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Dan Aykroyd has hailed the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special as “triumphant” after deciding not to attend the star-studded event.
Aykroyd was a member of the original SNL cast in 1975, along with the likes of Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Gilda Radner.
On X he sent his congratulations to the sketch comedy show’s longtime producer Lorne Michaels, writing: “All Heads up toasting triumphant SNL 50th. Advantage of not attending – got to see every second of concert and show on TV.
“Quote from my children: ‘Look at daddy’s smile!’ Had it from start to finish. Congratulations Lorne. Well done as usual.”
According to a representative, Aykroyd had “prior commitments.”
Before the show, Aykroyd had tweeted: “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!!”
Aykroyd wasn’t the only notable name to miss the festivities. Dana Carvey reportedly came down with a “bad flu” and was too sick to attend, while Bill Hader had a “longstanding scheduling conflict.”
A galaxy of stars did turn out to the event, with Jack Nicholson making a rare appearance.
The reclusive actor and Hollywood icon is rarely seen in public and was only spotted for the first time in years in a rare family photo last month.
Nicholson was joined by his daughter Rebecca Broussard. From his seat in the audience, The Shining star introduced a performance by Adam Sandler. The actors starred in 2003 film Anger Management together.
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“Ladies and gentleman, Adam Sandler,” Nicholson, who was wearing a New York Yankees beret and purple tinted shades, said. “Yeah, baby! Let’s hear it for Jack, baby,” Sandler said before singing his ballad and ode to SNL.
“Jack made it out tonight. Love you, brother,” he added.
Other surprise appearances at Sunday’s SNL event included Ryan Reynolds, who joked about the scandal involving his wife Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Reynolds and Lively’s appearance at the special was their first public showing amid the ongoing It Ends With Us scandal, which has seen both Lively and the film’s director and co-star Baldoni file respective lawsuits against each other.
Meanwhile, earlier in the weekend, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer encouraged beefing rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake to “hug it out” as they reprised their roles as music teachers the Culps.
