On this date in 1978, Steve Martin was hosting Saturday Night Live.
That wasn't a big deal, really. SNL was not quite three years old at that time, but Martin had already been the show's host on four different occasions.
On this night in 1978, however, he made his first appearance as Theodoric of York, a Medieval "barber" (read: doctor) whose preferred prescription for any ailment was a bleeding.
(Well, I think it was Theodoric's first appearance. I haven't seen any mention of that character in Martin's previous stints as host.)
Steve Martin was hysterically funny as Theodoric. In fact, I actually preferred his lampooning of the Middle Ages to his jabs at Eastern European people, as in his recurring Festrunk brothers skits with Dan Aykroyd.
The Czechoslovakian brothers may have been more popular (they were the "wild and crazy guys"), but Theodoric had a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" feel to it that I really liked. Theodoric's logic always reminded me of the witch scene in "Holy Grail."
And, like the "Holy Grail," this is something I can watch endlessly and always be amused.
How could anyone not be entertained by Steve Martin and the original Not–Ready–for–Prime–Time–Players ensemble?
