Yahoo Lifestyle Live From the SNL 50th Anniversary Red Carpet, It’s… Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler, Adam Sandler and More
On Sunday night, “Saturday Night Live” capped off its 50th anniversary weekend with a star-studded anniversary show at Studio 8H in New York.
Former cast members and celebrities including Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Martin Short, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Ben Stiller, Kim Kardashian, Anya Taylor-Joy, and more came out to Rockefeller Center to show their support and pay tribute to the long-running sketch comedy show.
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Early show cast members — Robin Duke, Joe Piscopo, Terry Sweeney — were among the evening’s earliest red carpet arrivals. A chorus of “Garrett, Garrett” rang out from the carpet’s fan section as original cast member Garrett Morris made his debut.
Pretty soon, “SNL” icons were as far as the eye could see in every direction: there were Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig posing for selfies, Fiver-Timer’s Club member Tom Hanks fist-bumping fans as he walked down the carpet with wife Rita Wilson, and Tracy Morgan in a tailcoat and top hat.
“You look handsome,” Amy Schumer told a black-tie wearing Adam Sandler as the pair wound up side-by-side on the press line.
“Always looking forward to seeing Lorne. Can’t get enough of the guy,” said current cast member James Austin Johnson of who he was excited to run into, giving a shout out to “SNL” creator and man-of-the-hour Lorne Michaels. “To be in a building with Zach Galifianakis and Steve Martin and Martin Short — I mean, those are the guys I liked the most growing up, you know?”
“ I am most looking forward to just watching the legends do what the legends do. And I feel absolutely fortunate to get a front row seat to that,” said Ego Nwodim, who’s been on the show since 2018. “ I can’t believe I’m here and I get to be in the audience.”
The crowd included many of the show’s guest hosts throughout the years, from Emma Stone — who walked the carpet snacking on popcorn, which was packed into the pockets of her Louis Vuitton dress — to Jenna Ortega, Kim Kardashian, Scarlett Johansson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Nick Jonas.
“This show is not only so iconic, but entertaining and finger-on-the-pulse. They [SNL] help explain what we’re all thinking and feeling and what’s going on in the world — but also make us laugh,” said Julia Stiles, who hosted an episode in 2001 and returned in 2023 for a “Save the Last Dance” cameo. “Last season they called me on a Friday night and said Chloe Fineman had an idea for a sketch that she wanted me to be in. I like, dropped the phone and practically ran to the studio. I was so excited to be a part of it.”
Guests were eager to share their favorite characters and memorable sketches from the show — and underscored how many iconic moments there have been in the past 50 years — from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s 1978 “Blues Brothers” sketch to Andy Samberg’s 2009 “Dick in a Box” song with Justin Timberlake.
“That was obviously iconic and crazy and insane,” said Keke Palmer, who hosted in 2022, of the late-Aughts viral musical moment. “Anything with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I also love the one I did with Keenan and Arby’s — ‘We Got the Meats.’”
The evening’s three-hour live show featured callbacks to many of the show’s most beloved moments, audience participation, as well as musical performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Paul Simon, Lil Wayne, The Roots, and more.
“[Tonight] I’m expecting what created this show, and that is moments of magic,” said Jim Belushi, brother of original “SNL” cast member John Belushi. “And Lorne always finds a way to create magic.”
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