In his weekly column for LateNighter, Chris “Wally” Feresten, (a.k.a. the guy who holds the cue cards on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and beyond) shares stories from his remarkable career. Got a question you’d like Wally to answer in a future column? Send it to [email protected].
In last week’s “Backstage with Wally” column, I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger. If you haven’t read it yet, stop reading this story, click this link and give that a read before continuing with this week’s installment. (It’s OK, I understand; life keeps you busy. I’ll wait for you to read it.)
However, I’m not going to punish those who were able to keep up. To those overachievers, I give you permission to read on…
Three months after Nicole Kidman hosted SNL, Alec Baldwin and his then-wife Kim Basinger were booked to co-host Saturday Night Live Valentine’s Day edition on February 12, 1994. It was Alec’s fourth time hosting and Kim’s first.
When Alec hosted the year before, I was lucky enough to play myself in his monologue. It’s always fun to be trusted with lines in a sketch, but it was extra cool to say my lines to Alec—and to get a nice big laugh from the audience.
It’s rare that two people host SNL at the same time, but when it does happen, we’re forced to make some adjustments to our cue carding strategy. For example: we couldn’t put both Alec and Kim’s lines in black ink, as we normally do for the host, because it would be confusing for them, even if we put their names in front of all their lines. So I decided to put Alec’s lines in black, since he had hosted three times previously and was already used to it, and printed Kim’s lines in blue ink.
That solved that problem but created another: Since we were using blue ink for Kim, that prevented us from using blue for any of the cast members. Basically, the entire cast would have to share the remaining three colors we use: red, green, and brown. On top of that, the cast members who always had their lines written in blue ink had to remember to not read Kim’s lines. This may not seem very difficult, but it’s an adjustment that takes getting used to—especially when you only have three days to make it and, as always, on a live show.
The other adjustment needed was taking care of two hosts at the same time. Normally I try to be in the position that the host is facing the most in each sketch, as I’ve been working with them all week during rehearsals and have hopefully gained their trust. But obviously it would be impossible to find one position that helped them both out in each sketch.
I wasn’t sure what to do, but when we started rehearsing the first sketch on Thursday, Alec told me not to worry about him and to instead focus on helping Kim. I remember putting my hand on Alec’s shoulder and letting him know that I could do that and it would even be my pleasure.
I was a huge fan of Alec, but an even bigger fan of Kim Basinger. The only person I knew who was a bigger fan was my dad. He absolutely loved her and made it a point to tell me every time she had a new movie or was on a talk show. I don’t remember why my dad didn’t insist on coming to the show and meeting her in person, but he didn’t; he allowed me to have that moment all to myself.
I don’t remember much else from rehearsals other than one small gesture made by Kim that I will never forget. During run-through on Saturday, we were waiting for the set to be dressed and I was sitting on the edge of the stage. Kim walked over and sat down next to me. She proceeded to very innocently put her hand on my left thigh and give it a little squeeze while thanking me for all the help I had given her. She got up and walked back onto the set, joining Alec. I honestly don’t remember if I was able to get any words out of my mouth. I just recall thinking, “One of the most beautiful women in the world just squeezed my leg and it wasn’t a dream.” I do really love my job!
We finished the show and headed off to the after-party. My brother Spike was again in attendance and we were having a few drinks, which always helps me wind down from the pressure of working on SNL.
After a few cocktails, I thought of a funny idea that I shared with my brother: Let’s get a photo of us and Kim, blow it up, frame it, and give it to our father for his upcoming birthday. I can’t remember which one of us thought it would be even funnier if all three of us were giving my dad the middle finger. This wasn’t meant to be mean-spirited at all; my father loved playing practical jokes, so this would just be some playful payback.
My brother was skeptical that I could even get Kim to agree to a photo. I assured him that I didn’t think it would be a problem because I had gotten along with her very well (and you know, also, the “thigh incident”). I went to Kim and Alec’s table and put in my request. She happily agreed and promised she would stop by on her way out to take the photo with us.
A short while later, she kept her word and sought me and Spike out for the photo. I explained to her that my dad absolutely loved her and that this would be a birthday gift for him. I then asked her if she would be OK joining us in giving him the middle finger. She politely declined but said it was fine for us to do it.
We started to pose, and Alec came up from behind and asked if he could be in the photo as well. “Of course,” I said, and he popped his head into the frame.
I enlarged the photo to poster size, framed it, wrapped it, and happily presented it to my father on his birthday that April. When he opened it, he was truly speechless… possibly for the first time in his life. To my surprise, he wasn’t mad at all; quite the opposite. He absolutely loved it and didn’t even seem to notice that Spike and I were flipping him off.
The only apology I give now is to my mom. Because that night my dad hung the picture in his bedroom—and it stayed there until he passed away many years later. I’m sorry, mom. But that photo, meant as a joke, brought many years of happiness to my dad, and ultimately isn’t that what gifts are meant to do?
Where is the infamous framed photo now, you ask? It’s proudly hanging in my Jersey Shore beach house. No, not in my bedroom, in our TV room. And when people ask about it, I get to share this story all over again.
So, long story short, that’s how Tom & Nicole and Alec & Kim convinced my brother that the cue card life was actually really cool and was indeed the perfect career for his younger brother, Wally.
If you would like your very own personalized cue card written and autographed by Wally, please go to cuecardsbywally.com and get all the information you will need. It’s the perfect gift for that late night comedy fan in your life.
