They’re not all former cast members on my Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time list as #49 is Chloe Fineman, who just began her sixth season on the iconic sketch show. She’s proven herself to be one of the program’s strongest impressionists including Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, and Drew Barrymore. That’s in addition to dancing alongside Julia Stiles in a Save the Last Dance inspired Update bit and uproariously understudying fellow cast members in a digital short. Her take on con artist Anna Delvey is another example of her versatility as Fineman is one of SNL’s current bright spots.
Thirteen years ago Today in Movie History – January 12 – marked the release of Save the Last Dance, produced by MTV Films. The hip hop dance flick with Julia Stiles helped kick start a genre of similar pictures when it debuted with a very surprising $27.5 million over the Martin Luther King holiday on its way to a $91 million domestic haul. It also spawned a direct to DVD sequel.
As for birthdays, the King of All Media Howard Stern is 60 years old today. We know Howard most for his landmark radio show and currently as a judge on “America’s Got Talent”, but seventeen years ago his media domination extended to film. Stern teamed with producer Ivan Reitman and director Betty Thomas for the autobiographical comedy Private Parts, based on his bestseller. It topped the box office in March 1997 and ended up earning $41 million domestic. The picture also gave the first prominent role to Paul Giamatti as Pig Vomit, whose performance was a highlight.
Kirstie Alley is 63 today. She’s also known more for her TV work with “Cheers”, but her movie debut was 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. There’s also the financially successful Look Who’s Talking franchise and less successful comedies like Sibling Rivalry and Mad House.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between the two:
Howard Stern was in Private Parts with Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti was in The Negotiator with Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson was in Pulp Fiction with John Travolta
John Travolta was in Look Who’s Talking with Kirstie Alley
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