![]() ![]() ![]() “The next thing I knew, I’m at Michaels’ house in the kitchen. “Two weeks later, I’m sitting in front of Lorne Michaels in a high-rise in Beverly Hills and he’s offering me a job on ‘SNL,'” Nealon said. To Nealon’s surprise, Michaels loved his audition and wanted to cast him on the show in 1986. ![]() I did some stand-up and some loose characters Dana and I used to fool around doing in the driveway.” I think he’s going to fly you in for an audition!’ And I said, ‘Steve Martin’s in the kitchen?’ I flew in auditioned at 30 Rock. “A couple weeks later, I get another call from Dana: ‘Kevin! I’m back out at Lorne Michaels’ house! … Guess who’s in the kitchen? Steve Martin! … Anyway, Lorne liked your tapes. He called me from Lorne Michaels’ house and said, ‘Hey Kevin! … Guess who’s in the kitchen? Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd! … I talked to Lorne and they’re looking for one more cast member and I told him about you and he might want to see your tapes!’ And I said, ‘Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray are in the kitchen?'”Īs a result, Nealon sent his tape into “SNL” for consideration, not thinking he’d even get the job. “We were friends from the stand-up circuit and were renting a house together in the Hollywood Hills with a couple other comics,” Nealon said. “He got selected to be on that show. Little did Nealon know that he would soon find a home back at 30 Rock on “Saturday Night Live.” The wheels of fate started turning when his buddy and roommate Dana Carvey was cast on the show. I’ve never had more of a natural high than waiting for it to come on air, and to this day, it’s the feather in my cap.” To this day, it’s the highlight of my career, even more than ‘Weeds’ or ‘Saturday Night Live.’ … To get on ‘The Tonight Show,’ that was the goal. It kinda validated you as a stand-up. “I sat on the couch with him, we did a panel, it couldn’t have gone better. ![]() “That was my first big break,” Nealon said. Nealon got his break by appearing on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” in 1984. When you go to the clubs back then, they’re emulating either David Letterman or Woody Allen or Richard Pryor or Steve Martin or whoever, then you finally get enough stage time and you develop your own style.” “When you first start out, you’re emulating other comics. “I moved out to Los Angeles and just started hitting all the open-mic nights, developing material and developing a style,” Nealon said. They were so unique and original.”īefore long, he figured he tried his own hand at stand-up, choosing the laid-back atmosphere of the Los Angeles comedy scene over the gritty, tough, intense audiences of the New York City nightclubs. “Right before I came out to L.A., it was more like Steve Martin, Albert Brooks, Andy Kaufman. I loved that slapstick stuff,” Nealon said. “There are people that go back … like Stanley Myron Handelman. Which comedians were his favorites to watch as a youngster? … They just come out and talk, everybody loves them and they make people laugh.’ I thought that was a pretty good career.” I’d watch stand-ups on TV and think, ‘Wow, this is cool! They don’t have any tools. I really enjoyed the art of stand-up, the craft. “Telling jokes seemed to come a little more naturally. “I wanted to be singer-songwriter, but I was just too frightened to do that on stage,” Nealon said. Growing up, he initially thought he’d pursue a career in music, only to find comedy was a better fit. Business & Finance Click to expand menu. ![]()
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