Posted on 08/19/2024 6:43:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Phil Donahue was more than a trailblazing talk show host, he was also a mainstay of Saturday Night Live.
Donahue was one of the few non-political celebrities to be impersonated by three different SNL cast members.
The first was Joe Piscopo, who embodied the host during a sketch that aired on Oct. 2, 1982. In the scene, Donahue negotiates peace in the Middle East between Israel’s Menachem Begin (played by Tim Kazurinsky) and Palestine’s Yasser Arafat (played by Gary Kroeger). Though topical, the sketch only generated minor laughs. Still, it established a formula for Donahue as a character, and his talk show set proved to be a fertile ground for comedy in future episodes.
Phil Hartman's 'Genius' Donahue Run
Arguably the most memorable Donahue impression came courtesy of Phil Hartman. The Canadian funnyman joined SNL in October 1986 and debuted his version of Donahue in his second episode. This time, the scenario was much closer to the silver-haired host’s real talk show: Donahue (Hartman) interviews two women (Victoria Jackson and Jan Hooks) who are in exploitative relationships. Hartman’s timing and cadence are played to perfection, expertly mimicking every one of Donahue’s mannerisms.
The sketch’s kicker also lands superbly: A nice guy in the crowd (Jon Lovitz) takes the mic to talk about how women should be adored, only to have onstage ladies brush him aside so they can ogle a jerk in the crowd (Kevin Nealon).
Accurate, without taking itself seriously, absurd, without becoming ridiculous, Hartman’s version of Donahue became one of his most popular impressions. Years later, Entertainment Weekly would describe it as “a work of minor genius.” Even the man himself was a fan. When Hartman’s parents came to New York for the first time to sightsee, the real Phil Donahue insisted he join them.
Then, in 1989, things escalated even further. During a episode of Donahue, focused on Saturday Night Live's 15th anniversary, Hartman showed up and flawlessly impersonated the talk show host on his own set.
“Oh my word, you made me famous,” the real Donahue proclaimed after Hartman delivered the show’s opening monologue in character. “Every time I see [the impersonation], I don’t laugh the first time. I watch it and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. And the second time, I laugh. And always laugh.”
Hartman played Donahue a total of five times during his SNL tenure, one less than the last man to don the silver wig, Darrell Hammond.
While Hammond didn’t quite command the role the same way Hartman did, his voice matched the real Donahue’s perfectly. Unlike previous versions of the host, Hammond’s Donahue was more likely to appear in a random location than on a talk show set. Appearances on "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches and "Weekend Update" segments highlight Hammond’s history with the impression. His final appearance in character -- and, as it stands, the final impersonation of Donahue on SNL -- aired Feb. 21, 2004 in a sketch featuring Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and the episode's host, Christina Aguilera.
Weekend Update: Phil Donahue on Tirades - Saturday Night Live
*****
Non-political??? The dude was a left wing hack.
Donahue was a man pretending to be a woman explaining the platform of the View.
RIP Phil, you were out there.
How many marriages did this man destroy, to justify his own adultery? How many children suffered?
Many I am sure. He was a nut.
I think calling him a nut is giving him a pass he doesn’t deserve.
They are going all in on Phil Donahue as the creator of daytime interview shows. What about Steve Allen and Merv Griffin? They were doing it long before Donahue. Wasn’t Donahue also Marlo Thomas’s friend with benefits?
I think he was the creator of that type of show, that was continued in Oprah, and many others.
Phil Hartman, good stuff.
Donahue: Exploited Women - Saturday Night Live
https://youtu.be/4RC-GgwmfVM?si=vEd35JWfyKL4g59J
I assume I saw this clip from a Best of SNL. I was one of the good, reliable employees who went to bed too early to ever watch SNL, as someone once described us.
It had the white haired Donahue nodding and putting one arm in the air off and on, saying:
“With Middle East war and peace in the balance we can’t get meaningful discussions going.
We talk to Arabs face to face every single day across the gas station convenience store counter but we just can’t get ourselves to sit down and talk to them across the peace table.”
You worked every Sunday?
For several years.
Nope. Mervyn Griffin started the daytime talk show phenomenon.
I remember a Phil Donahue episode wherein a man called into the show and complained that the over stressed, hard-working women raising children at home that Phil was interviewing were not representative of homemakers.
Man: When I get home my wife is always sitting on her fat backside. She doesn’t lift a finger all day, she just loafs around the house....’
Phil Donahue: Do you have any children?
Man: Yes.
Phil Donahue: How many?
Man: Eight.
Phil Donahue: Eight children? Sir, you’re lucky your wife doesn’t drink....
Geraldo claimed he had JFK on his show, which first aired in 1967. Pretty stiff interview?
Mervyn Griffin started that format in 1962.
(Geraldo claimed Donahue had JFK on Donahues show, which was impossible) Geraldo made this claim tonight, live on the air.
There was a joke Steve Martin did in Only murders in the building..which is a great show..when he thought he had been locked in a closet for a long time. He asked was SNL still on.
He does hire players from the show. Molly Shannon is on next season. Eugene levy is going to play Steve in the “movie”
Donahue and Oprah started the downfall of western civilization.
I did enjoy Donahue when he hosted that harridan Madelyn O’Hare. She would spar with the audience, almost all of whom believed in God. Even Donahue got fed up with her at one point and said, “Madelyn,,,SHUT UP!”. Good times.
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