May 20, 1989 Season 14 episode
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| Episode | 266 |
| Season Episode | 20 |
| Host | Steve Martin |
| Musical Guest(s) | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
| Song(s) performed by Musical Guest(s) |
"Runnin' Down a Dream" "Free Fallin'" |
| Previous Episode May 13, 1989 |
Next Episode September 30, 1989 (Season 15) |
The finale of Season 14, as well as the 266th episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Steve Martin with musical guest Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This was Steve Martin’s 11th time as host, as well as the 3rd musical stint on SNL for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The episode aired on the same day as the death of original cast member Gilda Radner, who died from ovarian cancer. In place of his originally planned monologue, Martin discusses his interactions with the people of SNL. As he struggles to hold back tears, he introduces a replay of season 3's "Dancing in the Dark" sketch featuring him and Radner. Afterwards he ends the monologue by talking about "how great she was and of how young I looked. Gilda, we miss you."
Cast[]
Repertory[]
Featured[]
- Cameos by Timothy Busfield and Paulina Poriskova; onscreen appearances by executive producer Lorne Michaels and announcer Don Pardo
Sketches[]
Cold Open Sketch Pre-recorded Weekend Update Music Performance Other
| Title | Image | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Open | George Bush (Dana Carvey) gives status report on good & bad of his term so far. | |
| Opening montage |  |
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| Steve Martin Monologue | Time stands still while two people (Steve Martin, Gilda Radner) go “Dancing In The Dark” from April 22, 1978. Made as a tribute to Gilda Radner, who died from ovarian cancer earlier that day. | |
| Hanz and Franz | World’s most perfectly pumped-up man (Steve Martin). | |
| Tammy Wynette Sings the Classics | with “Stand By Your Man” lyrics. | |
| Toonces | he can drive, just not very well. The debut of Toonces. | |
| To My Love | Steve Martin recites an ode that details what he needs from his woman. | |
| Weekend Update with Dennis Miller | A. Whitney Brown tells the class of ’89 to stick it to Noriega with crack boycott. | |
| The New Coneheads | Executive producer Lorne Michaels previews new issue-oriented Coneheads skits; Timothy Busfield cameo. | |
| Get to Know Me | Jon Lovitz says “Get to know me!” like Don Pardo & Steve Martin did; Paulina Poriskova cameo. | |
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform “Free Fallin'” | ||
| Sprockets | Dieter (Mike Myers)’s lover Heike (Nora Dunn) reviews the performance of a clown. | |
| Sides | Steve Martin demonstrates his good & bad sides, photographically speaking. | |
| Smokers Cable Network | Smokers Cable Network news anchors present items related to tobacco. | |
| Have a Bitchin' Summer | Tonto (Jon Lovitz), Tarzan (Kevin Nealon), Frankenstein (Phil Hartman) say goodbye for the summer. | |
| Goodnights | Steve: “I wanna thank all my guests, the most beautiful woman in the world: Jon Lovitz…”; We also get a nice mention from Don Pardo’s voice-over that the show’s next live broadcast will be SNL’s 15th anniversary special in late September (a week before season 15 begins), the beginning of a tradition of SNL holding a big anniversary special during some of their milestone years. |
Trivia[]
- This was the final episode for director Paul Miller (who started directing the show back in 1986), who left after just three years.
- Starting with next season, Dave Wilson (the show's original director from 1975-1986) returned to direct the show, and would do so until his retirement in 1995.
| Preceded by: May 13, 1989 |
Saturday Night Live episode | Followed by: September 30, 1989 |