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.
This week, Wally is answering some of your questions. Got a question you’d like Wally to answer in a future column? Send it to [email protected].
Hazards of the Trade
Hi Wally: Your column is a great idea! I have been a late night fan since watching the original Saturday Night Live as a kid and enjoy seeing you on Seth Meyers’ show. My questions are: Have you ever been injured doing your job? And what’s the strangest situation you’ve ever been in while working? Thanks, Christina S.
Hi Christina, thanks for your questions. I haven’t been injured while doing my job, but balancing heavy stacks of cardboard and pulling them quickly up and down and side to side does take a toll on your body. About 20 years ago, I developed tendonitis in my right elbow, my left elbow, my left shoulder, and my right shoulder. I was given a cortisone shot, followed by a few weeks of physical therapy and all the injuries were fixed and strengthened by this treatment. I will say, I was much younger, and my body healed quickly.
Sometime later, the tendonitis in my right shoulder returned, which has now been joined by his good friend arthritis. (My right shoulder is the one that moves the most when I’m flipping the cards.) I’ve followed the same medical regimen to treat that over the last eight years: As soon as Saturday Night Live ends its season in May, I meet with my orthopedist and he gives me a cortisone shot. Then I go to physical therapy three times a week for eight to nine weeks. It’s a big part of my summer and not very fun to do, but the PT treatment really helps stretch the tendons out and then strengthen them so that I’m ready for the next season of SNL and Late Night. It’s very much how an aging pro athlete would act to get ready for their next season.
As for your second question, there was one time during a live SNL when one of my contact lenses started bothering me. I blinked hard a few times and it popped out of my eye; somehow, I caught it on the tip of one of my fingers while I continued flipping the cards. I finished the sketch with that contact stuck to my finger. I was amazed at the situation and was laughing to myself that I was able to not lose my contact and also not lose the rhythm of turning the cue cards.
Comedy of Errors
Hi Wally: I really enjoy your comedic exchanges with Seth on Late Night. On occasion, for the sake of comedy, Seth will call attention to one of your rare cue card errors. Most of us don’t get called out on national TV when we make a mistake at work. It’s all in fun but I wonder how you feel when one of your mistakes goes national? Best Wishes, Jeff K.
Hey Jeff, great question and thanks for your kind words! First, a little background: I employ a staff of very talented and hard-working men and women who print all the show intros and outros to guests, sketches, and monologue jokes on Late Night. The only part of the show that I help print is “A Closer Look,” due to its length and how soon before show time we receive the script (the script is usually more than 25 pages, and we receive it less than an hour and a half from the start of the show).
As a result, most of the time when I’m called out for a mistake on a cue card, it was made by someone else on my staff. As I’m the face of my department and the direct person holding said card, I’m the one who takes the blame, but I enjoy doing it. It wouldn’t be good television to tell Seth on camera that it wasn’t me who made the mistake. Also, it gives me a chance to think of a funny response, which in turn gives him a chance to improv an even funnier response to me—which he always does. It means the world to me that Seth trusts me in these situations, and I try not to let him down.
I left out the best part: I’m compensated whenever I have lines the show, which I’m very grateful for. This is the key part to not being upset when a mistake is pointed out by Seth during the show. Seth doesn’t get mad at me, I don’t get mad at my staff, and my staff doesn’t beat themselves up about making a mistake.
Let me be clear: I don’t like it when there is a mistake on the cue cards, and we always strive for perfection. We proof all the cards with the script department and then Seth and I run all the cards together before the show as well. Still, occasionally a mistake will slip by. I think it shows how cool and relaxed Seth is that he’ll make a joke out of the situation instead of getting annoyed or stopping the show to do a retake.
Marathon Man
Hi Wally: My husband and I loved Seth’s recent primetime debate special, especially the end when he ran out the clock listing all the times Trump had embarrassed himself. We were wondering if it was always the plan that he’d end up reading so fast at the end, and how you managed to keep up! Your fan, Meghan O.
How many times has Donald Trump embarrassed himself and his country? As the clock ran out on his live one hour primetime special tonight, Seth Meyers read the laundry list at a pace not seen since the days of The World's Fastest Talker. pic.twitter.com/E26y4Tu1Kx
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) September 12, 2024
Hey Meghan, thanks for your interest in the Late Night with Seth Meyers debate special ending. No, that was not the plan. We went into the show about two and a half minutes under, but between the audience laughing and Seth ad-libbing some things, we ended up being short on time, so Shoemaker told Seth that the stage manager would give him a countdown in the last act and to do his best.
I’m used to pulling cards fast and he picked up speed gradually, but by the end he was reading really quickly and actually skipping over some words and phrases to make it even faster which made it harder but again I’ve been doing this for 35 years so I was ready. Thanks for your question. Keep watching!
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.
