Father Guido Sarducci is a fictional character created by American

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

Don Novello Don Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, writer, singer, film director and producer. He appeared on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' as the character Father Guido Sarducci from 1978 to 1980 and 1985 to 1986. He appeared ...

. Sarducci is a chain-smoking priest with tinted glasses, who works in the United States as

gossip columnist A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities fr ...

and

rock critic Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

for the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

newspaper ''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' is the daily newspaper of Vatican City which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role ...

'' (sometimes mentioned as ''The Vatican Enquirer'', a take-off of the ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays Source (journalism), sources for tips (chec ...

'' tabloid).

Description

Novello created the character in 1973, after he purchased the outfit (consisting of big floppy black hat, white

clerical collar A clerical collar, Roman collar, clergy collar, or, informally, dog collar, is an item of Christian clerical clothing. Overview The clerical collar is almost always white and was originally made of cotton or linen but is now frequently made of pl ...

, and a long, red-trimmed black coat with cape) for $7.50 at a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. The character was featured in 1970s cartoons by the

underground cartoonists Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

Dave Sheridan and Fred Schrier, appearing in person in the early 1970s on ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...

'' and later in the 1975 ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' is an American television comedy, comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially consid ...

''. His most prominent appearances were on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' in the late 1970s, during which time Novello was also a writer for the show. In the late 1970s, Father Guido Sarducci was featured on radio commercials for ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

'' magazine, where he offered to perform blessings for a fee.

Broadcast history

On his first appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'', a sketch called "How to Pay for Your Sins" on a 1978 episode hosted by

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...

, he was on crutches from an injury suffered during a dress rehearsal sketch about hockey players. Most of his appearances on ''SNL'' have been on ''

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

'', including one where he reported that "The take at the shrines in Italy has gone down", which he suggested correcting by creating "Shrinemobiles" and thus taking the shrines to where the people were, and another where he is sent to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to try to wake up

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

at 4:30 in the morning (11:30 p.m. in New York) by throwing coins, obnoxiously singing

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and Wings songs, and finally, throwing a rock at the window—he says it works every time.

''Saturday Night Live''

Sarducci appeared in four

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...

s in the 1979–1980 season (on episodes hosted by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

Teri Garr Terry Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024), known as Teri Garr, was an American actress. Known for her comedic roles in film and television in the 1970s and 1980s, she often played women struggling to cope with the life-changing ex ...

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. Gould's breakthrough role was in the film ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The ...

, and

Rodney Dangerfield Jack Roy (born Jacob Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004), better known by the stage name Rodney Dangerfield, was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, ...

), two commercial parodies ("MX-5 Tampons" on the 1981–1982 Christmas episode hosted by

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

and "Bocce Ball My Way" on the last episode of the 1985–1986 season hosted by

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and model. She is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the ''The Addams Family'' and '' The Addams Family Values'', as well as often portraying eccentric and distincti ...

and

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known ...

), and two monologues on the 1985–86 season (the first hosted by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

in a pretaped sketch showing Madonna's wedding to Sean Penn (played by

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...

) and the second on the Christmas episode of the 1985–86 season hosted by Garr as Sarducci's alter ego, Pope Maurice). Sarducci also hosted two ''SNL'' episodes during the 1983–1984 season (when

Dick Ebersol Duncan Richard Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the ...

was executive producer) and cameoed during two 1990s episodes, most notably on a ''Weekend Update'' segment where he reports on

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's missing wallet. Father Guido Sarducci has 31 appearances on ''SNL'', the most of any of the recurring characters.

Vatican visit

In 1981 Novello made newspaper headlines when he visited

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

wearing the Father Guido Sarducci costume to do a photo shoot for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine. After taking pictures in an area where photography was prohibited, he and his photographer, Paul Solomon, were arrested by the

Papal Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard,; ; ; ; , %5BCorps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard%5D. ''vatican.va'' (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022. also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,Swiss Guards , History, Vatican, Uniform, Require ...

s and Novello was charged with "impersonating a priest". Although the guards attempted to confiscate the film from the shoot, Solomon managed to hand them the wrong film. The charges were later dropped. In the early 1980s, Novello was featured in advertisements promoting candidates for the priesthood. He listed one advantage of being a priest as getting first pick at the annual parish garage sale.

Other media appearances

During the 1980s and 1990s Sarducci appeared on other television shows, including '' Fridays'', ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'', '' Married... with Children'', ''

Unhappily Ever After ''Unhappily Ever After'' is an American television sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. Synopsis The series follows ...

'', ''

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as w ...

'', ''

It's Garry Shandling's Show ''It's Garry Shandling's Show'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Showtime from September 10, 1986, to May 25, 1990. The series, created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel, is notable for breaking the fourth wall. I ...

'', the ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of ten novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2024, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBTQ. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally seri ...

'' miniseries, and ''

Square Pegs ''Square Pegs'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1982–83 season. The series follows Patty Greene ( Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson ( Amy Linker), two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High S ...

''. In 1980, Sarducci appeared in '' Gilda Live'', a film and an album recording based on

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian. She was one of the seven Saturday Night Live cast members, original cast members of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy series ...

's successful one-woman show that had been playing on Broadway. In 1983, he appeared in a music video for the Rodney Dangerfield song "Rappin' Rodney", where he gave Rodney his last rites on death row, and helped himself to Rodney's french fries from his last meal. In 1984, he appeared in a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight RIAA certification, gold or Music rec ...

song "No Way Out". In 1995, he appeared as a priest trying to perform an exorcism in the movie '' Casper''. The same movie featured a cameo by his fellow ''SNL'' alumnus

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

as the Ghostbuster Ray Stantz. In episode 11 of season four of ''

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

'', “Papal Chase”, Archer goes undercover at the Vatican, dressed exactly like Guido Sarducci.

Albums

He appeared on the 2002 album ''A Classic Rock Christmas'' performing the song "Santa's Lament" featuring

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

and Joe Vitale. The character also appeared on the

Handsome Boy Modeling School Handsome Boy Modeling School is an American collaborative project between hip hop producers Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul ( Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz). The collaboration originally lasted ...

albums '' So... How's Your Girl?'' and ''

White People White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

'', telling biographical stories of the life of a professional male model in the latter. Novello also released two

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

albums as Sarducci: '' Breakfast in Heaven'' and ''Live at St. Douglas Convent.''

Additional appearances

He also appeared on the

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

show ''

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'' on March 19, 2005, discussing ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...

'' and his DaVinci Code Decoder Ring. In the 2001

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

animated film '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'', Novello uses the voice and speech style of Father Sarducci to portray the character of demolitions expert Vinny Santorini. Sarducci made a guest appearance on the April 30, 2005, broadcast of NPR and Chicago Public Radio's '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' news quiz show, commenting on the ascension of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He also gave the prayer of invocation at an April 11, 2007, roast of

UConn Huskies women's basketball The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in the NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently play in the Big East Conference. ...

coach

Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. He holds the NCAA basketball records for wins and winning percentage with a mi ...

at the Aqua Turf Club in

Southington, Connecticut Southington ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 43,501. Southington contains the villages of Marion, Mil ...

Benediction

He delivered the

benediction A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...

at the Stewart/Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2010. He was wearing his classic white clerical collar, a long red-trimmed black coat with cape, zebra vest/jacket and black beret.Father Guido Sarducci Gives Benediction at Rally to Restore Sanity
; ''Long Island Press''; October 30, 2010

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarducci, Father Guido Saturday Night Live characters Television characters introduced in 1973 Fictional Christian priests Fictional reporters and correspondents Warner Records artists Saturday Night Live in the 1970s Saturday Night Live in the 1980s

Description

Broadcast history

''Saturday Night Live''

Vatican visit

Other media appearances

Albums

Additional appearances

Benediction

See also

References

External links