The 11 Oldest 'SNL' Hosts, from Betty White to Larry David
By Christina Izzo,
2024-09-28
Saturday Night Live is one of television’s most enduring and beloved franchises — the iconic sketch-comedy program kicked off on NBC back on October 11, 1975, with its inaugural host being the then-38-year-old stand-up icon George Carlin . Carlin would go onto host again in 1984 at the slightly more senior age of 47, but he’s far from the oldest celebrity to host the storied late-night show over the decades.
From megawatt movie stars to legendary musicians to, yes, even ordinary civilians, Saturday Night Live has featured many mature hosts over the years, even ones nearing ninety years young. Ahead of the big premiere of SNL ’s historic fiftieth season on Sept. 28 — with 73-year-old comedy veteran and Emmy-winning Hacks star Jean Smart pulling hosting duties for the first time — let’s delve deep into the show’s archives and discover the 10 oldest hosts in Saturday Night Live ’s history. (The list will further lengthen this coming season, when 73-year-old Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton visits Studio 8H as host on October 19.)
The oldest hosts in Saturday Night Live history
Betty White (Age 88)
Looking back, it seems almost comically sacrilegious that it took a national treasure like Betty White nearly nine decades to be asked to host Saturday Night Live , especially after a legendary career that included iconic sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show , The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland .
But the wait was well worth it: White finally took to the main stage at Studio 8H on May 8, 2010 at 88 years old, making her the oldest person to ever host Saturday Night Live . Her hilarious performance rightfully earned the actress-comedian a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. White would make her final appearance on SNL in February 2015 for the show’s 40th Anniversary Special, in which she memorably made out with Bradley Cooper in a very funny bit.
Jane Curtin as mother, Miskel Spillman as Sharon, John Belushi as Jeff, Dan Aykroyd as father during the "Elderly Girlfriend" skit on December 17, 1977
Normally, a Saturday Night Live host is a very famous figure, usually with an upcoming project that needs promoting. But Miskel Spillman was a notable exception to that rule: an 80-year-old German immigrant from New Orleans, Spillman was selected as the the winner of SNL ’s first and only “Anyone Can Host” contest, which she reportedly entered because “I need one more cheap thrill, since my doctor told me I only have another 25 years left.”
The octogenarian hosted the Season 3 holiday episode, which aired on Dec. 17, 1977, and she held onto the record for the oldest host in SNL ’s history for three decades, until Betty White’s 2010 appearance. Spillman remains the only non-celebrity to ever host the program.
Laraine Newman, Ruth Gordon as Lillian Carter during "Weekend Update" on January 22, 1977
Oscar-winning actress Ruth Gordon had a long and storied career: moviegoers know her from films like Rosemary’s Baby, Harold and Maude and Inside Daisy Clover , and TV fans no doubt remember her from classic sitcoms such as Rhoda and Taxi, as well as a memorable hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Having just turned 80 the previous October, Gordon hosted SNL in the twelfth episode of the show’s second season on Jan. 22, 1977, with guitar legend Chuck Berry serving as musical guest. Despite Gordon’s age, it was an energetic performance, including a memorable bit as the babysitter of a young girl (played by the great Gilda Radner ) who has many questions about sex.
Mary Palin, Michael Palin during the monologue of Saturday Night Live on January 21, 1984
This one is kind of a technicality: on the Jan. 21, 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live ’s ninth season, guest host Michael Palin of Monty Python fame brought out his elderly English mother Mary to join him onstage during the episode’s opening monologue in celebration of her 80th birthday. Mary hilariously holds her own as she instructs her son to fetch her knitting, wear a silly hat and “go ahead and be funny” while he tries to start the show.
Though she only appeared during the monologue portion of the episode, Mary Palin is credited as co-hosting the show alongside her comedian son, making her one of the oldest SNL hosts of all time.
Steve Martin (Age 77)
Steve Martin’s history with Saturday Night Live is both lengthy and legendary — since his show debut in October 1976, the actor-comedian has hosted SNL a whopping 16 times and introduced such iconic characters as King Tut, Charles Knerlman and Georg Festrunk. He’s made just one appearance less than the program’s most frequent host of all time, Alec Baldwin , but Martin holds several of his own records.
In December 2022, he co-hosted SNL alongside his Only Murders in the Building co-star Martin Short ; in doing so, the then-77-year-old became one of the oldest male hosts as well as the oldest member of the Five-Timers Club — an exclusive club for celebrity guest hosts that have hosted Saturday Night Live at least five times — taking the record from Christopher Walken .
Season 50 will be starting off strong with veteran actor and SNL newbie, Jean Smart taking the reins. Smart has been acting almost as long as SNL has been airing (she first appeared on TV in 1979), but despite 6 Emmys and a Golden Globe (all for comedies), she hasn't hosted SNL before. Her latest Emmy-winning role in Hacks , however, seems to have finally earned her a monologue (and you know it's going to be good). She'll be 73 years old when she takes the main stage.
Steve Martin’s longtime friend and collaborator Martin Short joined his ¡Three Amigos! and Only Murders in the Building co-star as dual hosts of SNL in the show’s 48th season. It not only marked Short’s fourth time performing hosting duties but, at 72 years old, also solidified his own record as the oldest former SNL cast member to ever come back as a host — the comedy legend worked on the show as a repertory player for only one season from 1984 to 1985, during which he became known for his Ed Grimley character and impressions of Jerry Lewis and Katharine Hepburn .
Dan Aykroyd as Bob Widette, Milton Berle as Uncle Wayne, John Belushi as Jeff Widette during the 'The Widettes' skit on Saturday Night Live April 14, 1979
His guest-hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live in April 1979 isn’t only famous because it added the then-70-year-old Milton Berle to the list of oldest SNL hosts ever, but because the episode also resulted in the legendary comedian being banned from ever appearing on the NBC series again.
Rumor has it that Berle’s controlling nature caused a bit of a nightmare for both the cast and crew, who already have the enormous pressure of putting on a successful live television show every weekend. Jam-packed with upstaging, ad-libbing, spit-taking and camera mugging, not to mention arranging an unapproved standing ovation, the Berle-hosted telecast was likened by SNL writer Rosie Shuster as “watching a comedy train accident in slow motion on a loop."
Larry David (Age 70)
Though Larry David’s time employed by Saturday Night Live was brief — he was a writer on the show’s tenth season from 1984 to 1985 — it is notable, because after quitting, he showed up two days later acting like nothing happened, just like George Costanza later would on Seinfeld .
Three decades later, the comedy icon made his grand return to Studio 8H as a guest host on Feb. 6, 2016 and returned again for hosting duties a year later on the Nov. 4, 2017 installment. During the latter appearance, David was 70 years old, earning him a spot on this list of elder SNL hosts.
Charlton Heston (Age 70)
He’s best known for his historic and heroic roles in cinematic classics like Antony and Cleopatra , The Ten Commandments , Ben-Hur and Planet of the Apes , but Academy Award-winning actor Charlton Heston was also one of the oldest men to have ever solo-hosted Saturday Night Live , appearing on the program for the second time at the age of 70 on Dec. 4, 1997. (Heston was also the subject of multiple impersonations over the years by SNL cast members, mostly by Phil Hartman .)
Robert Mitchum (Age 70)
Considered one of the greatest male stars of American cinema, Robert Mithum is known for his Oscar-nominated turn in The Story of G.I. Joe as well as films like The Night of the Hunter , River of No Return , Crossfire and Cape Fear . And, at age 70, he was also a one-time Saturday Night Live host, appearing in Season 13 of the sketch-comedy series with musical guest Simply Red on Nov. 14, 1987. One memorable sketch saw Mitchum and his Out of the Past co-star Jane Greer reunite for a funny parody of the classic 1947 film.
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