Posted on 08/03/2004 5:45:39 AM PDT by presidio9
Bill Clinton has been spoofed dozens of times on "Saturday Night Live," but now he may get a chance to spoof himself. The producers of the long-running NBC series have invited the former President to host an edition of "SNL" this season, a network spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Clinton, however, has not yet agreed to take the gig, according to TV Guide online.
A decision is expected by week's end, TV Guide online said.
Press representatives for Clinton were unavailable for comment yesterday.
Word of "SNL's" overtures to Clinton come as the ex-President is undergoing a resurgence in popularity of sorts, most of it tied to the recent release of his long-awaited memoir.
In fact, the publicity tour for the nearly 1,000-page "My Life" hits CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" tonight.
His appearance on Letterman will be Clinton's second visit to the late-night broadcast and his first since September 2002, when he appeared on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Clinton's visit with Letterman comes after the President made headlines last week with his opening night - and televised - speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
And before the convention, Clinton made a round of interviews to promote the book, which kicked off with a one-hour chat with Dan Rather on "60 Minutes," where he called his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky "a terrible moral error."
He later made appearances on each of the breakfast news shows.Getting Clinton on "Saturday Night Live" would be a major coup for the late-night show, which has a long tradition of snagging major newsmakers for the host gig - even when they've been skewered by the program before.
Clinton is no different.
Cast member Darrell Hammond spoofed Clinton throughout his term in office. Molly Shannon, no longer on the show, often played Lewinsky, while occasional guest John Goodman played Linda Tripp, who blew the whistle on the affair.
Clinton has apparently long been on the wish list of potential hosts of series executive producer Lorne Michaels. He's had a standing offer out to Clinton for years.
"Saturday Night Live" kicks off its fall season Oct. 2.
As I said in this post yesterday, this does have some very interesting possibilities for the SNL guys. Without my political glasses on (although undoubtedly SNL is doing this for politics) the skits and the viewership of having this guy on their show is a great opportunity for ratings and actually new and original stuff.
I doubt Clinton will do it though.....
This would be interesting if it happened before the election. A campaign commercial for Kerry? Or one last stab in the back by the Clintons to his campaign?
Bush did a good job with his opening from Texas. He spoke with Dana Carvey and even said quite a few of Carvey's line (things Carvey was famous for saying as Bush, but that Bush himself barely ever said before).
Janet Reno was probably the best "suprise" guest to bust into a scene (literally).
TS
I doubt Clinton will pass up the opportunity. He loves the limelight, thinks he's a GenX icon, and can't pass up the chance to be the talk of the nation for a couple of weeks.
TS
What better place for a bad joke than SNL.
HA, Amen sister.
"Lemme see what kind of interns you got first..."
I think SNL should do a "double-take" and tell Bill they'll set up a skit with their "Monica look-alike" and then when SNL goes LIVE, throw in the REAL one! What a hoot THAT would be!
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