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Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: ana gasteyer, Martha Stewart, nbc, saturday night live
SNL: Ana Gasteyer on Classic Sketch, Martha Stewart's "Hot Mom Factor"
Ana Gasteyer (American Auto) on the inspiration behind her breakout Saturday Night Live sketch parodying Martha Stewart's "hot mom factor."
Article Summary
- Ana Gasteyer's iconic Martha Stewart sketch remains a standout SNL moment.
- Inspiration for the sketch came from Stewart's "weird kind of hot mom factor".
- Gasteyer's portrayal featured a burlesque-style black bar for humor.
- The actress reflects on the risk and humor of her SNL Christmas parody.
A major element in fitting into Saturday Night Live is to create memorable characters. While it sounds like a no-brainer, people forget that there's such a revolving door with the NBC weekly late-night variety series because they never quite fit in. Fortunately for alum Ana Gasteyer, she was able to churn out one of the most off-the-wall celebrity impersonations in Martha Stewart, the homemaker media conglomerate. While Gasteyer is certainly not the first nor the last to skewer Stewart, the cast member probably made the most profound impact in the season 22 episode, her debut season, in the sketch "Martha Stewart's Topless Christmas." Gasteyer spoke with casting director and Groundlings teacher Tony Sepulveda as part of the improv school's 50th anniversary "In Conversation" series (via Entertainment Weekly).
Inspiration Behind Ana Gasteyer's Martha Stewart SNL Christmas Sketch
When asked if Gasteyer was actually topless in that sketch with SNL implementing the signature black bar to filter out nudity, "Oh my god, I really, really, basically was," the American Auto star said. "But that was a different time." She admitted the sketch was inspired by Stewart's "weird hot mom factor." "My friend Norm Hiscock wrote this sketch with me, and we wanted to write her with as much integrity as possible," Gasteyer told Sepulveda. "He came and was like, 'You're not gonna like this idea. What if we just do a promo of her Christmas show, but she's topless.' I was like, 'Yeah, I like it.' 'Cause there's this weird kind of hot mom factor that people were never really acknowledging about [her]."
Gasteyer thought it would be really funny to do a "really cheap black bar" over her breasts, "sort of like an old time-y, burlesque-y sort of vibe." On writing the sketch, "I remember being like, 'Oh, I might not get fired,'" she told EW in 2001. While YouTube has all the other major US holidays on hand, Gasteyer's Stewart Christmas is mysteriously absent. Stewart took that ball and embraced it given her shoot with Sports Illustrated for their swimsuit issue. You can catch both seasons of American Auto on Peacock.
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