RI's Saturday Night Live Connections

Eugene Lee (Died in February of 2023)

If you have watched Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, or many a production of A Christmas Carol at Trinity Rep, you have seen the work of Eugene Lee. He is one of America’s most creative and accomplished set designers.

The Providence resident won three Tonys for Wicked, Sweeney Todd, and Candide. He won multiple Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Set Design and won an Emmy for the design of the set for Saturday Night Live.

He is i the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Lee was one of the longest-tenured members of the Saturday Night Live production team, beginning with the premiere in 1975.

The Emmy & Tony-award winning designer was responsible for some of the greatest set designs in SNL history.

His death was first reported by The Saturday Night Network.

Ted Knight

Knight, who was most famous for his role on the Mary Tyler Moore show, was on SNL in the '70s.

Early in his career, he became proficient with puppets and ventriloquism, which led to steady work as a television children's show host at WJAR-TV in Providence from 1950 to 1955. In 1955, he left Rhode Island for Albany, New York.

PHOTO: Public Domain

Christopher Walken

Actor Walken is a member of the elite "Five-Time Club" of hosts of the 40-year-old comedy series.

Walken and his wife live on Block Island.

The Talking Heads

The RISD spinoff band appeared on Saturday Night Live on Episode #77 in Season #4.

The guest host was actress Cicely Tyson for the February 10, 1979 show.

David Byrne performed at the SNL 50th anniversary concert. 

Harry Anderson

Newport native Harry Anderson was the host in Season #10, Episode #13.

He appeared eight different times on SNL.

He starred in Night Court and was a regular on Cheers.

Jay Leno

Comedian and Newport resident Jay Leno was the host for Season 11, Episode 11.

Today, he lives in one of Newport's grandest mansions.

James Woods

Warwick's Woods was the host on October 28, 1989, and musical guest Don Henley.

It was Season #15, Episode #4. 

James Franco

Actor, artist, director, writer, and producer Franco was a RISD grad student and was everywhere in Providence in the early 2010s.

Franco was the host in Season #34, Episode 2, and then Franco hosted Season #40, Episode 8.

He also hosted Episode 8 in Season 43.

Mena Suvari

The actress, fashion designer and model hosted Season #26, Episode #10 with musical guest Lenny Kravitz. 

She grew up in Newport.

Taylor Swift

Swift, who has a house in Watch Hill, hosted and was the musical guest in the same SNL episode.

She hosted Season #35, Episode #5.

Also she was musical guest in Season #34.

Then, there was season #45, Episode #2.

And, she did it again in season #47, Episode #6

PHOTO: Cosmopolitan UK CC: 3.0

Nic Cage

He lived in Middletown in the sweeping Grey Craig mansion, but sold it for $6.2 million well under the $15.7 million asking price.

Cage hosted Season #18's Episode #1 with musical guest Bobby Brown.

Charlie Rocket

Charles Claverie aka Charlie Rocket was a fixture on the same underground scene in Providence that gave birth to the Talking Heads. Before Saturday Night Live, he briefly anchored the news on Channel 12. 

He was a cast member and Weekend Update host on the ill-fated post-Lorne Michaels 1980-81 season and was fired after letting the "f-word" slip live on the air.

He later went on to star in Dumb and Dumber, and tragically died in 2005.

Lisa Loeb

The Brown grad was the featured musician in Season #21, Episode #2.

She graduated from the Ivy League university in Providence in 1990. 

PHOTO: Lisa Loeb Hilary Feutz - Flickr: TUR_2119a CC:2.0

Janeane Garofalo

Garofalo, who attended Providence College, joined the cast of SNL for its 1994–95 season. She left the show in March 1995 (mid-season) after only six months, saying that the experience left her "anxious and depressed" and that a sexist attitude pervaded the show, according to an article in the New York Times.

 PHOTO Gaelen Hadlett - Flickr CC 20 

Seth MacFarlane 

The RISD grad hosted Episode #1 in Season 38.

The creator of the Rhode Island-drenched Family Guy was joined by musical guest Frank Ocean.

Don Pardo

Don Pardo was the legendary voice of Saturday Night Live, announcing the show from its debut in 1975 until his death at the age of 94 last summer. 

Pardo, born in Westfield, Massachusetts, got his start in radio in Rhode Island. He was first hired at then-NBC affiliate WJAR (now WHJJ) in 1938. He later went on to be the announcer on The Price Is Right and Jeopardy, finally landing at Saturday Night Live in 1975.

Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee. Who can forget?

CVS in Spotlight

In 2014, when the sketch first aired, GoLocal reached out to CVS for comment.

And what did the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS think of the sketch?

They liked it. They really liked it.

CVS Spokesperson Erin Pensa told GoLocal, "We did see it and feel that parody is a form of flattery! And we encourage our shoppers to check out the truly fun and unexpected Valentine's Day gifts that we are offering this year."

Newport’s Brick Alley Pub Featured in SNL “Drag Brunch” Skit

The opening of a recent Saturday Night Live skit featured the front of the Brick Alley Pub in Newport -- for a "drag brunch" segment.

It is unclear whether the Brick Alley Pub, which describes itself as the following, actually has any plans to host a drag brunch anytime soon.

A Newport Landmark, Brick Alley Pub has been voted both "Best Restaurant" and "Best Bar" in Rhode Island.

With over 25 beers on tap, a Bon Appetit-voted best lobster roll in America and burgers, Brick Alley is the perfect spot for a family dinner, a date or a night out with your friends.

The interior in the SNL skit, however, was most definitely not the Brick Alley Pub.

David Byrne

The RISD star appeared in Season #4 as part of the Talking Heads and then took a few decades off and returned solo in Season #45, Episode 14.

David Byrne PHOTO Raph_PH - DByrneSDiego120418-12

John Krasinski, Brown Grad

Krasinski hosted in Season 46, episode #10.

This was before he was People's Sexist Man Alive.

Wake Up Rhode Island

Actor Kieran Culkin, playing a weatherman, performs a rap about fall, as a dangerous storm approaches.

Watch "Wake Up Rhode Island" here. 

This aired in Season #47