Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

Saturday Night Live: Kevin Nealon Learned Why He Was Fired from WU

Saturday Night Live alum Kevin Nealon (Happy Gilmore 2) shared his recent discovery about why he was fired from Weekend Update in 1994.

In the dog-eat-dog world of late-night sketch comedy, one of the cushiest positions one can have is a reliable segment, and few can top "Weekend Update" on NBC's Saturday Night Live as the variety program's satirical take on the news has sustained since the Lorne Michaels-created series premiere in 1975, when Chevy Chase became its inaugural anchor. As a news personality, the cast member could let the writing do all the work, playing it straight without having to create an original character, as their castmates' characters can act as "correspondents." Kevin Nealon was one such beneficiary, serving as the Update desk host from 1991 to 1994, taking over from Dennis Miller. When it came for Nealon to give up the desk, he would be succeeded by the late Norm Macdonald. It turns out both anchors have far more in common than imagined, as they were fired by the same executive, Don Ohlmeyer. The Weeds star appeared on The Daily Beast's Obsessed: The Podcast to share how he discovered he was fired, long after he departed the weekly night series at the end of season 20 following his nine-year stint.

Saturday Night Live Alum Kevin Nealon on Discovering the Real Reason Why He Was Fired from Weekend Update After Reading Lorne Michaels' Biography

"I'm just finishing reading that book called Lorne. It's about Lorne Michaels. And I'm learning what's happening behind the scenes that I didn't know about," Nealon said. "It says in the book that Don Ohlmeyer — who was the head of NBC at the time, who was in and out of rehab — didn't like me on Weekend Update." The comedian had more to say about the executive who passed in 2017, who infamously fired Macdonald over his consistent roasting of his friend, O.J. Simpson, who worked for NBC Sports following his NFL career as a broadcaster and embraced acting before his fall from grace stemming from his double-murder trial, dubbed "the trial of the century."

"I knew I got taken off of there because [Ohlmeyer] wasn't happy with me, but I didn't know until I read the book that one of the reasons was he said I was 'mushmouth.' He couldn't understand some of the things I was saying," Nealon continued. "And for someone who, you know, is a partier like him, I think he knows what 'mushmouth' is about." The actor took it in stride after he left Update, as he kept himself busy creatively writing and appearing in sketches. He has returned to the update desk in season 26 as an alum while infusing his popular pre-anchor character, "Mr. Subliminal," into his bit.

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