This coming weekend, Michael Keaton hosts SNL for the third time — he hosted way back on Oct. 30, 1982 and then again on Nov. 14, 1992 — which somehow both seems like too few times and too many times, all at once. Too few because Keaton just seems like an actor (and former stand-up) who would have hosted five or six times during the ‘80s alone; too many because, well, it’s kind of hard to remember Keaton hosting SNL at all.
Of his previous two shows, surprisingly few sketches are available online. (I even went looking for the stray sketches that sometimes pop up on some sort of random Swedish site, or whatever, and had no luck.) What we are left with are only seven sketches — three from ’82 and four from ’92 — as online proof of Keaton’s hosting abilities. But, what’s great here is that with what is available, we get to watch Keaton perform with both Eddie Murphy and Phil Hartman. Hey, let’s watch them!
“Michael Keaton Needs Cue Cards”
The ’82 cold open centers around Michael Keaton fretting that there will be no cue cards during the show. Then, Eddie Murphy shows up and tells Keaton that he needs to relax. Then, Michael Palin shows up (for some reason) to tell Keaton the same thing. This makes me wish Keaton and Murphy had made a movie together. I suppose they still can.
“Michael Keaton 1982 Monologue”
Michael Keaton got his start as a stand-up and looks fairly comfortable just doing a routine about Halloween. It does kind of end abruptly and it’s kind of weird not hearing a host say, “We have a great show tonight.” Instead, Keaton says, “Listen, thanks a lot, you’re going to have a lot of fun tonight.”
“Topol The Idiot”
This isn’t very good. But Michael Palin plays a substantial role, which makes it at least noteworthy.
“Michael Keaton 1992 Monologue”
This is kind of great, just for the fact that the late Tom Davis plays a role. Keaton is talking about how well his career is going (Batman Returns had come out that year), but a man in the front row (Davis) won’t applaud, so Keaton has him thrown out. Then Adam Sandler, as another audience member, does his “gobledeedoo” voice and gets thrown out, too.
“Larry’s First Day”
Keaton plays the new guy at the office, being introduced to the staff by the boss, played by Phil Hartman, who’s character likes to rib his employees, so from that cue, Keaton tries to fit in by insulting people.
“Elevator Trainee”
Being the new guy on the job was a theme this particular week! Keaton plays an elevator attendant on his first day, being trained by Rob Schneider on how to hit the elevator buttons correctly and how to make small talk about the weather with the building’s residents. It’s a clever concept (how to properly small talk about weather is funny), but it does go on a little too long.
“Look After Grandma… Or Else”
This is more about Sandler and Farley doing their Sandler and Farley thing than it is about Keaton. Farley is tasked with looking after grandmother (Sandler, doing another “gobledeedoo” voice) while Keaton is having sex in the back of the house. This isn’t a particularly great sketch, but it does give us a glimpse into the Sandler/Farley dynamic in a sketch that isn’t widely repeated. Plus, it does contain a pretty great pratfall, as Farley takes down an entire shelving unit while trying to reach for a serving plate.
Mike Ryan has written for The Huffington Post, Wired, Vanity Fair and New York. He is senior entertainment writer at Uproxx. You can contact him directly on Twitter.
