The "Christopher Walken Family Reunion" sketch on the April 5, 2008, "Saturday Night Live" reminded me they were missing the "SNL" alumnus who did the best Christopher Walken impression ever:
Jay Mohr. Until Hulu.com posts the clip, here's a transcript of "Christopher Walken's Celebrity Psychic Friends Network". (Original airdate: Oct. 19, 1993) P.S.: Mohr was also used in a "Simpsons" episode to supply Walken's voice reading "Goodnight Moon" to children.
Mohr was never a full-fledged "SNL" cast member, but for two seasons (1993-1995) he was a writer and featured cast member. Among the sketches he created is "Charles Barkley vs. Barney the Dinosaur" (Original airdate: Sept. 25, 1993).
Here is Mohr on "Weekend Update" doing his impression of Dick Vitale's Oscar picks. (Original airdate: March 19, 1994).
Mohr is listed as "Steroid User No. 4" in the hilarious talk show spoof "How Much Ya Bench?" (Original airdate: April 16, 1994). The joke is that Emilio Estevez, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade and Mohr are all wearing costumes that show over-developed chests and torsos ... with their tiny legs dangling out from their chairs. And no matter what topic they discus, they want to emphasize that they take part in totally natural, steroid-free weightlifting regimens.
Frankie: Before we go to the phones, let's start off with a regular segment on "How Much Ya Bench?" called Movie Talk. This is where we have a steroid-free discussion of the movies. Tonight's topic: Hollywood's hot new actors and how much we want to kick their heads in. First up: Brad Pitt. He's becoming a big star. Do we like it?
Steroid User No. 1: My girl thinks he's really cute. And she says he was really good in "Thelma and Louise." So to be quite honest, I'd like to give him a savage beating. The kind of beating where the cops would say, "What kind of animal would do this to another human being?"
In 2004, Hyperion published Mohr's memoir of his behind-the-scenes struggles on the show, titled "Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches at Saturday Night Live".
Since departing the show, Mohr has had quite a few high-profile endeavors in sports entertainment.
In the spring and summer of 2002, ESPN gave him a show called "Mohr Sports". It only lasted from April to August, but the Web site's footprint still exists here. You can even call up transcripts of his monologues.
Here is Mohr plugging the show in an interview with ESPN's Page 2. Whoah, synergy!
In addition to sometimes guest-hosting "The Jim Rome Show," Mohr writes a column and blog for FoxSports.com called "The Alternative." The retirement/quitting of Bob Knight from Texas Tech inspired Mohr to ask when is the appropriate time for sports figures to step aside. He had this to say about the Joe Paterno/Bobby Bowden contest to see who will be the last geezer standing:
Bobby Bowden must have a hell of a recruiting pitch, "Son if you come on down to Tallahasee, you just might be able to watch me die during practice!" Recruits eat that stuff up.
And we'll close by noting that Mohr's place in cinematic history is assured as sports agent Bob Sugar, the ex-protege and arch-enemy of "Jerry Maguire".
"It's not 'show friends,' it's 'show business.'" Hey, that might have made a good title for Mohr's "SNL" memoir.
SNL Sportsplex entry No. 24
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