50 Greatest 'Saturday Night Live' Sketches of All Time

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Rolling Stone (on-line) runs these lists from time to time.  They listed the Chris Farley classic Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker at number 1.

50 Greatest 'Saturday Night Live' Sketches of All Time
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/50-greatest-saturday-night-live-sketches-of-all-time-20140203/matt-foley-motivational-speaker-0010123

1. Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker

Original Airdate: May 8th, 1993

"It paints a picture; the phrase has a lot more meaning to it than just a catchphrase that stands alone," sketch writer Bob Odenkirk told the Chicago Reader about Matt Foley, the motivational speaker who's "35 years old, thrice divorced, and living in a van down by the river." "[T]here is a lot more to it when Chris did it, and he made that character whole. It's not a gimmick. You felt like there was a real person in that character."

Beyond Odenkirk's vivid storyline and Farley's honest portrayal, Foley was the single best use of the manic energy stored inside SNL's greatest physical comedian since John Belushi; a bundle of twitches, tics, throat-busting yells, and extreme pratfalls that made Chevy Chase look like Baryshnikov. Foley was invented by the pair in their days at Chicago's Second City, but quickly became a national legend since the folks on stage were laughing almost as hard as the audience. "Lorne didn't like us cracking up on air," said Norm MacDonald in The Chris Farley Show. "But it was always Chris's goal when it was live on air to make you laugh, to take you out of character, and he always succeeded. You could never not laugh."

The main victim in this sketch was David Spade: "In rehearsal, he's done the thing with his glasses... But he'd never done the twisting his belt and hitching up the pants thing," said Spade. "He saved that for the live performance, and so none of us had ever seen it. He knew that would break me."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/50-greatest-saturday-night-live-sketches-of-all-time-20140203/matt-foley-motivational-speaker-0010123#ixzz2sSw7VHnq
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[Tugg Speedman]

The writer of the skit was Bob Odenkirk.  You might know him as Saul as "better call Saul" from Breaking Bad.

[MerrittsMustache]

The writer of the skit was Bob Odenkirk.  You might know him as Saul as "better call Saul" from Breaking Bad.

...and proud Marquette alum.

[Coleman]

...and proud Marquette alum.

wikipedia says he transferred and graduated from SIU

[ChicosBailBonds]

wikipedia says he transferred and graduated from SIU

Still an alum, don't have to graduate to be an alum

[Tugg Speedman]

So the greatest SNL skit ever starred an MU alum (Chris Farley) and was written by second MU Alum (Bob Odenkirk)!!

[jesmu84]

#10 on that list. I don't think it would go over well today...

http://www.youtube.com/v/V2b21yAeEpQ?version=3&hl=en_US