List of last-minute changes on Saturday Night Live

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This is a list of last minute changes on the television series Saturday Night Live.

Contents 1 1970s 2 1980s 3 1990s 4 2000s

[edit] 1970s

• The Sex Pistols were supposed to be the musical guests of the December 17, 1977, episode, but because of visa problems, were replaced with Elvis Costello and The Attractions.

[edit] 1980s

• Robert Guillaume was scheduled to host on March 14, 1981, with Ian Dury as his musical guest. However, during the course of the week, it was announced that Jean Doumanian had been replaced as Executive Producer by Dick Ebersol and decided to put SNL on hiatus for re-tooling. When the show did come back, Robert Guillaume did not host it.

• Al Franken and Tom Davis, writers and featured players on the show, were scheduled to host the last episode of the 1980-81 season, on April 18, 1981, with The Grateful Dead as musical guest. It was cancelled due to a writers' strike.

• James Caan was originally supposed to host the 1981-82 season premiere on October 3, 1981. He backed out to be with his sister who had fallen ill. No host was booked to replace him for the episode.

• Nick Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982, Christmas episode, but he became too ill to host, so his 48 Hrs. co-star (and then current SNL cast member), Eddie Murphy took over as host. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular, a choice reportedly upsetting to his fellow cast members. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy show!"

• Bill Murray was scheduled to host the November 17, 1984, episode. He cancelled 10 days before the broadcast and was replaced by Ed Asner.

• John Candy and Eugene Levy were scheduled to host an episode on March 9, 1985, with musical guest Hall and Oates. It was cancelled due to an actors' strike.

[edit] 1990s

• Sinéad O'Connor was originally scheduled musical guest for May 12, 1990, episode with host Andrew Dice Clay, she backed out in protest of the host. She would appear in the following season's premiere episode, September 29, 1990, with host Kyle McLachlan and again in the infamous episode during the 1992-1993 season, when she tore up Pope John Paul II's photo (hosted by Tim Robbins).

• Joe Pesci was originally supposed to host on May 9, 1992, but he had to back out at the very last minute, replaced by Tom Hanks. The show made light of the switch by having Hanks deliver a monologue that appeared to have been written for Pesci, complete with plugs of all of Pesci's recent films and a parody of the "Whaddya mean I'm funny" scene from Goodfellas. Pesci hosted five months later.

• Gary Oldman was scheduled to host the December 5, 1992, episode. He was even announced as the next host in the previous episode. He canceled and was replaced by Tom Arnold.

• David Letterman was originally supposed to host the 1992–93 season finale, but he backed out due to his problems with NBC. He was replaced by Kevin Kline.

• Emma Thompson was originally supposed to host the November 13, 1993, episode. She dropped out at the very last minute -- so late that she was listed in that week's TV Guide as the scheduled host. She was replaced by Rosie O'Donnell.

• Michael Richards was scheduled to host the March 12, 1994, episode but was dropped by producers in favor of skating sensation Nancy Kerrigan.

• Dana Carvey was supposed to host for the first time in April 1994, but he had to back out at the last minute. He was replaced by Emilio Estevez. Carvey finally hosted six months later.

• Drew Barrymore was supposed to host the May 7, 1994, episode; she was replaced by John Goodman. Barrymore would finally host five years later (Season 24).

• Martin Short was originally supposed to host the 1994 season premiere but backed out at the last minute. He was replaced by Steve Martin.

• Gary Sinise was originally supposed to host the December 10, 1994, episode. He was replaced by Alec Baldwin.

• Prince was originally scheduled to be the musical guest for the 1995 season premiere with host Mariel Hemingway but backed out at the last minute. David Spade poked fun at this in his Spade in America segment during the show. Prince was replaced by Blues Traveler. Prince did not appear as the musical guest until 10 years later, on February 4, 2006.

• Rage Against the Machine had their second musical performance canceled after being stopped from performing their 1996 song Bulls on Parade with inverted American flags draped over their amplifiers.

• Alec Baldwin was supposed to host the February 7, 1998, episode. John Goodman was his replacement.

• Drew Carey was originally scheduled to host the December 12, 1998, episode. He was replaced by Alec Baldwin.

• Dana Carvey was scheduled to host the April 10, 1999, show, with John Goodman scheduled to host the following week. The latter episode was cut due to budget constraints, so Goodman was moved up to replace Carvey.

• Jim Carrey was originally supposed to host the December 11, 1999, Christmas show to promote his film Man on the Moon. He had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by his Man on the Moon co-star Danny DeVito.

[edit] 2000s

• Jon Stewart was supposed to host February 5, 2000, but had to back out at the last minute. He was replaced by Alan Cumming. Stewart finally hosted the show in March 2002.

• Kevin Spacey was originally supposed to host the October 14, 2000, episode. When scheduling on his movie K-PAX fell behind, he had to cancel. He was replaced by Kate Hudson. Spacey would host for second time on the 31st season finale, May 20, 2006.

• Ben Stiller was scheduled to host on October 6, 2001, but he said it was "impossible to be funny at times like this" (shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks). Seann William Scott, who was scheduled for the following week was bumped up. His spot went to Drew Barrymore, who was asked at the last minute to host.

• Steve Martin was originally supposed to host the Thanksgiving 2001, episode but had to back out at the last minute. Billy Bob Thornton pushed back to that date.

• Ray Romano was supposed to host the show for the second time in April 2002 but had to drop out due to a busy schedule. He was replaced by The Rock.

• Anthony Hopkins was supposed to host the November 9, 2002, show. Nia Vardalos, scheduled to host the next week, was his replacement. Vardalos' November 16 replacement was Brittany Murphy.

• Red Hot Chili Peppers were the originally scheduled musical guest for the January 18, 2003, episode with host Ray Liotta, but they were replaced by The Donnas. The band would make its second appearance on the show May 6, 2006, with host Tom Hanks.

• Renée Zellweger was scheduled to host the May 10, 2003, show. She backed out at the last minute and was replaced by Adrien Brody.

• Steve Martin and Prince were the original choice to host and musical guest the 30th season premiere, but Prince had to back out, and Steve Martin declined the invitation. They were replaced by Ben Affleck and Nelly.

• The Scissor Sisters were the first choice to musical guest for the Queen Latifah episode for the 30th season, but the producers ended up having Queen Latifah double duty as host and musical guest.

• During the 2004-2005 season, an article was released in November 2004 with a photo of Lorne Michaels in front of a bulletin board revealing the respective hosts and musical guests further in the season. It included Gwyneth Paltrow with musical guest Coldplay, Ice Cube with musical guest Franz Ferdinand, and later on Cameron Diaz in April. Because the movie dates and albums were pushed back, Gwyneth was replaced by Jennifer Garner (and eventually Topher Grace), and Ice Cube was replaced with Paul Giamatti. Coldplay was pushed back to perform on the season finale, and Franz Ferdinand to Season 31 in October 2005.

• Jennifer Garner was scheduled to host on January 15, 2005, but had to cancel due to an injury she sustained while filming Alias. She was replaced by Topher Grace.

• Patrick Dempsey was to host on April 15, 2006, but cancelled due to personal problems. He was replaced by Lindsay Lohan, who was originally scheduled to host the 2005-2006 season finale. The season finale hosting job eventually went to Kevin Spacey.