# Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special

"Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special" (also billed as "Saturday Night Live 25") is a three-hour prime-time special that aired on September 26, 1999, on NBC, celebrating Saturday Night Live's 25th year on the air, having premiered on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The New York Times wrote of the special, "In defiance of both time and show business convention, SNL is still the most pervasive influence on the art of comedy in contemporary culture."
This special was preceded by the 15th Anniversary Special (1989) and succeeded by the 40th Anniversary Special (2015). The 25th special received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations including a win for the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special and a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Best Comedy/Variety – Specials.

## Synopsis
### Summary

| Sketch | Notes |
| Cold Open | Bill Murray (as Nick the Lounge Singer) and Paul Shaffer open the show with a musical melody and talks to audience members Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Drew Barrymore and Garrett Morris. Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman appear as Mr. Chief Redsky and his niece Natasha. |
| Opening Monologue | Chris Rock delivers the opening monologue |
| Schmitt's Gay sketch | Adam Sandler and Chris Farley appear in a pre-taped sketch |
| "Questions from the Audience/Will Ferrell montage" segment | Tom Hanks answers questions from the audience including Garth Brooks, Jon Lovitz, Christopher Walken, Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Van Der Beek, and Victoria Jackson before introducing a montage of sketches featuring Will Ferrell. |
| Tribute to the first 5 years of SNL | The Three Amigos reunion with Steve Martin, Martin Short and Chevy Chase reunite to present a tribute to the first 5 years of SNL |
| Tribute to John Belushi | Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman present a tribute to fellow cast member John Belushi |
| Musical performance | Jerry Seinfeld and David Bowie introduce Eurythmics as they are the respective host and musical guest for the following weekend |
| Tribute to Gilda Radner | Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri present a tribute to former cast member Gilda Radner |
| Montage of clips 1980-1985 | Billy Crystal reprises his role as Fernando Lamas and makes jokes towards Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Susan Sarandon, Gary Busey, Glenn Close, Susan St. James and Danny DeVito, followed by an introduction of clips from the 1980-1985 Dick Ebersol-produced era. |
| Dr. Evil Sketch | Mike Myers, Lorne Michaels, Tim Meadows, and Kevin Spacey act in a pre-taped sketch where they discuss the similarities between Dr. Evil and Michaels. |
| Montage of clips 1985-1990 | Mike Myers introduces a montage of clips from 1985 to 1990. |
| Tribute to Phil Hartman | Mike Myers, Jon Lovitz, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, Kevin Nealon, and Dennis Miller present a tribute to Hartman featuring the pre-taped short film “Love is a Dream” featuring Hartman and Hooks. |
| "Behind the Scenes" montage | Jimmy Fallon presents a pre-taped Behind the Scenes at SNL montage. |
| Tribute to the writers | Adam Sandler, Jim Downey, Robert Smigel, and Tim Hurley present a tribute to the writers. |
| Montage of clips 1990-1995 | Lily Tomlin and Candice Bergen present a montage of SNL clips from 1990 to 1995. |
| Tribute to Chris Farley | David Spade presents a tribute to friend and former cast member Chris Farley. |
| Musical performance | Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer reprise their roles as Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp, before announcing a musical performance by Beastie Boys, who are joined by Elvis Costello to perform Radio Radio. |
| Weekend Update tribute | Chevy Chase, Dennis Miller, and Norm MacDonald introduce a montage of Weekend Update clips. |
| "TV Funhouse" cartoon | Alec Baldwin introduces a new TV Funhouse cartoon by Robert Smigel honoring Lorne Michaels. |
| Hans and Franz sketch | Pre-taped sketch Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon reprise their roles as Hans and Franz. |
| Musical performance | Garrett Morris and Tim Meadows introduce Rev. Al Green who sings "Let's Stay Together". |
| SNL Goodbyes | Dan Aykroyd, Jon Lovitz, and John Goodman invite the cast and crew to take a photo on stage |

### Musical performances

The show included musical performances by:
* Eurythmics, introduced by Jerry Seinfeld and David Bowie, performed "Here Comes the Rain Again".
* The Beastie Boys begin a performance of "Sabotage" before being interrupted by Elvis Costello who joins them in a performance of "Radio Radio", spoofing the Costello’s appearance in 1977 where his band began to perform "Less Than Zero", before stopping abruptly and instead leading into a performance of Radio Radio against the wishes of his record company and SNL.
* Al Green, introduced by Garrett Morris and Tim Meadows, performs "Let's Stay Together".

### In Memoriam

Throughout the show following were paid tribute to:
* John Belushi
* Chris Farley
* Phil Hartman
* Gilda Radner
* Michael O'Donoghue
* Danitra Vance

## Participants

All performers were credited as repertory:
* Dan Aykroyd
* Alec Baldwin
* Candice Bergen
* David Bowie
* Garth Brooks
* Dana Carvey
* Chevy Chase
* Billy Crystal
* Will Ferrell
* Al Franken
* Ana Gasteyer
* Sarah Michelle Gellar
* John Goodman
* Tom Hanks
* Jan Hooks
* Victoria Jackson
* Jon Lovitz
* Steve Martin
* Tim Meadows
* Dennis Miller
* Garret Morris
* Bill Murray
* Mike Meyers
* Kevin Nealon
* Laraine Newman
* Cheri Oteri
* Chris Rock
* Adam Sandler
* Jerry Seinfeld
* Molly Shannon
* Martin Short
* Kevin Spacey
* David Spade
* Lily Tomlin
* James Van Der Beek
* Christopher Walken

## Audience members

Also in attendance included numerous actors, musicians, comedians, and celebrities such as:
* Tom Arnold
* Drew Barrymore
* Steve Buscemi
* Glenn Close
* Danny DeVito
* Michael Douglas
* Whoopi Goldberg
* Gilbert Gottfried
* Darrell Hammond
* Chris Kattan
* Michael Keaton
* Robert Klein
* David Koechner
* Nathan Lane
* Penny Marshall
* John McEnroe
* Tracy Morgan
* Ric Ocasek
* Conan O’Brien
* Rhea Perlman
* Bernadette Peters
* Joe Piscapo
* Ray Romano
* Andy Richter
* Susan Sarandon
* Rob Schneider
* Sting
* Susan St. James
* Patrick Stewart
* Steven Tyler
* Fred Willard
* Catherine Zeta-Jones

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2000 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical/Variety | Beth McCarthy-Miller | Nominated |
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special | Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special | Won |
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program | Beth McCarthy-Miller | Nominated |
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program | N. Joseph DeTullio, Eugene Lee, Keith Ian Raywood, and Akira Yoshimura | Nominated |
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Special | Michael Bennett, Steven Cimino, Carl Eckett, Eric A. Eisenstein, Frank Grisanti, Jan Kasoff, James Mott, Stephen Murello, Susan Noll, and John Pinto | Nominated |
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special | Robert Palladino, Bill Taylor, Chris Seeger, Marty Brumbach, and Jay Vicari | Nominated |
| 2001 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Comedy/Variety – Specials | Tina Fey, Anne Beatts, Tom Davis, Steve Higgins, Lorne Michaels, Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Paula Pell, Paul Shaffer, T. Sean Shannon, Michael Shoemaker, and Robert Smigel | Won |