David Spade, the acclaimed comedian and actor known for his role in “Tommy Boy,” revealed a harrowing experience from his time hosting “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) on March 12, 2005. While filming that dress rehearsal for the episode, Spade became gravely ill. This led to enormous doubt about whether or not the show would continue as planned.
Once rehearsals started, Spade’s health took a steep turn for the worse. Even in the midst of his seizure, the crew encouraged him to push through with the rehearsal. The musicians packed the studio with their classic opening night favorite, high energy countdown song, “Ba ba ba.” The pressure was intense, and it pushed Spade to step up and deliver. He shared a moving description of the experience. Right in the middle of a sketch, they started yelling, ‘Get up, get up!’ and I just jumped right up. I was still in a UPS uniform and I’m like, [sighs] and then I sat down in the chair again.
Behind the scenes, SNL producer Lorne Michaels and the SNL staff weren’t confident. They discussed with concern if they would need to call the whole show off. “Are we really going to do this?” they asked themselves in real time as they watched Spade’s championship effort. In the end, he was able to knock the dust off himself and get on his feet long enough to give what he considers an admirable effort through adversity.
After the episode aired, Spade reflected on his illness with great candor during a recent podcast episode of “Fly on the Wall.” He referred to that rehearsal experience as “the worst f…
