Big Loss: Darrell Hammond Out At Saturday Night Live

The big story from the Saturday Night Live season premiere was the f-bomb from rookie Jenny Slate, but also notable was the absence of a veteran – it is clear Darrell Hammond is off the show. He wasn’t in the opening credits, or any of the sketches.

The master impressionist will surely be missed – especially after his great performance on Weekend Update Thursday just two days earlier.

“It will be very hard to follow last year,” said SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels to USA Today, and although he was referring to the fact that 2008 had a hugely publicized election, losing Hammond could add to the troubles.

First, SNL is notoriously quiet about cast movement – and no official statement has been released regarding Hammond (we’ve reached out to NBC for comment). Also, his bio still appears on the NBC.com site. But his absence from the opening credits is a glaring omission, and leads to the only logical conclusion that Hammond is gone.

Back in May I talked to Fred Armisen about what seemed to be an extra special goodbye to Hammond at the end of the season finale. He wouldn’t comment on it – a signal Hammond may have completed his last show.

On one level, the show loses Hammond as a veteran presence. He is the longest tenured cast member in the show’s history, having completed 14 seasons. And on a year in which the show swapped out two female cast members for two new ones, a little experience could have gone a long way.

But also, Hammond’s impressions are as close to irreplaceable, and needed on the show, as anyone else’s. He’s got the perfected former Pres. Bill Clinton, which was on full display during Thursday’s prime time show. There’s also Sen. John McCain and former VP Al Gore. That’s just the tip of the iceberg – Donald Trump, Sean Connery, Rev. Jesse Jackson, the list goes on. The political impressions will be missed the most, though. How can Saturday Night Live exist without a go-to Bill Clinton or John McCain? They’re already without a Sec. Hillary Clinton, now that Amy Poehler has left the show.

There’s one major consolation – the eternal SNL fraternity. There’s a reason why Poehler guest-anchored the first two Weekend Update Thursdays. And apparently why Hammond was there at the update desk on Thursday, as Slick Willie looked for Megan Fox. And why dozens of former SNL stars, with varying degrees of post late night-success, freely stop by the show every year for no other reason than the love they have for their time there. So if a former President heads to North Korea to rescue a couple female American journalists, Hammond could be back there for the cold open, shouting “Live From New York,” in that famous southern twang.

Here’s Hammond’s Weekend Update Thursday appearance last week as Clinton:

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3 comments

JunkJunk says:

September 28, 2009 at 10:41 am

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Damn.

The season premiere was a dud. With his departure, I can’t imagine the season getting any better…

BlackWidow says:

September 28, 2009 at 11:33 am

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I totally agree junkjunk. I’m longing for the old days of SNL. Hammond was the best of the show.

Nancy Ryden-Gonzalez says:

January 22, 2010 at 11:30 am

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PLEASE BRING HAMMOND BACK-my love for SNL has grown cold-We need our USA Impressionist Laureate-to quote, Tom Shales (Wasington Post). Biggest Mystery is why hasn’t this comedians genious been really mined-tapped into-explored? When I now hear he makes an appearance on (SNL)I regret no longer watching routinely. Why doesn’t NBC launch a Hammond Talk/comedy Show? He is brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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