Slate recently featured an essay about an episode of NPR’s This American Life that was co-hosted by Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live and Portlandia. I am a fan of This American Life, even though I only sporadically catch it on the radio. I also loved the short-lived TV version of the show, watching every episode on DVD.
Two years ago, Fred Armisen did an imitation of This American Life host Ira Glass on Saturday Night Live. But, you probably never saw it because it was only performed in dress rehearsal. Armisen later explained that they cut the bit because they concluded that Glass was not famous enough for an SNL segment so people would not get the humor.
I can imagine if you have never heard of This American Life, you might not find the imitation funny. But if you have listened to or watched This American Life, like me you might find yourself laughing at this segment from Saturday Night Live that never made it on the air.
Update September 2013: The Saturday Night Live video with Fred Armisen as Ira Glass is no longer available through NBC. But, you may hear Armisen imitating Glass at the beginning of the following This American Life episode on doppelgängers (FYI, the show’s link to the Armisen video takes you to NBC’s website but the video is no longer there):
Did you like Fred Armisen’s impersonation of Ira Glass? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)