While the 2024 TV schedule doesn’t technically mark the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live’s 1975 debut, it is considered the beginning of Season 50 for the landmark NBC series. Between Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night biopic and the progressing lineup of upcoming SNL hosts and musical guests, there are a lot of glimpses back to the past as we celebrate the future, and more than one of them includes holes in the walls.
After reading a story involving former cast member Seth Meyers putting a hole in a dressing room wall during his time on the show, I recalled another tale of property damage at 30 Rock that I’d just learned about. Strangely enough, Mr. Meyers’ story oddly mirrors another account from the Saturday Night past, one involving classic cast members John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.
That Time Seth Meyers Punched A Hole In The Wall At SNL, And Why A Producer Made Him Keep It
Ask anyone from SNL’s cast, and they’ll tell you that it can be a place where tempers run high. That much has been true since the inception of producer Lorne Michaels’ counterculture comedy cavalcade, and Meyers’ recent interview with The New York Times can vouch for that point.
Apparently, the Late Night with Seth Meyers host had an incident where he did indeed put a hole in a wall in a dressing room. The impassioned reaction was due to one of his sketches being pulled, in favor of another piece of material on that night’s show. Cue Meyers flinging open that dressing room door, and making a hole that producer Michael Shoemaker insisted stay intact once it had been made.
Now the funny thing about this story is two different reasons were given for this hole’s continued presence. While they don’t deviate enough to cancel each other out, the difference is a subtle one to behold. We’ll start with Seth Meyers’ version of the aftermath, which saw the current NBC late night host share Shoemaker’s reasoning as follows:
I want you to see it every day. I want you to remember how small of a thing it was.
That’s a perfectly valid reason to live by, especially in an environment as competitive as SNL. Jockeying for air time, whether it’s with material you’re performing or writing, is something that cast members have always had to do. And that version of the Late Night with Seth Meyers producer’s wisdom certainly plays.
Although it may not be the entire truth. You see, this report also included Michael Shoemaker’s account of the sage wisdom. While his version isn’t terribly different, here’s the lesson Shoemaker said he was trying to teach:
Stop it. When something goes wrong, you have to think, what is it that you did that you could have done better?
No matter which version of the story you prefer, two things are abundantly clear: the first being that Michael Shoemaker’s intended lesson for Seth Meyers is one we could all benefit to learn from. Also, thanks to that reminder, the hole that Meyers put into 30 Rockefeller Center’s property remained for seven of his 13 years on Saturday Night Live.
Part of me wonders if Shoemaker, who had been working on SNL since 1986, took this lesson from another corner of hallowed history. This leads us to a story involving a location known only as “The Cave.” Its inhabitants: the “Bully Boys” of Saturday Night Live, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.
How Seth Meyers’ Story Mirrors A Detail About John Belushi And Dan Aykroyd’s SNL Run
For as many key Saturday Night moments that Jason Reitman’s current critical darling portrays, there’s a piece of the NBC mainstay’s history that’s probably best fit for print. In a story shared in the 1985 book Saturday Night by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad, it was revealed that the future Blues Brothers masterminds shared an office that lived up to the imposing name it was given.
Besides the presence of dirty clothes and other research materials of varying sources, Belushi & Aykroyd’s office had some choice openings in its own walls. However, their reasons for keeping them were unclear, and as you’ll read below, probably of a different variety:
The tiny office they shared on 17 was known as The Cave, and it was a shrine to slovenliness, the very epicenter of disorder. … Soiled panties sent in by fans, Polaroid shots of gas station attendants, and other oddities were pinned to the walls, which were scarred with holes, fist-sized and larger, and messages scrawled in Magic Marker. Over one hole was written the inscription, ‘Do not paint this hole.’ They said they were saving it as a memento.
Saturday Night by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad, p. 236
Dan Aykroyd’s fond remembrances of John Belushi paint the picture of chosen brothers who were on a similar wavelength. Both men knew how to stand up to forces of observed opposition, with Aykroyd being the more strong and silent type. Meanwhile, Belushi’s “wild man” pedigree preceded him, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he put a fair amount of holes in the wall to remind himself of the times when he felt out of sorts with the SNL company line.
If the walls of the 17th floor in the NBC Studios could talk, they’d probably be constantly screaming. Part of the time, that cacophony would probably come from the laughter created by the greatest Saturday Night Live sketches for A-list hosts, as well as those written for the cast. But every now and then, the more serious lessons that Seth Meyers, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi learned during their time in the comedy trenches are probably the signal that resonates the clearest.
Like all great art, the balance between comedy and tragedy makes all the difference in whether you’re laughing or crying. And striking that balance is what makes stories so special as we continue to celebrate Saturday Night Live’s history in the making. You can join in with everyone else at 11:35 PM ET, on NBC. Or if you’re not that much of a night owl, you can use a Peacock subscription to catch new and old episodes anytime.