Bill Hader On SNL: The Return of Stefon, Herb Welch – And Dan Cortese?
Bill Hader hosted Saturday Night Live on Saturday – and he did not disappoint!
Many loyal fans of the show were eagerly anticipating his return with hopes that he would bring back some of the iconic characters that he portrayed during his eight-season career on SNL.
The biggest highlight of Bill Hader’s opening monologue was that fellow SNL alum and Bill’s Skeleton Twins co-star Kristen Wiig was there to help him through it and several other pivotal moments throughout the broadcast.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of the overall show, however, was the return of Stefon. As soon as Bill Hader was introduced on to Weekend Update set by newcomer Michael Che as Stefon, it was as if he had never left.
One of the running jokes that seemed to continuously cause Bill Hader to crack during his performance as Stefon was the fact that Dan Cortese was a perk of every location mentioned. It was also obvious that a few unexpected twists were thrown in on the cue cards to throw Hader off even more – and that made the entire segment so much funnier!
Even though Dan Cortese was nowhere near the SNL studio for any of his plugs during Stefon’s segment, he did appreciate the free publicity and thanked Stefon for it through his official Twitter page.
Yo @nbcsnl & #stefon I would’ve responded sooner but me & Winger are killin’ it #Rocknjock style at Hooters in Cleveland! See u next week!
— Dan Cortese (@dancortese) October 12, 2014
Close…still in line RT @TWHToni: @dancortese doesn’t know he is trending because he is out at the club. #HaderOnSNL #SNL — Dan Cortese (@dancortese) October 12, 2014
Close…still in line RT @TWHToni: @dancortese doesn’t know he is trending because he is out at the club. #HaderOnSNL #SNL
— Dan Cortese (@dancortese) October 12, 2014
Stefon was not the only character that Bill Hader pulled out (and pulled off) during his return to the SNL stage. One of the first characters that he portrayed during the broadcast was Herb Welch, the aging field news reporter that can’t seem to get anything right.
Another memorable highlight of the broadcast was when Bill Hader was joined on-screen by Kristen Wiig to introduce the Jan Hooks memorial tribute – “Love is a Dream,” a 1988 short film that aired during Season 14 of saturday Night Live which starred Jan Hooks alongside the late Phil Hartman. Since the broadcast aired, many fans expressed their seal of approval on Twitter, stating that it was the perfect clip with the perfect presenters since Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig were viewed by many as the “Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks” of their SNL cast.
Tremendous tribute to Jan Hooks on #SNL. Fitting they played a scene with Phil Hartman. Fitting Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig introduced it. — Stuart Goldman (@stuart_goldman) October 12, 2014
Gut punched by that Jan Hooks SNL tribute. Especially so since Hooks and Hartman were the Wiig and Hader of their cast.
— Meghan O’Keefe (@megsokay) October 12, 2014
What did you think about the return of Bill Hader on Saturday Night Live? Was it worth the wait?
[Image Credit: Huffington Post]
