Saturday Night Live has the next two weeks off before Brie Larson takes the hosting reins, but in lieu of reruns, the show will air a special this evening in memory of Prince, who died on Thursday at the age of 57. SNL Goodnight Sweet Prince will look back at the musician’s electrifying appearances at Studio 8H, where he served as the musical guest on three epic occasions: in 1981, 2006, and 2014, in addition to the show’s fifteenth anniversary. (Cast member Fred Armisen also frequently played Prince during his SNL tenure.)
In an interview with the Washington Post two years ago, former associate producer Jean Doumanian explained what happened when SNL was sent a tape of the still up-and-coming Prince in 1981: “I was blown away. He was just the most original act I had seen in a long time.” We couldn’t agree more.
