Pat Paulsen - why never on SNL?

Just watched an old Smothers Brothers episode with Pat Paulsen (previous threads all appeared shut down) and the thought came to me, did he ever entertain the thought or was he ever asked to be on SNL? Seems like he would have been a natural, great guest on that show, especially on “Weekend Update”!

 

I think some of the SNL producers thought they were breaking new ground and didn't want to be seen as similar to any comedy-variety shows that had come before. Also, the Smothers Brothers had been cancelled in 1969, so I think by 1975-1976, people associated with the show (like Paulson) were seen as has-beens. (I don't think this is really true, but it's hard to fight perception in showbiz.)

Pat Paulson lived all the way to 1997, and as far as I know was never a guest on David Letterman's shows, either, and I would guess that similar reasons apply. I agree with you that Pat Paulson was an extremely funny guy, and he did continue his career in comedy for decades after the Smothers left the air.

 

when i was a teenager i saw him in '87 or '88 on one of the Smothers brothers reunion shows, and he announced he was running for President ("George Bush! former Congressman, RNC chair, ambassador to the UN, ambassador to China, CIA director, Vice-President....why can't he hold down a job?") and i thought he was hysterically funny. he deserved greater exposure.

 

I remember thinking of Paulsen as a kind of "back number" by the mid-70s whose appeal had dated. SNL played more to a "National Lampoon" mindset.

 

Pat Paulsen was a REALLY funny guy. He actually ran for President in 1968 as an independent, and in California, he got a bunch of votes!!!

1988 Paulsen Schtick:

"And then there's Bob Dole...what, are you going to vote for a Pineapple"?

 

And don't forget Pat Paulsen's presidential campaign slogan:

I'VE UPPED MY STANDARDS:
NOW, UP YOURS!


.

 

Pat did indeed appear on Letterman.

 

And Pat also wrote this brilliant piece of idiocy....a tune so intentionally stupid that it is sheer genius.



While Pat doesn't even come close to somebody like Norm MacDonald, he definitely had a touch of 'troll' in him way before the term ever took on its modern meaning.

 

Now this is interesting....this song starts with the phrase "Away Magic Fingers".

I wonder if that's where Mike Nesmith got it for "Papa Genes Blues"??

 

"PLAY Magic Fingers".....it's just Tommy slurring it in character.

Not only was Tommy Smothers a very articulate person in real life, but he was also one hell of a guitar player.

 

Ok, but I still bet thats where Nez got it from.

 

Ah yes, Pat Paulsen, candidate of the STAG Party (Straight Talking American Government)

 

Tubi TV has all 13 episodes of ‘Pat Paulsen’s Half A Comedy Hour.’ I loved watching him when I was growing up, but the humor doesn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped. I got through an episode or two.

 

Because SNL was aimed at the children of those who had watched the Smothers Brothers.

 

All of the comments,as well as the SNL troupe was called "The Not-Ready-For-Prime Time Players. Pat was already in prime time. I don't think any of the artists associated with the Smothers Bros. show ever showed up on SNL-Tom & Dick,Mason Williams,Glen Campbell,John Hartford, and Leah French (Goldie O'Keefe). But then there is Steve Martin and Rob Reiner,two writers for the Smothers Brothers show. Reiner hosted the third SNL episode,having gained fame on All In The Family. Martin performed on the Smothers Bros. show a few times and then became possibly the performer with the most appearances(as host and cameos) on SNL.

 

Maybe Paulsen didn’t care for SNL and its often vulgar sense of humor (Spider Sabich Turkey Shoot skit, after Claudine Longet killed her boyfriend Sabich, a proposed joke about Karen Ann Quinlan, a young woman in a coma because of missing prescription medicine and alcohol, that wasn’t aired). I remember Sid Caesar writing an article in TV Guide critical of SNL’s humor...having Nixon shove a plant with a tape recorder in a visitor’s face instead of making attempts to get him near the plant. Caesar did appear on SNL in 1983...but he was so desperate for work he had been on “Pink Lady and Jeff” several times.

 

Aside from Glen Campbell, who got his show through the Bros, nobody strongly associated with the show did very well in the '70s. Martin and Reiner were not major stars while the Smothers show was on.

It was not until the '80s that Bob Einstein resurrected his career w/Super Dave.

Leigh French was sexy as well as funny. She should have been a much bigger star. Why didn't she get a sitcom or two? Or some good supporting roles in features? She should have at least kept spoofing hippies, but pop culture of the '70s seemed to ignore hippies. Goldie Hawn made a fortune as the ditzy chick but with the hippie aspects removed. (Note that aside from Hawn and Lily Tomlin, none of the Laugh In alums did all that well either. Did people just want to forget the '60s had happened?)

Re Mason Williams: he actually wrote for SNL at one point.

 

My favorite Pat Paulsen moment:

 

This is indeed brilliant - an excellent example of their irreverence. The humor on their albums doesn’t seem to age either, it always makes me laugh even if I’ve heard the jokes before.

 

Imdb lists two episodes from the infamous Season 6. Wiki gives him 5 episodes. Friction with Executive Producer Jean Doumanian led to Williams leaving.

 

Smothers Brothers appeared during Seasons 8 & 9 of SNL.

 

Was "Play, Magic Fingers" some cliche of the folk scene, like "We tune because we care"?

 

Tommy's "Play magic fingers, play" is an allusion to the movie "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." in which a diabolical doctor, played by Hans Conreid, enslaves 499 children to help him play a gigantic piano . In the movie, I believe the phrase uttered by the doctor is "Play happy fingers, play," but it has been a very long time since I've seen the movie.

More info about the movie: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. - Wikipedia .