Where in the World Was Dana Carvey for ‘SNL50’?
Some big names were missing from SNL50, but at least we knew about most of them in advance. Bill Hader had scheduling conflicts — too bad no one told him in advance that there would be an anniversary show this year. Aykroyd was already a confirmed no, even though he’s been plugging the show, along with his vodka, on his social media channels. But the most baffling no-show is an all-time SNL great who has proven hungry to be part of the show’s anniversary year: Dana Carvey.
If there was an obvious choice for a prominent role on SNL50, it was Carvey. He was a virtual cast member for the first half of this season, breaking out his version of Joe Biden (turns out, Carvey had the best one all along), then sticking around after the election to bring back the Church Lady. And along with David Spade, Carvey more or less makes his living these days reliving his Saturday Night Live glory days, reminiscing with old cast members on their Fly on the Wall podcast.
At least Spade showed up to sing with Pete Davidson and John Mulaney tonight, yet over the course of three-and-a-half hours of clips and sketches, there was no Carvey to be found. I checked his Twitter and Instagram but no clues could be discovered there — only promos for his podcasts. (One gets the sense that Carvey isn’t running those accounts anyway.)
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Did Lorne Michaels catch Carvey eating his popcorn when he wasn’t looking? Did Carvey break a leg during a skiing accident? Was there simply no room during the long celebration for a performer like Carvey? None of these theories make a lick of sense, especially given the comic’s year-long presence on the show.
The Mystery of the Missing Carvey shouldn’t take too long to solve. After all, Carvey and Spade record a new Superfly podcast every week. Last week, they broke down the Super Bowl. What else is there for two old cast members to talk about this week except for the SNL50 show?
We’re waiting for an explanation, Dana — if it isn’t a good one, at least make it a funny one.
