#SNL50 Sketch of the Day - Ornery Is the Word for Buck Henry

"Nerds Prom" with Gilda, Billy and Jane (1978)

Buck Henry in one of Edie Baskin’s exquisite “bumper” photos.

As far as Saturday Night Live’s first ten years are concerned, Season Three (1977-78) will always be my favorite. By then, Bill Murray had fully integrated himself into the cast, there was considerably more of a balance in tone (Season Two was a little too heavy on Mr. Mike), Mr. Bill made his mark, and none of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players left behind after Chevy Chase’s exit were super famous yet.

Things would change - a lot - by Fall 1978, so the May 20 season finale hosted by Buck Henry (whom my grandmother described as “ornery”) would be significant even if it didn’t have an abundance of strong material. It just so happens this is my all-time favorite SNL, even better than the Steve Martin “King Tut” show from just a few weeks earlier. Regrettably, I couldn’t track down the “Sodom Chamber of Commerce” sketch, but the Nerds prom episode will do just fine if only for Mr. Henry’s censor-defying act of penetration and that intriguing Loopner family egg salad recipe.

Close Encounters of the Prom Kind (1978)

Here’s a good review of the episode, which also featured musical guest Sun Ra, Michael O’Donoghue at this creepiest, and a rare not-bad installment of “The Franken & Davis Show.”