Background Material

A few years ago I watched a rerun of The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour. At the end, Dick listed the people who would appear on the next episode. It was the writing staff and the idea was these names would be unknown so people would wonder who he was talking about. However, since one of those writers was Steve Martin, the effect didn't quite come off years later.

I get a similar feeling when now-famous members of the SNL writing staff appear in sketches. You almost wonder why is this guy playing such a small part.

The most obvious case is Conan O'Brien, who had small parts in several sketches. In particular I remember the famous "Five Timers Club." Tom Hanks was hosting the show for the fifth time and so got a membership in this exclusive club, where he meets Steve Martin, Paul Simon and Elliott Gould. And there's Conan as Sean the doorman. He's hosted the show since, though it doesn't look like he'll become a member of the Five Timers.

Just last week I noticed someone on a rerun that I doubt I caught the first time. The show was a salute to Eddie Murphy. In one sketch, he played Gumby coming to a deli to meet a bunch of other old Jewish entertainers, played by Billy Crystal, Martin Short and Christopher Guest, all cast members at the time. (It was a year of ringers.)

And who was sitting at a table in the background, looking Jewish and saying nothing? Writer Larry David, still a few years away from hitting the goldmine with Seinfeld.