the Carson podcast. I just thought it was such important work because you and really Gilbert were the ones who were catching some of these people while they were still with us, you know? Oh, thanks. Yeah, it's one of those things when I saw your name come. up as a supporter. I was like, I can't believe this because, you know, I've known who you were since I was in high school and Spin Magazine did that. Everyone at SNL edited that issue. So I'm like, it's Jim Pitt. So then when you moved over to Conan, I was like, I actually was over there the first

season in the offices and I got to meet you and I was like, Spin Magazine guy. The first season in Burbank, right. Yeah, I remember. I remember when you popped your head in. Yeah, yeah. I was there and then I was also, and I was also, I'm talking about the first, like, 93, 94 season. I was over at, what are you guys on the 10th floor? I forget what we were on the ninth floor, nine west. Okay, yeah, yeah. I was over there as well, but it was, um, just everything that you've done, uh, is unbelievable. You know, I was looking at a newspaper article that you, uh, you were interviewed in Connecticut where you're from. And it said, you started watching the show. You were a junior in high school at Milford High School. What, what cast would that have been?

What, S&L? Yeah, when you started watching as a junior in high school. A very first show. I remember watching the very first show. And Carson is involved. I'll give you a brief background. So back then, unless it was during the summer, the only time I could really watch Carson was on the Saturday repeat. So I looked forward to them.

And it was the only talk shows weren't repeated back then. You know, they kind of happened and that was it, except for the moments that made it to the anniversary shows and what. not. And so it was a Saturday in late September, early October, where it wasn't on, and it was preempted by this Tom Snyder show that featured all these people I didn't know. And it was Lorne and the original cast. And Snyder was introducing them to the world, really. And they were previewing this show that was going to debut the following week. And I was bummed, you know. I was sort of skeptical, but I tuned in with some high school friends, you know, was instantly sort of blown away. The thing that really caught us, just aside from the whole vibe, were the

commercial parodies, which, you know, we hadn't seen a lot of those, and they really sucked you in for probably 20 seconds or so before you realized it was a joke. It was revolutionary, all of that. Yeah, it was. So you're watching this, the original cast, and then what year did you become an NBC page and you're assigned to the Saturday Night Live, the 8H desk? I became a page in September of 1983. Wow. So is Eddie, Eddie Murphy is still there? Eddie Murphy is there for his final season. In fact, that year, I believe it was that year, he pre-taped about half of his material over, I think it was one night in, say, September or so. And they shot a lot of his stuff. I remember, and I had just,

started paging and it included um the hot tub bed and and a few others and of course a mr robinson and sort of his greatest hits because he was off making movies already they had a full audience then for this for the pre tape they did they did yep that's my recollection is that they brought an audience in yeah i think they had to to get their reaction andy breckman was just on us we were talking about he wrote some of those pre tapes for eddie murphy it's amazing to see I mean, how famous he was. How hard was that to get the NBC page gig? I mean, it's really, really hard.

Well, just like the college that I went to, Boston College, there's no way I would get in today. Same with NYU. Same with NYU. I'm going to go on record, yeah. Yeah. So when I started Paging, I graduated college in 1981, and that was the first job I applied for,

because I'd taken the tour as a kid, and, of course, kind of fell in love with 30 Rock and everything about it. I loved. So I applied. I did not get the job. And so I worked for two years at the Museum of Broadcasting, as it was then called, and it's now called the Bailey Center. One day, I was on an air, I was running an errand, and I was walking through the lobby at 30 Rock. And I saw a high school friend, a guy named Bill Kenny, not the Bill Kenny of comedy fame,

but he was a page. And I said, hey, Bill, you know, you know, I applied. I didn't get it. He said, you know, they're going to hire a few people. Let me talk to the boss and see if I can get you an interview. So he did, and I got the job that time around. So I said, you know, it was just one of those life things. And one time, I don't know how many years ago, in the age of social media, you can find everybody.

I reached out and I said, hey, just, you'll never know how much that chance meeting meant to me. me and here I am still working in the business. So anyway, I got the job in 83 and had it for as long as they would allow you to have it, which back then was about a year and a half. So I was there essentially for the 83, 84, 84, 85 seasons. What was that like being there and taking it all and you have Dick Aberousel of course? And then a little later, you know, Lauren comes back. What do you remember from when you were a page, they show the page desks sometimes backstage. What are some moments that stand out from that time period? Well, from those two seasons, it was just sort of taking it all in and being exposed to how that all worked after being such a band for so many years.

I'll never forget that I went, I had gone to a show, a dress rehearsal, before I got the page job sometime during that museum of broadcasting time. And it was, who was the host? James Coburn was the host. And Lindsay Buckingham was the music guest. And I just, I'll never forget the feeling. And I've been to Letterman also. I went to like the second or third Letterman show at NBC. Bob and Ray were the guests who are like two heroes of mine.

I'll just never forget that feeling of being on this side of the rope and seeing the pages and everyone else. And just thinking like, how do I get on that side? That's where the magic is happening. So you asked about how was it those for, you know, when I was paging, I was just sort of like, wow, I'm on the inside now. This is the coolest. And, you know, paging you also, you don't only work on that show. You know, those are amazing years from Letterman. And you work in the different departments. And it was just, it was the best. And you end up making, it was like sort of college like again, too, socially. So you meet all of these like-minded people. And it was awesome. And, of course, I ended up meeting Lauren's team because even though he wasn't at SNL when I was paging, I'm sure you're familiar with the new show, which did not last long, but I was a page on the desk for that. So I got to know a couple of people, Evie Murray and Jenny Pinkham and Christina McGuinness from his office. And so the year the Lorne came back, 85, 86, about which they're doing an entire documentary of the five SNL documentaries that are coming out from what I understand. I interviewed to be one of his assistants.

And again, I didn't get that. But a year later, they remembered me and they called me and said, hey, there's an opening at reception if you want to answer the phones. They were considering an assistant to Lauren for you? Yes, when I, when he came back in 1985, you know, the Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey, Jr., I interviewed to be one of his assistants. Did he ever have any male assistance other than maybe his cousin in the 70s, Neil. Neil Levy. He did, actually. And during the time I was there, it was definitely the... I had no idea. Yeah, there were a couple of sort of low person. person on the totem pole, as we would call them the popcorn boy, because Lauren, I don't

know if anyone's ever told you this, but Lauren, there was always a basket of popcorn on its desk. And I can actually get there emotionally. You could actually, when you smell the popcorn popping, you knew Lauren was on his way in, you know. So anyway, I did not get the job popping corn, but I did a year later in October of 86, like a week before the first show, I got a call and I took a job answering the phones. So you're making it $300 a week? Yeah, I went, oh, in the interim, a job that's often left out of my narrative is I worked at WPI Channel 11 for a year, which is a kid who grew up in New York was actually kind of great because it was a legendary, it was a legendary independent station. And so I went from making $200 a week there to $300 at SNL.

And yeah, a woman, Audrey Dick, legendary associate producer, Audrey Dickman, called me and asked if I wanted to start the next week. Did you start then with Mike Shoemaker and Marcy Klein? Was that, and John Zonars, was that all of you together? John and Mike started at that time. Marcy didn't come, so this is 86. I think she started maybe 89 or so. So, no, Mike and I, Mike and I went on to be, you know, we're very good friends. I love the guy.

And Zonars, yeah, I believe he started in 86 as well. He might, I don't know if John interned maybe before that season. I'm not sure. You and John were doing music together. Eventually you worked your way up. What were your different responsibilities? because you were booking the music and what was John doing on the music side?

So John would really put the music on its feet. So the music guests would get booked and then he would sort of take over and deal with all the production details and the staging and he'd be the one dealing with the tour manager and getting the exchange of information and the gear and everything

and the concepts of course got more involved over the years as far as the performance. I mean, back then, it was pretty much you come out on that stage and you do your song and that's it, you know. So that was John's job, and he was great.

And then he got, as the years went on, he got involved if there was live music in a sketch, he would be involved in getting that. And you would see him pop up every once in a while. Exactly. Yeah, eventually. So I worked there for, I did the phones for one season. And it was, of course, the first, you know, people say, when did you work there?

And it's like, well, it was the first season of Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, you know, Kevin Nealyn, Denison, Nora and John had been there the year before. And then, you know, year by year, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Spade, Schneider, Farley, Ellen Clegghorn, rock, you know. in terms of the writing 86 to 92 93 i mean i know i'm maybe a little biased because i was growing up during that time i still think and a lot of people think um i've heard them say the writing was the strongest i mean you can't outdo jim downy robert smigle jack handy george mire i mean the turners were the turners andy brittman the turners christine zander i mean it just went on and on in terms of

Conan, yeah, yeah, I know, yeah, of course, how do I forget? Pretty amazing time to be there. It was, and you know what was funny back then, at least, and I felt this when I was paging there, every, I felt like every season there was being measured against the first five years, the legendary first cast and everything in the glory days, and of course they had some rough times after that, and then they're building back up. And so while it's happening, you never really felt like this is an amazing time. But in retrospect, those seasons were magical and that cast.

That's what Lauren said. He said at that time, Lauren said at the time, they didn't really know how good the cast and the writers were. The show was still, you know, not really, I mean, Lauren it didn't the five years. There really wasn't anything to maybe to compare it to, but this, but how good everybody was right how is that pitch to your sister telling her that you were going to miss her wedding to work at SNL you know my family is so you know I love all my sisters and it was a very brief conversation and she was great and totally got it you know so this was 86 I'd been working for five years trying to make my way and and they've been everyone been with me through all the

all the stages and you know what are you going to do it's uh i wasn't going to miss the show they've yeah she carroll was awesome yeah it was your very very first show you moved to the talent department is the first host that you book wayne gretsky yeah so that was so i moved to the talent department for 87 88 i did a very a number of different things started out answering the phones and then I ended up casting extras and then it was the 15th anniversary show and I was very involved in just a lot of the logistics talent logistics and what stands out about that by the way because that show was phenomenal it was a primetime special um the really funny comedy bits that opened up you had Chevy I do this thing from Lauren's office and what was that like it was awesome

because for me it was a taste of you know I was dealing with bringing all that old All the original cast back. So many of the guest hosts, where are they all going to sit? You know, we literally had a map in the talent department. Where is everyone sitting? And so I was involved in all of that stuff. It was great. It was just cool to be part of an event that, you know, sort of memorialized that era and celebrated the show.

You know, and to be a part of it was really cool. Everyone was there that was alive except for Eddie Murphy who had, I don't even want to bring it up, but he had differences with another cast member who said something in print about Eddie and didn't want to go, but it seemed like everyone else Yeah, it was.

And it was interesting to watch how they navigated including different people and bits in the show and all of that. Now that you bring that up, you know, that kind of comes back a little bit, making sure people were represented and yeah.

When you're doing the extras, I don't know if this, gentleman's ever been talked about. But if you watch the show from the 70s up until the 90s, Andy Murphy was the token. I knew you were going to say that. I got to meet him a few times and I talked to him. How did you? But that guy, I don't know if there was a backup or not, but he seemed to get into everything. Do you know anything about him? What was it like working with him? But like, seriously, you start in the 70s and up until maybe the 2000s. I know. It's kind of amazing. He was definitely on the list of people that we used a lot when I started doing it. And, you know, honestly, it's probably not the best casting way to go about it. But, like,

I would find people that I knew I could rely on and that knew what they were doing. So I did end up using some people, you would see in that era some of the same people popping up. And he was a different case because he did have a history there. And I think he would, even be requested sometimes. And then there was a thought, like maybe, maybe he's in there a little too much. And then Andy got sick. So then the feeling was, I know, I got it, I think in later years, you can even see. He's a little, he's a little gone. And so I remember Lauren said, keep him working. So, which, you know, Lauren is an amazing guy in many ways. And something like that is very human, you know. I remember going to the show a few times. I know I was lucky to

be just behind the scenes and see Andy Murphy sit down sitting with Don Pardo together they would sit during the show would you know across from like what was the coffee maker and there was a yeah oh yeah yeah where the band would wait right before they went on and stuff right right there's a one of conan's first TV appearance he's uh I think Keith Richards was on and those is there a horse or something I can't remember uh but Conan is trying to hold back a horse or something and I can't remember exactly what it was he would No, exactly, but I think he was right there in that same spot. They used to do a lot of the comedy stuff, yet they would go by there, which was great.

So, Wayne Gretzky, is this somebody that you wanted? Was this somebody that Mike Myers is like getting on his knees, please book this guy? No, no. Okay, so by that time, this is a couple of seasons later, and it was toward the end of the season. He was on the second and last show in 1989, spring May of 89. we were trying to find a host for that show and they were very encouraging to me about not only trying to book a host but you know if you I expressed interest in music so Lauren said you know said and dynamite I think was still there and Liz Welsh

who were my bosses in the talent department and it was sort of like hey if you can get let us know what you can get sort of thing you know he had just had his first season in LA as you recall from that locker room sketch. And so I just went after him and was in touch with his agent and it was back and forth a lot. And then finally, he confirmed about a week before.

It was awesome. He came in. The fun thing about that show, well, a couple of things. Lauren had this theory about athletes as hosts and why the shows are often very good. That is that they're used to being coached and take direction well.

And the Gretzky show, is actually quite a funny show, even though he, you know, isn't a real comic performer. But I also think that the writers and cast sometimes rose to the occasion to protect them a little bit. So there are some funny bits in that show, Waikiki Hockey and he did a thing with Phil as the anal retentive fisherman. It was really good. They did the pre-tape, the Wainswirl. Oh, yeah, yep. With his wife.

And the monologue destroyed. I mean, yeah. And as the sort of the boy in the time. talent department. And since I booked him, I was sort of assigned to him. So, like, I was with them all week and trying to kind of walk them through everything. And to have someone like Wayne Gretzky and later, Michael Jordan, be like relying on you for to get them, help get them through something was mind-blowing. And I've seen Wayne a few times over the years since then. And it's fun to reminisce about it because it was such a unique thing in his career. And he nailed it. And

you know, he's one of the nicest guys out there. And so that was a big deal. And that was the end of that season. And I got married like a week later. And it was just sort of, or two weeks later, whatever, yeah, beginning of June. And it was just sort of a golden time for me because it went so well. And yeah, and then a year later, just staying on the athlete hip, the Jordan week was another one that was just unbelievable. You know, I'm in that.

I don't know. You do a lot of research. probably know that Smigel wrote me into that Harlem Globetrotters bit. Yeah, the first, yeah, the first Black Harlem Globetrotters. And you did the pre-tape at the gym. We did, the 23rd Street Y. Is that where it was? How often would this happen?

You actually go to the airport. Is it JFK? And you're there to meet Michael Jordan. It was Teterboro, actually, a private airport in New Jersey. And you'd come in from some golf outing. He had a golf club club club. with him. He was with his wife at the time. Yeah, and then right into the city with him and tell him what to expect. And yeah, it was, he just won, they just won their first championship the

previous June. So, yeah, that was, that was something. Having him there, even that point in his career, you know, he won a whole bunch more championships. But it was like, as Al Frankenstein, it's like having Babe Ruth here, because that's the way people were reacting. There had never been a time in the show's history, I'm guessing, where there were so many people that worked at the show, cast members and writers that wanted him to sign stuff. And there was a rule that they weren't supposed to when he was there. Even on the dressing room, right? There was a sign. That was the only time I've ever seen that they posted a sign that said no autographs because everyone, and you know, everyone thinks, well, it's just one. And it just became too much. And also, another funny stories, the monologue from that show, it was all these failed and not failed, but other endorsements that he had done. You know, like a feminine hygiene product and pornography. It was Julia's sweet. Yeah, yeah. I can't remember what the third one was.

But we shot those on location, like out in Central Park with Julia and outside that adult bookstore or video store. You knew you only had about maybe a minute before people would start recognizing him. And then that was it. You know, we were done. I think in the park we were a little more secluded so that that was okay. like outside that store, yeah, it got, it got crazy kind of fast. But it was fun. It was like, you know, being with a beetle.

And then when you're at 23rd at the Y, that's the time when I guess Lauren probably isn't there. And that's when everyone brings out the stuff for him to sign. Oh, I guess, yeah, that's probably right. That was just sort of surreal, shooting or just shooting baskets with Michael Jordan, you know, was. And of course, in the bit, he's a showboating player, so he had to keep dunking it time after time after time. So, yeah, it was a lot of fun to be a part of. And, you know, Smigel's a dear friend.

And for him to write me in like that. And so I'm in the, so like Ed Reed through on Wednesday, it's like, you know, close up of Jim Pitt, you know, in the directions being read at the table, you know. So I have the, Mike Shoemaker, framed that for me. and I have a still from that newsreel footage and that script page, and it's here somewhere. Smykel also put you in Carcinio. You were an extra.

That's right. I was written, I don't know what my type was. And, of course, I'm in the Gretzky locker room. I don't mean, of course, but I was, if you look closely. And in the Jordan one, of course. I'm in both of those locker rooms. It was fun being written into things. David Mandel and Al Franken wrote you into the McDonald's piece when Tom Arnold hosted

and it was the first time that they really did a Clinton sketch like that where they kind of referred to you know we're not going to tell Mrs. Clinton certain things and they kind of took that point of view. Yeah that was a fun one and just different because it was all on one camera and you know it shot like a documentary almost. I mean we blocked it but usually I knew where to like stay out of the way and stuff like that but i was front and center i mean he takes off a lay a fish i'm not an actor so my reactions are yeah yeah it was yeah i mean that's just to think of that is yeah that gets me a little bit emotional because he was so great and nice man too very nice i got to meet him a bunch of times he never carried himself like he was famous or anything

right just um the same as everybody else and i could see if you mean like down in the lobby or whatever or whatever. In those situations, yeah, he was great. Yeah, just to be around. He and Jan, like to many people, like scenes that they had together were sort of the magical, some of the magical moments in that era. They would play everything dramatic and it would, it made things funnier and better. I couldn't believe this. I talked to a few people that were there at the time that said how nervous Jan Hooks would get before the show. More than anybody, did you witness that? probably a little bit, but I, you know, not as much as maybe one of the writers or other cast members. Yeah, Jan was amazing. You know, I don't know that she was the most confident person in the world, you know. So I could definitely see that happening. But did you have you talk to Bonnie and Terry? No, I really want to. And I have, I know somebody that knows them. I've just been too nervous to ask them, especially because I know Bonnie doesn't do interviews, but they both just did. fly on the wall with Carvey and Spade.

Yeah. They would write stuff for, for Dana, but I really want to ask them now. I just, I just, I think I want to talk to them so badly that I'm afraid to ask, but I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, so, they're talking to you. No, you, you should. Yeah. But what about, what about the, what about the turners? The turners were great. They were, well, obviously, they were very, so they were prolific.

but also just like nice they were like they were normal people and not that everyone else wasn't normal and whatever you know but they were just this really nice couple

from Atlanta that were just so pleasant that's my recollection of them I mean everyone has their moments there it does get pretty intense as you as you well know yeah they were I enjoyed being around Bonnie and Terry a lot

they were they just felt I don't know how much older they are me probably not much but it just felt like they were much more mature and uh and established huge hits in terms of the third rock that 70s show oh my god yeah wayne's world which they did and then the brady bunch movie i thought was really funny i was skeptical um but they have they get the credits for tommy boy i have heard fred wolf had a heavy uh work on that but in terms of where their names have appeared it's amazing

And when they wrote Wayne's World, Shoemaker and I got calls on a Friday night. Obviously, it was a dark week. And I lived in Scarsdale at the time with my family. And they were at Mike's apartment and they said, can you come down? Would you mind coming over and reading through the script for us and just giving us any, you know, giving us notes or let us then ask you questions, which I think was more the case. So, Shue and I both went to different bedrooms, read the script. And then, you know, they asked us a bunch of things about it afterwards, and we sort of gave our opinions.

And I'd forgotten about that until recently. And that was pretty cool. How similar was it? When you finally saw that in February, I believe it was February when it came out of, I guess I would have been probably 92. Were there big differences? Or was it about the same of what you were at? It was very, very close.

Yeah. That is so exciting. What was that like with Mike Myers and Carvey being such rock stars that they're time. I mean, the movie, I mean, it did what did 200 million globally back then, and it was just, I mean, the ratings were skyrocketed. Could you, I mean, Phil Hartman did say it was hard for him. I mean, you're seeing these, you know, them blow up and stuff and, you know, Phil just to watch that. Did you see any, anything different maybe just with their fame with Carvey and Myers? Well, only that when something like that happens, you see.

I mean, I can't speak to how other cast members felt about it. And I'm sure they were, you know, all over the map on that. But you just see, like, the schedules, they are catered to, and I don't mean like personal stuff, but because they're so busy promoting Wayne's World or making Wayne's World, you know, you see the schedule getting moved around their availability changes a little bit. Yeah, that's about all. I'm sure other people have, you know, better takes on that. I've heard some of the people that were there said that some of the writers, they weren't the biggest

fan of Wayne's world, but you can't deny how over that thing was as soon. Because a lot of, most people that I'm guessing, it's hard to get tickets. I have not been in a long, long, long time. But when I would go, and this was the strangest thing is for the cold open, the band would stop, and then about two minutes before the lights will come on and the actors will come out. and nobody in the audience normally acknowledges it or say anything. It was the hardest thing when I first saw the show.

Right, right. Yeah, it was when you started doing the music was Envog and Mary Stuart Masterson. Oh, yeah. I'm a kid. I'm, you know, there for the dress rehearsal. And Carvey comes out as John McLaughlin. It's Farley smoking a cigarette on the floor

is Jack Jamon. And for me, I just didn't want to get kicked out. I didn't know if I, but I just wanted to cheer like a rock concert. I was told when they would do the Wayne's World Cold Open. I never got to see it, that that was like the one, one of the only times where the audience actually would react when Carvian Myers would come out. Oh, yeah, they went nuts. It was, yeah,

it was. And of course, then you saw it being, you know, ending up in the show more often. And, and then when like an aerosmith comes on, you know, of course you're going to do a Wainsworld bit. That was amazing. I mean, that was like an 11-minute sketch, which is pretty unheard of. So at what point during that season, because you said, you know, you're with Michael Jordan, transition to doing music? Is it that December? Because I know January's Nirvana, but are you with James Taylor in December and with... You know, it was sort of shared. Liz Welsh, who was, like I said, the head booker. Lorne, you know, a lot of stuff came through Lauren, too. He was so close. Like, who specifically do you remember? You know, I know he's friends with probably James Taylor. Maybe that

came in through him, but... Well, Paul Simon, certainly. He was also very close to Moe Austin, who who was the head of Warner Brothers Records. He's friends with the heads of many labels. So once in a while stuff would just come through him. It's funny, I don't, I would need to go back and look to try to figure out the first artist that I booked. I have to ask you this, though, because you mentioned that sometimes Lauren was friends with these guys.

So there was a band that came on when Jason Priestley hosted. It was Teenage Fan Club. And I was doing research, and there was an article that came out, if it wasn't that month that they were on, it was like maybe the month after where. Some record president was saying that they, were only booked. It was a political decision where they had to be booked. And they did end up

selling something like 26,000 CD as a result of the show that week. But how often were you cognizant that they would actually put somebody on like that that was a political? I don't know if that's true or not. You know what? I can tell you that's not true. Oh, good. Okay. Yeah. I did book Teenage Fan Club. And I think just in the wake of Nirvana, it was trying to, maybe capture. I mean, they were not Nirvana by any means, but it was just trying to catch that same audience and ride that wave a little bit. It was not a quid pro quo at all, even though it was definitely. That's what I was, okay, that's good to know. So Kirk Cobain, Nirvana, they come in in January of 92. What was that like working with them that week? I did read a newspaper article that

you were talking about how Cobain would refuse to come out of the bathroom for a lot of and he almost missed one of the songs. First of all, did that happen and what was that week like? Well, I'll have to say that John Zonar's would probably be better to address some of this stuff because he's front and center with them, you know, in the studio. I was not so much. I don't have any really good, except I had heard that about the bathroom and the dressing room. He almost missed his cue, you know, for them to go on. You did book them. Yes, I did book Nirvana.

And it was, you know, you never, it was just one of these things where they, so I think they were the first show back after a holiday, you know, back in January. You know, we started talking in maybe October or November. You could just sense something was growing and growing. And so then we committed. And then between when we left for Christmas and came. back in January, they had exploded. And the timing just couldn't have been better.

And it was one of those. It was not the Beatles and Ed Sullivan, but it was certainly in the rock world. It was like, wow, Nirvana is on SNL this week. They also did a famous, I think MTV concert that same week when they were in New York. So it was, yeah, it was just what a moment and what an electric performance too, yeah. It really was. I remember Rob Morrow hosting and watching and being like, this is just, yeah. I mean, and then they, I think their album maybe went to number one right after or maybe right then.

I think so, yeah. But the timing was unbelievable. Who were some of the, like the musical guests when they would arrive for Thursday or for Saturday? Would you be down on the street waiting for them when they showed up? Would you have to hang out with them when they arrived and take them up? Personally, I rarely probably did that with music guests. John, again, John probably was doing that. I would be at rehearsal on Thursday.

Who had closed rehearsal? I know Madonna had closed rehearsal, but it was very rare that a musical guest, like, McCartney was like, no, this is fine, invite everybody. No, McCartney's was, has anyone told you about McCartney's? It was pretty amazing. I just know Tom Brokaw was there, and I've heard it, Franken, talk about it and stuff. But let's talk about it. But that was very rare that they did, said close that, correct, the music guest? Oh, very rare.

I don't remember one when I was there, honestly. Madonna, she did do music when I was there So maybe She was Harvey Keitel, it was, yeah Yes, yeah, I remember January of 93 Right, that's the show that Barbara Streisand did a walk on

Over with Roseanne Coffee Talk for that But let's talk about the McCartney Rehearsal on Thursday And it's The McCartney week was amazing He's in such a rare position and he and Linda arrived. Of course everyone's excited. He could not have been, I think

I give him so much credit because he knows how people are feeling when they meet him. And he makes it so special for them and easy for them. And I was the talent coordinator. That was my title at the time and I introduced myself. So like for the whole rest of the, and I met Linda and she was lovely. I have another cool story from that day. But like the whole rest of the weekend, I'd run into him and he'd be like, you know, coordinating talent, are we?

You know, he just remembered from that moment and just was super nice. So after rehearsal, he, and I'm trying to remember if rehearsal was at night with him. It was a rare instance where we did it at the end of a day. and I'm not sure if it was Thursday or Friday night, but they first got there on Thursday.

And Sandler had an idea for update for a song that was red-hooded sweatshirt and wanted to know if McCartney would do something in it, if Paul and Linda would participate. And I'm not sure who proposed it. I guess Lorne said, you know, come to my office to Adam, you know, bring your guitar, and you can play it for Paul and Linda.

somehow I was in there with them and Lauren and watched him sing the song for Paul auditioned it basically for Paul and Linda and of course they loved it and they do make a cameo I think from the audience during that they do but it was I mean what a moment for Adam to talk about pressure sing a song in front of Paul McCartney

it really was I mean at that point he still he was not Adam Sandler no no I mean it took him a little time He was still the guy that did updates for a lot of it. I mean, that was an update piece. Was that the story that you were going to tell that same day? Or is it a different story that you were? Well, that was one of them.

That was, yeah, that's one of them. But the rehearsal, and I'll have to go, I'll really, I don't know who else. Everyone says, you have the memory. I feel like it was Friday night for some reason. And it was just us. The building was closed. And it was everyone from the staff and crew, Paul didn't care. and he was promoting

I think it was Flowers in the Dirt was that the album so he did whatever the new song was Hope Deliverance? What was it called Hope? Right, yes, that was it, yeah, yeah. So then he you know, he was going to do a second and I think third song

Oh right, he did two from the new album Was the other one called Biker Like an Icon Was that the name of it? Something like that. Oh goodness, I'm failing. I fail as a host, I'm not sure. No, no, no, no. And then he was going to do a third, a beetle, you know, a classic. So at the rehearsal, he went through the first two, and then he starts playing Beatles songs.

You know, how about this one, you know, when I find myself in the place, let it be. And then, you know, how about this one? You know, Lady Madonna, he probably played three or four songs. And everyone is just, I remember Al Franken saying out loud, like, I think I'm about to cry. I bet. I guess that. That's what it was like. It was so emotional and powerful. That's what Broca said.

Yeah, yeah. It was really special. And there's something, and it's something I always felt about working late Friday nights in that building. And I know that other people have spoken about the, you know, the first five years and the same sort of vibe where the company's gone home and they've kind of turned it over to these people. and just something sort of magical about being in that building when it's empty and there we are in 8-8, you know, creating the next day show. And that was pretty cool. And just the fact in that same month, two shows back-to-back Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger. Yeah, and Sting, I think, was the third one that month. Yeah, Sting was with the third one Bill Murray hosted in Sting.

Was that the, was that, Sting was, he was always great comedy too. Oh, yeah, and he was great in the Smigel sketches. He hosted Billy Idol. Oh, yeah, the McLaughlin group. It was the Sinatra group. And then, yeah, he was when staying hosted, it was the 90 to 91 season. He was really funny and just always is up for whatever.

But were you there? Did you deal with Skid Row when they, when Sebastian Bach said the F word and Lauren apparently was like cut their second song. Were you witness to everything that went down? I was there and I don't remember much about

it honestly you're reminding me that even happened just because it's it's not that i booked them uh that was probably one of my first bookings they were very hot they did a sketch with sandler was like the abc's nursery rhymes or something oh that's right that's right yeah and it wasn't i yeah i forgot that i forgot that he had said dropped the f bomb yeah you know those things happen and then you think it's the not the end of the world but it's like even the shenade o'connor it's like life went on yeah was that the only band the number that you remember where the band was only allowed to do one song and they canceled the second like raged against the mission you were gone by then you were at conan that was 96 of april i believe yeah where they hung the flag up upside

down oh right the stage hands pulled it at the last second they were thrown out of the building apparently right yeah i was not there for that i don't recall another song being cut when I was there, honestly. I do remember when Shnade O'Connor, I mean, people forget that her history with the show was already a little bit, you know, it was a little rocky because she had canceled an appearance two seasons before when Andrew Dice Clay was booked to host. She was booked. Nora Dunn walked off as a cast member.

I believe she showed up, but did not, or no, she did not, I think Dice Clay was maybe the second to last show, and Nora refused to appear, and somehow Shnade O'Connor got wind, and she canceled. And then the following week was Nora's last show, and she was there, but I don't think she was in anything, but she was up for good nights, by my recollection. The bands that replaced, since we had last minute opening, the artist that replaced Shanade were the Spanic Boys, who were a father and son rock band from, I believe, Minnesota or Wisconsin, and Julie Cruz, who did the music for Twin Peaks. GE had heard the Hispanic boy. He listened to the CD, and it came across his desk, and he said, why don't we book these guys. I think Lauren liked the idea of just plucking some unknowns and putting them on.

Yeah, when that didn't happen a lot. I heard you in an interview say, this is what I thought you said, is that, and I didn't know this, that Nora Dunn actually got in touch with Chenad O'Connor and asked her not to be musical. That was my understanding at the time. I don't know if that was ever confirmed, but that was the sense that we got in the talent often. When you were a page where standby's getting in? Because when I was camping out, when I camped out, a bunch of times, no, they wouldn't let any standbys in. I was always able to make friends and get myself up to see the show. And I was very, very fortunate. And this was like 30 degree weather and stuff like that. But were people getting in when you were there? When I was a page, standbys were getting

in, yes. And who, who was the guy, who was the first standby? Louis Klein. Lewis Klein in Florida, who's married to Jamie, and I will tell them to listen to this. But Lewis was there at the very first. He went to the Friday before the live show. They did a dress rehearsal Friday night with George Carlin. Oh, he was at that show? Wow, I didn't know that. He was at the very, very fairs on Friday.

And then I don't know if he went to the dress on Saturday or the first show. But I know that he, and I don't think they're going to acknowledge that probably that there was a Friday dress rehearsal. and in the movie, perhaps they will. I mean, oh, of course. You have 90 minutes to cram a lot of information. Yeah, I want to rewind just briefly to my viewing of the first show because there's a moment that happens at the end that was actually important to me and made me go, wow.

And that was during the closing credits. So, of course, I watched the whole 90 minutes. And Dom Pardo says, next week, guest host, Paul Simon with musical guests are Garfunkel. And I just, it blew my mind because they hadn't been together for so long. And, you know, I thought, I thought that was just incredible. And then from then on, like, they didn't, it took them a while. They didn't promote the next week in the body of the show like they have for years since, you know,

like earlier in the show. But you would have to kind of wait till the end to see what Don Pardo said about the next week's guest. I never thought about that. Yeah. Yeah, you were getting TV. guide, I know, and the first thing you said when you were growing up as you would go right to who was going to be on.

It was such a big deal. I know one thing that happened on the first show I heard Jane Curtin interviewed, and she said between Trest and live, that George Carlin went to all the three ladies cast members and gave them each a rose, a single rose, and she thought that was so nice, sweet. Oh, yeah. I mean,

I also grew up in a George Carlin house, so that was a big attraction for me on that first show, and I know that when you read the history of SNL, which to me, the definitive one is still Hill and Weingrad. Was that the... It's really good. You know, I was always one of those people.

I'm like, write another one where you left off. Right, right, right. That was, I thought that was really good. But I'm sure we'll see another slew of them in the next year. People kind of shit on the fact that George Carlin was, he wasn't necessarily part of the, the show. What am I trying to say? He didn't do sketches. He didn't want to do sketches, but it was this new show. Yeah, right, right. It was completely. No one knew what this thing was going to be with the Muppets. You had Albert Brooks. I mean, the cast members were not even

supposed to be the stars at the show at that point. Yeah, so you had to have a familiar name. But in retrospect, in some tellings, they kind of, they're less than, you know, thrilled that George Carlin was the first host. But I thought he was great. And he did some, long monologues and he, you know, kind of held it together while, you know, while the Wolverines were happening and all that stuff. You know, George Coe and dress rehearsal was in, was in that, or an earlier draft, George Coe was supposed to be in the Wolverine sketch. And O'Donohue and in Belushi, I was going to ask you, to your knowledge, was there

anybody at Saturday Night Live, any of the bands or singers that lip sync when you were there? Oh, you know, I don't think so. Singing along to tracks became or having backing tracks that beef you up became more of a thing I think after I left. I'm sure it happened, but no straight lip sinks at all. And I always thought that Ashley Simpson, I mean, her biggest sin was not having the presence of mine to. Stop, you know, to make a definitive decision. Stop the song. Hey, let's start that again.

You know, of course, you're a deer in the headlights in that situation. Yeah. Because a week later, like Eminem was on the show. And he wraps along to a track of his own voice, you know, and I don't know. It just she got, she did not handle it great in the moment. She panicked. I get it. She panicked, which doesn't, yeah, yeah.

You'd have to be heroic. to figure that moment out and act in the right way, yeah. What was it like on SNL and Conan with, like, when I were, I had a bunch of, I've worked at a bunch of shows where you, if there was a musical guest or if there was somebody that you wanted to meet, somebody on staff that sometimes they could go and take a photo or get something signed by music, whoever was the, your job would be like, would that be okay? Some shows were like that. Was that like that at SNL and Conan where sometimes if a music person was on, that a staff member

wanted to meet them that the musicians would do it or was that frowned upon i know some shows it's like no we're not going to bother the talent no matter what you know i think it was case by case and i wouldn't say it was loose but it was not a fearful environment in that regard all you had to do is go through proper channels yeah you know and if you came to me if you were a co-worker and you said hey you know i'd really like to meet i'd love to have my father would love it if i had a picture with Tony Bennett, you know. I would ask Danny or whoever and say, hey, what, you know, or I'd feel it out myself and I'd be like, you know what, it's not a great date for that. Sorry. It just depended on who it was. It's also nice to make people's dreams come true, you know, so. Oh, my goodness.

I mean, when I was there at certain shows, like the daily show, I was told the people on staff that they would not allow them to, for the most part to, but when I was at Colbert, most of the time, I mean, if somebody wanted to, you know, meet Neil Young or something or get something signed by whoever. Yeah. Most of the time we were, if we went through, yeah, the proper channels and stuff, we were for the most part able to do that. Like, I mean, I only did it a few times when I read like Steve Martin. I was like, yeah, I don't know that that is worthy of me asking. How many of the host had say in musical guests?

Like, I know Tom Arnold and Roseanne wanted red hot chili peppers and it made sense for the show. So that did happen. And they, you know, Roseanne's show at the time, very hot. And I know that you did an interview saying that Bill Murray was obsessed with Percy Sledge when a man loves a woman. And he said, he was only hosting if you can get Percy Sledge, who was in Europe at the time. No, he did get him. He did.

You mentioned in the interview that you actually had to fly him in from Europe, Percy Sledge. Yeah, he canceled the gig and we flew him in. Yeah. And he did when a man loves a woman. And that was Murray's. I mean, Bill Murray's. Bill Maroo, that was his condition to host. Mm-hmm. Yep.

I think because of the time that's involved, it's not that easy to turn on a dime and do that kind of thing, you know, because music guests, you know, they have to plan. But some hosts would definitely weigh in on the music guests. I wish I could think of some other examples for you. I'm sure Ackroyd, when he was on with John Goodman was the host and with Dan Akroyd and a bunch of sketches was tragically hip. I mean, he spent, did the intro with him, was the special intro, was the Canadian thing. And I'm guessing that that might have been it.

And I'm not really sure with some of the other people. But, yeah, I knew that Murray and I knew Roseanne and Tom, but I wasn't, I wasn't sure. And it's funny how some of them go, you know, I remember a couple of cases where REM was supposed to be on with a particular host. And it didn't happen. and I think they ended up on with Macaulay Culkin. No, McCauley Calkin was Tin Machine with David Bowie. Oh, okay. Then it was supposed to be McCauley Culkin.

It ended up being someone else. Yeah, REM was on between, I feel like the 90 to 91 season, I think. Maybe. Yeah, well, it was around that out of time. Yeah. He was wearing a suit made of, Michael Seif was wearing a suit made of IVEC, FedEx envelopes. Oh, wow. Yeah, it was fun.

Somebody actually on YouTube. has rehearsal at SNL Thursday rehearsal with him. And Kate, I don't know, I wish I knew. Kate Pearson. Yes, from the B-52s and that's up there. I was at a dress rehearsal once when the pretenders were there with John Goodman. This was May of 94. And Chrissy Hine, in the middle of dress rehearsal, I've never seen this music,

was like, turn down the bass or something like that where she interrupted the performance. I had never seen that. I mean, because normally they film that just in case they need this. Sure. Did that ever happen with any of the other musical guests where somebody during the actual performance would just talk to whoever in front of the audience do something like that? Yeah. No. No, not to my recollection at all. I didn't think so. I thought that was very strange. In the reruns, would they ever show the dress rehearsal version of the music? Would anybody, the management, ever request that? Yes, that's happened. Yeah, sometimes it's just a better performance. You know, by the time the air show comes, They've done it a number of times on Thursday. They'd do it at five, or this is what the schedule used to be. They would do it at dinnertime sound check on Saturday, and then dress rehearsal, and then the air show.

So it's pretty well rehearsed by the time you get to air. That's amazing that you were there for so much talent. What stands out about Jack Handy from your time there? Jack Handy was just a very funny kind of, which, you know, duh, sort of a normal, like you probably wouldn't know if you met him on the street. And his wife, Marta, they were like super nice people. Again, like the Turner's, a little older than me and felt more adult. But Jack would turn in these sketches that were just brilliant.

And, you know, coming out of from a whole other place, yeah, Jack's, Jack's bits were very special. Jack, George Meyer were two guys who especially, you know, Cohen and Greg Daniels, you know, Robert. Yes. When Odenkirk was there, I mean, he admits this, that he upset a lot of the writers. Could you tell that vibe that Odenkirk wasn't the most popular person sometimes? Yeah, I mean, I was situated near Lauren's office and then the person who, you know, dealt with the writers there. I remember some frustrations. Our nickname, Evie Murray was her name, is her name, I'm sure. her nickname for Conan Robert

Greg and Odenkirk were the fetuses, the fetus patrol because they were so young. Because they were so young. Yeah, yeah. And Tom Hanks calls them the Boiler Boys or something like that. Yeah, and yeah, yeah. Yeah, Hanks loved those guys. What was your best Chris Farley story?

When we did the first Mother's Day special, I was assigned to the moms. So I was running all over New York with them shooting. We did like a montage of them seeing New York and included they were walking on the center field at Yankee Stadium and a bunch of other locations and dealing with all their moms, including Miss Farley and just Chris was so sweet with his mom. I mean, Chris was, he's everything you've heard, you know, hilarious, insecure. His relationship was Spade and Rock and Sandler was great.

And then it was just sad. It was also, you know, you could see where it was headed at times, you know. So I, okay, well, there was one moment. It was at the end of an after party at Carmines way up on Broadway. Lauren was friends with Senator Chris Todd And he was there I think the place was closing And we were all kind of being chewed out

And Farley just went up to Chris Todd And was like, okay, Senator, move along, time to go And I don't know, that just made me laugh That's like, God, this guy, yeah, yeah And then of course, you know, did one of these, you know Kind of like, I've done something wrong Thanks for listening. Please subscribe so you never miss an episode.

On Apple Podcasts, please rate it and leave a review. Be sure to go to late-nighter.com for all your late-night TV news, and you can find my podcast atlatniter.com forward slash podcasts. Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you next Tuesday. We're going to be. I'm going to be. I'm going to be. The

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be. I'm going to be able to be. I'm going to be. I'm going to be the I'm going to be. I'm going to be. You know, and I'm not

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