On a recent episode of New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, Bill Murray revealed the only Saturday Night Live host that impressed him. He recalled being so shocked by the stellar performance that he felt unworthy to share a stage with the person in question.
No one has beaten this person’s delivery as far as Murray is concerned, despite seeing many more performances ever since. Murray acknowledged the current SNL cast, saying they are just as good as the ones from when he hosted five decades ago.
Who is the ‘SNL’ host that blew Bill Murray away?
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The SNL host who stole Murray’s heart was Ray Charles. He hosted the show in November 1977, which was the same year Murray became a cast member. In Murray’s words, Ray knew all his lines and played solo with The Raelettes, his scepter, the Saturday Night Live orchestra, and the quintet.
The season three episode of SNL was memorable for the viewers as well, as Ray played the dual role of musical guest and host with a lot of humor to give. After a successful run in the entertainment industry, Ray died of liver cancer at his Beverly Hills home in 2004.
Bill Murray wants to return to ‘SNL’ for season 50
Murray looks forward to a comeback by the 50th season, noting that he has requested to host his first episode since 1999. Jason and Travis asked if he had any material prepared, but he gave a humorous response about having to get past security in the first place because he now looks different thanks to aging.
After SNL, Murray focused on his acting career, taking on tasking roles like Polonius in Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet in 2000. He earned several awards, including his second Best Actor Golden Globe award in 2004 for Lost In Translation. While he might not appear in as many movies as before, Murray is still in business, having appeared in last year’s sci-fi Asteroid City.