Why Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey & Bill Hader weren’t at SNL50 special

The SNL50 special was packed with alum for decades past, but there were major holes in the form of Aykroyd, Carvey and Hader.

snl50 special

A 50th anniversary celebration of Saturday Night Live – well isn’t that special? Don’t be an ignorant slut, of course it is. And both Radio City Music Hall and Studio 8H were packed with stars who all had ties to SNL. Throughout the weekend celebration, we saw pretty much everybody we would expect. But there were some key figures that didn’t make it out for the SNL50 special, with the most notable being Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey and Bill Hader, some of the heaviest hitters of their generations. So where were they?

Dan Aykroyd – who was an original cast member – seemed like a sure thing to be in attendance for SNL50 but had apparently skipped the event due to previous commitments. Even still, he did post on X the night of the SNL50 concert showing his excitement and support, writing, “Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago.  This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing.  Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America’s greatest living impresario, my boss Lorne Michaels.  People it’s friggin’ Holy!!” At least it’s nice to hear he had something else going on and hadn’t succumbed to a motorcycle accident, as the incredible “Don’t Look Back in Anger” skit predicted. (That skit was introduced by fellow ‘75 survivor Garrett Morris during the SNL50 special.)

Mount Rushmore of SNL contender Dana Carvey – who was on the show from 1986 to 1993 – was also missing, although his reason had to do with having a “bad flu.” That’s extremely unfortunate, as he not only stands as one of the most pivotal voices in SNL history but had been talking about the SNL50 special in the months leading up to it. Come on, how amazing would it have been to see Massive Head Wound Harry again?

And then there’s Bill Hader. The Weekend Update was awesome, as it featured memorable recurring characters like The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party and Drunk Uncle (congrats, by the way!), but it would have been elevated by Stefon. Like Aykroyd, it also came down to a scheduling issue for Hader.

What was your favorite part of the SNL50 special? What would you have liked any of the missing cast members to have done?

Source: Variety

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Mathew is an East Coast-based writer and film aficionado who has been working with JoBlo.com periodically since 2006. When he’s not writing, you can find him on Letterboxd or at a local brewery. If he had the time, he would host the most exhaustive The Wonder Years rewatch podcast in the universe.