The stars were out for Saturday Night Live‘s 50th Anniversary Show this weekend, though notably missing from the special was SNL alum Dan Aykroyd.
Aykroyd’s absence was especially notable since he was one of the first cast members of SNL during its inaugural 1975 season. He remained on the show until 1979. In a recent interview with DECIDER, fellow SNL alum Joe Piscopo, who attended the special on Sunday night (Feb. 16), deemed Aykroyd his “SNL hero,” noting that he “can make anything work.”
So, why was Dan Aykroyd missing from SNL50?
On Friday (Feb. 14), Aykroyd posted on X, gushing with how proud he was to have been a “co-founder of SNL” 50 years ago.
“This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing,” he added of this weekend’s special. “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!!”
His representative ultimately cited “prior commitments” to Variety as for the reason for his absence. However, that did not stop Aykroyd from tuning in, as he shared the following on X on Wednesday:
“All Heads up toasting triumphant SNL 50th. Advantage of not attending – got to see every second of concert and show on TV. Quote from my children: ‘Look at daddy’s smile!’ Had it from start to finish. Congratulations Lorne. Well done as usual.”
As for other iconic SNL alums who were missing from the milestone event, Puck had reported that Bill Hader had issued a “polite decline” to make an appearance during the special, per The Daily Beast. His representative told Variety that he could not attend due to a “longstanding scheduling conflict.”
Unfortunately, according to Variety, Dana Carvey was hit with a “bad flu,” preventing him from attending.
Among the slew of SNL legends at the anniversary special were Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Chris Rock, Kristen Wiig, Ana Gasteyer, Bill Murray, Tracy Morgan, Chevy Chase, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Leslie Jones and Tina Fey.
