Why Dana Carvey skipped ‘SNL 50’ anniversary special
Where’s Dana?
Dana Carvey skipped the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special that reunited dozens of the show’s current and former stars at Studio 8H on Sunday.
Viewers were surprised the 69-year-old comedian missed the event considering he’s made recent appearances on “SNL” to portray Joe Biden. He was a cast member from 1986 to 1993.
But the reason for Carvey’s absence was finally revealed on Tuesday.
According to Variety, Carvey had a “bad flu” and was too sick to attend the special.
The Post has reached out to Carvey’s rep for comment.
Carvey returned to the sketch comedy series for the Season 50 premiere in September to deliver an impersonation of Biden, 82. He did a sketch with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris.
The “SNL” legend continued appearing on the NBC variety show before and after the 2024 presidential election.
In addition to Carvey, fellow alums Bill Hader and Dan Aykroyd also missed the special.
Hader’s rep said the actor — who was on the show from 2006 to 2013 — didn’t go because he had a “longstanding scheduling conflict.”
Aykroyd, one of the show’s original cast members, had to bow out of the special because of “prior commitments,” his rep confirmed, per Variety.
Aykroyd posted about the anniversary special on X two days before it took place.
“Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago. This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing. Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America’s greatest living impresario, my boss Lorne Michaels. People it’s friggin’ Holy!!” he wrote.
Colin Quinn and Dennis Miller, both “Weekend Update” alums, were also missing from the special. Quinn, 65, had a standup show in Raleigh, North Carolina on the same night. Bill Murray gave a shout-out to Quinn in a skit Sunday honoring the best “Weekend Update” hosts.
Other notable “SNL” alums who didn’t appear in the special include Joan Cuscak, Robert Downey Jr., Mary Gross and Chris Redd.
But pretty much every other alum was there including Carvey’s “Fly on the Wall” podcast partner, David Spade, “Wayne’s World” co-star Mike Myers, as well as Aykroyd’s fellow OG surviving cast members Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin and Chevy Chase.
Alums Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Maya Rudolph, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen also returned to Studio 8H for the star-studded celebration.
Other stars who participated in the special included Sabrina Carpenter, Kim Kardashian, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Paul McCartney.
