On the spot while we were shooting a commercial parody for Saturday Night Live. "It was Jan Hooks who came up with the idea for The Sweeney Sisters. Nora Dunn in a statement on her Facebook page talks about the origin of the Sweeny Sisters, life on SNL, and processing the loss of her friend. This successful re-occurring sketch was apparently Jan's idea. Perhaps her most frequent original character was a cheesy lounge act duo called the Sweeny Sisters that she portrayed along with the talented Nora Dunn. Her closest calls are her impressions of other celebrities that have appeared repeatedly on the show like Tammy Faye Baker and Sinead O'Connor. Jan was not really known for her recurring characters or for catch phrases. The interaction between Jan and Phil is terrific, the sketch ends with Donald playing the part of a sleazy card dealer as her financial fate is placed on a double or nothing game of chance. At every turn she is foiled as she learns the contract allows him to have a mistress, provided she's younger, and that she will be paid in giant stone coins of the Yap islanders. The sketch plays out like a cheesy soap opera as Ivana stands initially confident, insisting she will not settle for a measly 25 million, but as events unfold she is quickly and easily beaten as Donald has ridiculous clauses in the prenuptial agreement. Here Jan shows off her ability to exude poise and elegance as the aging trophy wife squares off with Phil Hartman crafting a cold Donald Trump as they discuss their divorce settlement. They either love her, the character, or both. She must have been doing something right. Jan stays in character as she must pause her dialogue to allow the extended, sustained applause of approval from the live audience to subside. Jan Hooks as Ivana Trump enters a lavish looking Trump Tower office. I want to share some of her moments (there is not time for all of them) from SNL and other places in her career, so those of you who did not know her might know her a little better. This is a woman whom over the years I had felt such fondness, as if I knew her. Although I still enjoy and watch Saturday Night Live to this day, the five years with Jan Hooks truly were the glory years. On October 9th, 2014 the world lost Jan Hooks, as she succumbed to a serious disease. But most of all she was relentlessly funny. She could play a prostitute or a first lady, a valley girl or a grandma with equaled heart. And yet in a cast filled with such talent and brilliance Jan Hooks always shined bright enough to capture my attention in whatever sketch she was in. I began to recite scenes and catch phrases. I would record skits on a compact cassette recorder. I was at an age before I would go out on Saturday Nights and I looked forward to spending my Saturday night with my "friends" from New York. Perhaps it was just because this cast was new right as I discovered Saturday Night Live and was forming opinions for myself about what was funny, but all these players (even Victoria Jackson and Dennis Miller) were exceptional in my young eyes. He was absolutely right. This was a superb Saturday Night Live cast that included Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Nora Dunn, Kevin Nealon, Victoria Jackson, Dennis Miller, John Lovitz and. In his monologue called "Glory Years", he performs a song proclaiming his cast (1986 to 1993) was the best. In 2011 Dana Carvey triumphantly returned to host Saturday Night Live where he had been an enormously popular cast member for several years.
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