Here’s Why Dana Carvey No-Showed at ‘SNL50’
Relax, SNL50 fans: the Case of the Missing Carvey has been solved, sorta.
Prior to Saturday Night Live’s massive celebration of itself, we knew that at least a couple of its all-stars wouldn’t be in attendance. Both Bill Hader and Dan Aykroyd had sent their regrets — more on that below — but it wasn’t until the live show that fans started noticing the absence of Dana Carvey. The Carvey void was all the more glaring since he’d returned several times this season to impersonate political figures and revive beloved characters. If there was a slam-dunk guest for SNL50, it was Carvey.
Now Variety is reporting an explanation, although it’s less than satisfying. The reason for the no-show: “bad flu.” On the one hand, that’s plausible — Time says this year has seen “one of the worst flu seasons in decades,” with urgent-care facilities overloaded with coughing, wheezing patients. It was inevitable that at least some former cast members would have succumbed last weekend.
Don't Miss
On the other hand, Carvey must have had one hell of a flu. Between his many SNL cameos and weekly podcast reminiscing about the show — have you heard the one about Massive Headwound Harry? — few SNL alums celebrate their tenure on the show like Carvey. Will he be well enough to explain himself this week on his Superfly podcast with David Spade? There are more chapters to this story.
As for Aykroyd and Hader, both are still claiming other obligations. Hader’s rep reiterated to Variety that he had a “longstanding scheduling conflict,” which sounds like an excuse to ghost a blind date.
As for Aykroyd, his “prior commitments” excuse doesn’t quite line up with previous statements. Check out this cryptic response from Aykroyd’s A.V. Club interview last November when asked if he was attending the party: “Well, it depends. On how and when I’m invited, I guess.”
What kind of diva answer is that? How he’s invited? When he’s invited? He’d go no matter how he was invited, right? “It depends on how I can serve,” Aykroyd replied. “Let me put it that way. How I can serve them best. How I can serve Lorne and the whole enterprise best. That’ll determine whether I go or not.”
An educated guess: Feature me in a sketch (Aykroyd got a prime slot to reprise his Super-Bass-O-Matic bit on the 40th-anniversary show), or I’m not coming.
Another educated guess: There’s more to learn about why all three stars stayed away. Stay tuned.
