“Saturday Night Live” is celebrating its golden anniversary. Tonight’s 50th anniversary special is guaranteed to provide plenty of laughs, musical moments, memories and surprises. If you’re trying to guess what’s ahead, it might be helpful to rewind back to the 40th anniversary celebration to look for clues.
See below for highlights from the 2015 special:
Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake opened the “SNL” anniversary show decked out in tuxedos and top hats. The duo performed a musical number that covered some of the show’s most memorable sketches. Rachel Dratch made a cameo as Debbie Downer, and Molly Shannon reprised her famous role as nervous schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher.
Steve Martin delivered the opening monologue, and a host of “SNL” luminaries made cameos including Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crystal and Paul Simon, who performed an impromptu duet with Paul McCartney on “I’ve Just Seen a Face.”
In a nod to the iconic 1976 sketch, “Bass-O-Matic,” original cast member Dan Aykroyd returned for an updated version of making bass smoothies in a blender, and Will Ferrell returned to play Alex Trebek in “Celebrity Jeopardy.”
Jack Nicholson dropped by to introduce a retrospective on the show’s four decades of political satire, along with Larry David who did an old-school Q&A with the audience.
There was a star-studded version of the popular sketch, “The Californians” that included former “SNL” cast members Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, as well as cameos by Bradley Cooper, Taylor Swift, Laraine Newman, Kerry Washington and Betty White.
Original cast member Jane Curtin once again sat in the anchor seat, reprising her role on “Weekend Update.” Meanwhile, Mike Myers and Dana Carvey returned to the basement to once again broadcast their cable access show, “Wayne’s World.”
Throughout the evening, there were tributes to past cast members including Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy and Tracy Morgan.
And, of course, there were also plenty of musical performances including another performance by Paul McCartney, who played his enduring song “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and with Miley Cyrus, who covered Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
Paul Simon then returned to the stage to perform a heartfelt rendition of “Still Crazy After All These Years,” a song the legendary singer-songwriter famously sang wearing a giant turkey costume while hosting “SNL” in 1976.
The “SNL 40th Anniversary Special” ended with elite five-timer Steve Martin doing the famous “SNL” goodnight with showrunner and creator Lorne Michaels.
