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Robert Smigel: Late Night
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Robert Smigel's appearance at the Museum of Television and Radio last night exceeded expectations; the level of revelation the discussion unleashed was incredible. The show was slated to begin at 6:30pm sharp, but due to heavy traffic, Mr. Smigel arrived 30 minutes late. To keep the natives from getting too restless, museum coordinators decided to show an extensive comp reel of some of Robert's greatest hits. The reel was probably the best way to start the evening, as it revealed how Smigel is the brains behind SNL and Conan's most famous sketches and characters. It contained SNL bits such as Shatner at a Trekkie convention, Phil Hartman's portrayal as a bi-polar Ronald Reagan, the infamous Schmitt's Gay ad (the version with the Van Halen soundtrack, not aired on SNL), the Ambiguously Gay Duo, the Ex-Presidents, the Fun with Real Audio shorts, Adventures of Mr. T., Christmastime for the Jews, Smigel's more famous Conan and Triumph moments, and culminated with a viewing of the TV Funhouse pilot in its entirety.
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A native of New York City, Smigel first established himself as a writer on Saturday Night Live by joining the writing staff when Lorne Michaels returned as executive producer for the 1985-1986 season. After the 1985-1986 season proved to be a disappointment with critics, in the ratings, and with Brandon Tartikoff (who was planning to have SNL cancelled by the last episode of season 11 due to its sliding ratings[1]), Lorne fired most of the castmembers and writers, retained the castmembers and writers who were standouts during the otherwise dismal season (Smigel being one of them), and hired new ones for the 1986-1987 season. This is when Smigel began to write more memorable sketches, including one where host William Shatner urged worshipful attendees at a Star Trek convention to "get a life." Smigel rarely appeared on screen, although he was credited as a feature player in the early 1990s and has played a recurring character in the Bill Swerski's Superfans sketches.
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When Mr. Smigel is performing as Triumph or one of the Clutch Cargo characters on Late Night , the bits are scripted. Then Mr. Smigel throws in whatever ad libs come to him. But Mr. Smigel's balls-out impressions of Bill Clinton, Geraldo Rivera and Arnold Schwarzenegger take the sketches to scary heights. "He's a fearless performer," said the show's head writer, Mike Sweeney.
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Smigel might have known that taking a recurring character from a popular show and giving him a starring role in a satellite project is dangerous. He's an "SNL" vet of 18 years — hasn't he seen Superstar, The Ladies Man, It's Pat, A Night at the Roxbury, Coneheads, Stuart Saves His Family or Wayne's World 2? Smigel is a gifted writer, so let's hope that, after this, he limits Triumph's appearances to "Late Night" and MTV awards shows. And that "Ambiguously Gay Duo" screenplay? insert Triumph's catchphrase here.
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When Mr. Smigel was 7, his father gave him a 50-cent Fawcett/Crest paperback collection of Charles Schulz's Peanuts cartoons. Mr. Smigel stayed up all night to read them and discovered his first comedy hero.
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[S]o began "Night of Too Many Stars," a series of comedy shows organized by Smigel that have raised about $4 million so far. While autism fundraisers are nothing new, Smigel's work has a unique focus: education and treatment, rather than research and cures.
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