Back in February, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels pulled out all the stops to welcome back 50 years’ worth of comedians to Studio 8H for the milestone anniversary celebration of one of the best sketch comedy shows of all time. In fact, there were so many past and present stars on hand that it was almost easier to pick out those who were absent. Dan Aykroyd falls into that category, and now the OG cast member has spoken out about why.
As someone who’s been quoting The Blues Brothers since I was way too young to have seen the movie, I definitely noticed that Dan Aykroyd wasn’t at SNL50: The Anniversary Special. At the time, a rep for the actor cited “prior commitments” as the reason Aykroyd missed the supersized live special (available to stream with a Peacock subscription), but when he spoke to EW at Comic-Con 2025, he gave a different reason, saying:
I wanted to be at home and I wanted to watch the show beginning to end.
Dan Aykroyd’s absence was especially notable because he was the only surviving member of the original 1975 cast — dubbed the “Not Ready for Prime Time” players — to not appear in the special. Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin and Chevy Chase were all involved in some way.
The Ghostbusters star, however, said he preferred to enjoy the show rather than work it. He continued:
I knew if I was there, I'd be in a dressing room, I’d be working. I wanted to see it live. I’m a fan of the show today, and I watch it all the time. I love these new players; I think they’re just great. I just wanted to see and live nostalgically with my family in my own home, eating my own popcorn.
I guess we can’t blame this “wild and crazy guy” from wanting to enjoy SNL50: The Anniversary Special and, presumably, the amazing SNL50 Homecoming Concert at home with his family.
While Dan Aykroyd says he’s a fan of the show today and even called the 2024 film Saturday Night "a stand-alone masterpiece” for its dramatized retelling of the hours leading up to SNL’s first broadcast, there’s undoubtedly some heavy memories associated with the sketch show.
Bill Murray openly wept when clips of Gilda Radner and John Belushi — Dan Aykroyd’s fellow Blues Brother — were shown. Given how much of “a great human being” Belushi was, according to Aykroyd, I can only imagine the memories that would have resurfaced of Belushi and other former co-stars who have passed if Aykroyd had returned to Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8H that night.
Regardless of the reason, his absence was a bit disappointing for fans, given the undeniable impact the star of Coneheads (another movie based on SNL characters) had on the longstanding comedy show.
Saturday Night Live’s lore is full of stories that include Dan Aykroyd, including the time he fell 50 feet through a skylight while chasing Gilda Radner across a roof, the origins of his infamous “Jane, you ignorant slut” quote on Weekend Update and the epic prank he and John Belushi pulled on the founder of Rolling Stone magazine.
Those will have to suffice, because rather than make new memories at SNL50, Aykroyd chose to spend that night just being a fan.
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