Saturday Night Live's Five Timer's Club is a status given to any performer who has either hosted or appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live at least five times.
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Origins
The first public reference of the club came on December 8, 1990, when Tom Hanks made his fifth appearance as host on SNL. Hanks described the eligibility process in detail (and with humor) in his monologue:
| “ | Believe it or not, this is the fifth Saturday Night Live I have been lucky enough to host. Now, the first time you do the show, you can't believe you're here. You just can't believe it. Your head buzzes with excitement. The second time you do the show, it means you were funny enough to be asked back - and you're pushing a movie. The third time you do the show, the second time didn't go so well, and you have something to prove to yourself. The fourth time you do the show, you're just blatantly pushing a movie. But the fifth time you do the show is the most special time of all, because you get this.. [holds up a card] ..a membership card in the Five-Timers Club. Come with me.. [walks off the stage] I'm gonna give you a chance to look in on one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. | ” |
After Hanks gave his monologue, he participated in the now famous "Five Timer's Club" sketch. In addition to Hanks, the sketch starred five (or more) time hosts Steve Martin, Elliot Gould and five time musical guest Paul Simon with guest appearances by Ralph Nader trying to crash, Jon Lovitz as a waiter and a then-unknown Conan O'Brien as Sean the door man. Since the December 8, 1990 show, the Five Timer's Club has been a "running gag" on SNL. Danny DeVito referenced the club on his fifth show in 1993, as did Alec Baldwin (1994), John Goodman (1994), Christopher Walken (2001) and Drew Barrymore (2007).
A similar sketch was part of Alec Baldwin's November 11, 2006 show. The sketch, featuring Baldwin and Steve Martin, took place in the "Platinum Lounge", which allowed only 12-time hosts, and forbid working cast members. However, Martin tried to distract Baldwin several times (in order to poison him) by claiming to see hosts who had not hosted 12 times.
Cultural references in other media
The Five Timer's Club has been referenced in other media since its creation in 1990. The Entertainment Channel, E!, placed it #22 on its list of SNL top moments.[2] The club was also reference by Fox Sports as the basis behind the creation of the "Favre Backup Club" which seeks to be the "NFL's equivalent" to the Five Timer's Club.[3]
Current members
As of November 2009, there have been a total of 21 members of the Five-Timer's Club. From this number, nine have been celebrity hosts, two have been SNL alumni hosts, six have been musical guests, and two have served as musical guest and host. Some of these "Five-Timer" hosts (such as Steve Martin, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, and Alec Baldwin) have hosted so many times that special episodes of SNL have been compiled and aired as "Best of ..." episodes. Hosts who have been the subject of a Best of SNL videotape, DVD, or compilation special are marked with a (•) by their name on the list below.
The following people are members of the Five-Timer's Club. (This list comes from raw data compiled and listed from the following independent sources: http://snlmusic.parshaparts.com/snlmusic.php and http://snlarc.jt.org/)
| Performer | Type of Guest | Number of Episodes | First Hosted/Musical Appearance | Last Hosting/Musical Appearance | Date of Five Timer Membership |
| Steve Martin (•) [4] | Host | 15 | October 23, 1976 | January 31, 2009 | April 22, 1978 |
| Alec Baldwin (•) | Host | 14 | April 21, 1990 | February 14, 2009 | December 10, 1994 |
| John Goodman | Host | 12 | December 2, 1989 | November 3, 2001 | May 7, 1994 |
| Paul Simon | Host/Musical Guest | 11 (3 host/ 1 host & musical guest/ 7 musical guest) | October 18, 1975 | May 13, 2006 | May 10, 1986 |
| Buck Henry | Host | 10 | January 17, 1976 | May 24, 1980 | November 19, 1977 |
| Chevy Chase (•) | Host/SNL Alumnus | 8 | February 18, 1978 | February 15, 1997 | December 6, 1986 |
| Tom Hanks (•) [5] | Host | 8 | December 14, 1985 | May 6, 2006 | December 8, 1990 |
| Dave Grohl | Musical Guest | 8 | January 11, 1992 | October 13, 2007 | November 6, 1999 |
| Tom Petty | Musical Guest | 7 | November 10, 1979 | April 10, 1999 | November 19, 1994 |
| Christopher Walken (•)[6] | Host | 7 | January 20, 1990 | April 5, 2008 | May 19, 2001 |
| Randy Newman | Musical Guest | 6 | October 18, 1975 | October 22, 1988 | December 6, 1986 |
| Elliott Gould | Host | 6 | January 10, 1976 | November 15, 1980 | February 16, 1980 |
| James Taylor | Musical Guest | 6 | September 18, 1976 | November 13, 1993 | December 14, 1991 |
| Danny DeVito | Host | 6 | May 15, 1982 | December 10, 1999 | January 9, 1993 |
| Sting | Host/Musical Guest | 6 (1 host/ 1 host & musical guest/ 4 musical guest) | October 17, 1987 | November 20, 1999 | November 20, 1999 |
| Beck | Musical Guest | 6 | January 11, 1997 | October 28, 2006 | April 16, 2005 |
| Drew Barrymore | Host | 6 | November 20, 1982 | October 10, 2009 | February 3, 2007 |
| Candice Bergen | Host | 5 | November 8, 1975 | May 19, 1990 | May 19, 1990 |
| Bill Murray | Host/SNL Alumnus | 5 | March 7, 1981 | February 20, 1999 | February 20, 1999 |
| Foo Fighters1 | Musical Guest | 5 | December 2, 1995 | October 13, 2007 | October 13, 2007 |
| Dave Matthews | Musical Guest | 5 | April 15, 1995 | November 21, 2009 | November 21, 2009 |
| Jon Bon Jovi | Host/Musical Guest | 5 (1 host/ 4 musical guest) | January 9, 1993 | December 12, 2009 | December 12, 2009 |
Note 1: Foo Fighters included Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel in all of these appearances.
Notes/Trivia
- Club members do not shake hands normally. Instead, they do the 5 Timers Club shake, which consists of 2 members hitting elbows 5 times, counting out each time, and then, in sequence, pointing to each other and saying, "You're great!"
Five time hosts
- As of November 2009, Steve Martin currently holds the record for hosting SNL, with 15 episodes. He also hosted three times in one year in 1978 and he co-hosted with Chevy Chase and Martin Short on December 6, 1986. He also holds SNL record for most total guest appearances (22).
- John Goodman hosted once a season for 11 straight seasons. In addition, he is tied with Alec Baldwin for second most appearances (21) partially due to his cameo appearances during the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal playing Linda Tripp.
- Drew Barrymore beat out Jodie Foster as the youngest host on SNL when she hosted for the first time in 1982 (Barrymore was 7 years, 8 months and 29 days old when she first hosted; Foster was 14 years and 8 days old) and, as of 2009, has hosted more times than any female celebrity in SNL history. Tatum O'Neal was originally scheduled to host the episode that Jodie Foster ended up hosting (November 27, 1976), but declined. As of 2009, Jodie Foster has yet to return to host the show.
- Christopher Walken has a standing offer to host the show whenever his and SNL schedules permit.
Five time SNL alumni
- Chevy Chase was the first former SNL cast member to host five or more times, the first SNL castmember to come back and host the show, and the only SNL alumnus and Five-Timers Club member to be banned from hosting (after several embarrassing backstage incidents that happened when Chevy Chase came back to host in 1997).
- Bill Murray is the second former SNL cast member to host five or more times, and is the only person to host episodes produced by all three executive producers: Jean Doumanian, Dick Ebersol, and Lorne Michaels.
Five time musical guest
The following performers have been musical guests on SNL at least five times:
| Musical Guest | Number of Episodes | First Musical Appearance | Last Musical Appearance | Other Notes |
| Paul Simon | 9 | November 20, 1976 | May 13, 2006 | Simon also hosted or co-hosted four shows. He co-hosted with Catherine Oxenberg on May 10, 1986, during the 11th season. He solely hosted the second show on October 18, 1975 where he performed with Art Garfunkel and Phoebe Snow, on November 20, 1976, where, along with George Harrison he was one of two musical guests and on December 19, 1987. Is also best friend of show creator Lorne Michaels. (Also appeared in the original "Five Timers Club" sketch.) |
| Dave Grohl | 8 | January 11, 1992 | October 13, 2007 | Grohl has appeard as a musical guest on the show eight times between his performances with the Foo Fighters (5), Nirvana (2) and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1). |
| Tom Petty | 7 | November 10, 1979 | April 10, 1999 | |
| Randy Newman | 6 | October 18, 1975 | October 22, 1988 | |
| James Taylor | 6 | September 18, 1976 | November 13, 1993 | |
| Beck | 6 | January 11, 1997 | October 28, 2006 | He appeared as musical guest two times in 1999 (with hosts Bill Paxton and Christina Ricci). He has also been featured in a sketch about the evils of medicinal marijuana. |
| Sting | 5 | October 17, 1987 | November 20, 1999 | Only non-American performer to appear as a musical guest at least five times; has also performed in at least one sketch during each of his appearances. |
| Foo Fighters | 5 | December 2, 1995 | October 13, 2007 | Lead singer Dave Grohl has actually appeared nine times; he was the drummer for Nirvana in their two performances, as well as for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Tenacious D for one performance each. |
| Dave Matthews | 5 | April 15, 1995 | November 21, 2009 | Four of his appearances as musical guest were as part of the Dave Matthews Band. |
- In addition to being a musical guest seven times, Paul Simon also hosted or co-hosted four shows. He hosted the second episode October 18, 1975 where he reunited with his old partner Art Garfunkel, and co-hosted with Catherine Oxenberg on May 10, 1986, during the 11th season. He also served as musical guest when he hosted the 11/20/76 meaning he has technically been the musical guest 8 times making him the most frequent musical guest to date in the shows history
- On the October 13, 2007 SNL episode hosted by Jon Bon Jovi, the Foo Fighters (who were the musical guest for that episode) became the first band to be members of the Five Timers' Club.
- Beck is the only member of the Five Timers Club to have been a musical guest and have appeared on some of the show's sketches without actually hosting the show. Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins (of the Foo Fighters) also accomplished this when they appeared in the SNL Digital Short "Punched" during an episode that aired October 13th 2007.
Potential members
The following is a list of potential members of the Five-Timer's Club. To be considered a potential member, the performer must have hosted or appeared as a musical guest on SNL four times.
Four timers
| Performer | Type of Guest | Number of Episodes | First Hosted/Musical Appearance | Last Hosting/Musical Appearance | Other Notes |
| Leon Redbone | Musical Guest | 4 | February 28, 1976 | March 12, 1983 | |
| Eric Idle | Host | 4 | October 2, 1976 | October 20, 1979 | |
| Bonnie Raitt | Musical Guest | 4 | January 28, 1978 | October 1, 1994 | |
| Billy Joel | Musical Guest | 4 | February 18, 1978 | October 23, 1993 | |
| Michael Palin | Host | 4 | April 8, 1978 | January 21, 1984 | He co-hosted the January 21, 1984 SNL show with his mother. |
| David Bowie | Musical Guest | 4 | December 15, 1979 | October 2, 1999 | |
| Natalie Merchant | Musical Guest | 4 | February 27, 1988 | May 2, 1998 | Her first two appearances were with her band the 10,000 Maniacs. |
| Neil Young | Musical Guest | 4 | September 30, 1989 | December 17, 2005 | |
| Aerosmith | Musical Guest | 4 | February 17, 1990 | March 17, 2001 | |
| Mariah Carey | Musical Guest | 4 | October 27, 1990 | March 15, 2008 | |
| Bon Jovi | Musical Guest | 4 | January 9, 1993 | December 12, 2009 | They also performed in the episode hosted by band member Jon Bon Jovi. However, they were not the official musical guest (Foo Fighters were) |
| Snoop Dogg | Host/Musical Guest | 4 (1 host/ 3 musical guest) | March 19, 1994 | May 8, 2004 | |
| Gwen Stefani | Musical Guest | 4 | December 7, 1996 | December 9, 2006 | Though some people count her appearance with Eve as a stint as musical guest she was never credited as such on the show. This means her appearance on that show cannot be counted as official in the number of times as musical guest. |
| Eminem | Musical Guest | 4 | October 23, 1999 | October 30, 2004 | |
| Christina Aguilera | Host/Musical Guest | 4 (1 host / 3 musical guest) | April 8, 2000 | November 11, 2006 | |
| Jack Black | Host/Musical Guest | 4 (3 host/ 1 musical guest) | January 19, 2002 | December 2, 2006 | Was a musical guest as a member of Tenacious D (His musical partner, Kyle Gass, has also made two appearances with Black as a host) |
| Ben Affleck | Host | 4 | February 19, 2000 | November 1, 2008 | |
| Justin Timberlake | Host/Musical Guest | 4 (1 host/ 2 host & musical guest/ 1 musical guest) | March 11, 2000 | May 9, 2009 | His musical guest appearance was with his group N'Sync |
| Beyoncé | Musical Guest | 4 | May 5, 2001 | November 15, 2008 | Her first and third appearances were with her group Destiny's Child |
| Linda Ronstadt | Musical Guest | 4 | May 19, 1979 | December 9, 1989 | Her second appearance was with the cast of The Pirates of Penzance |
References
- ^ Tom Hanks' Monologue
- ^ 101 Most Unforgettable SNL Moments [Archive] - LiveDaily Community
- ^ FOX Sports on MSN - NFL - Buffet: The men behind The Man
- ^ "Contrary to popular belief, Martin was never a cast member on "Saturday Night Live". However, he holds the records for guest appearances (26) on the show (followed closely by Buck Henry), hosting (at 15 times, he sets the standard for the SNL "Five Timers Club"), and hosting in a single season (3). He is also the only person to have hosted a season premiere, a season finale, and a Christmas show." http://www.starglimpse.com/celebs/pages/steve_martin/steve_martin.shtml
- ^ UPDATE!! SWEEPS DAY 10!! Tom Hanks Hosts His First SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Since Sept. 28, 1996!! - Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news
- ^ Young, Jamie Painter "His way: Christopher Walken has always danced to his own tune. He encourages his fellow actors to do the same.", Back Stage West, March 13, 2003. "Just a few weeks ago he did a rousing song-and-dance number during his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, on which he has the distinction of being in the 'Five-Timers Club' of celebrities who have hosted the show five times or more. (He's hosted six.)"
External links
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