The beginning of Mr Bill and slugg

You just KNEW the whole sketch was Earl's take afterwards. Both Levy and Flaherty are comedy royalty. Don't know why Joe wasn't a bigger star.

Eugene Levy is like Mad Magazine illustration come to life. Greatest takes in the business

They always have been, you just don't get current humor due to not being able to indulge bigotry or sexism, I'll bet.

Take off on Mr. Bill.

That would be Edgar Kennedy.

@@senorsardonico6153 fair play, but levy is in that fine tradition

@@dplatt7290 Agreed.

Mr. Bill first appeared in an episode of Saturday Night Live on February 28, 1976 and became a regular on the series in 1978. The SCTV Mr. Earl clip is from 1980.

@@misterfathersir - Ergo, Mr. Earl was a parody of Mr. Bill. It's possible they came up with that due to a famous line in The Cadillacs' doo-wop classic "Speedoo": "They often call me Speedoo / But my real name is Mr. Earl" - and they figured . . .

It's under SCTV News: Melonville Bus Races.

I think that "Melonville Bus Race" bit was a parody of an actual on-air occurrence in the last few minutes of a newscast in Los Angeles anchored by John Schubeck, as told in Variety by Peter Bart: "At the end of his 11 p.m. news show, a story popped up on his “prompter” that he had already read 10 minutes earlier. With more than two decades of experience as an anchorman, Schubeck had to decide whether to read it a second time or ad lib the remaining two minutes. He opted for a third alternative: Fuming over this screw-up, he simply glared at the camera for two minutes and remained utterly silent - perhaps one of the longest interludes of silence in recent TV history." Sounds like they were spoofing Schubeck's antics on that occasion.

@@wmbrown6 That's the brilliance of SCTV-they could take spoof event/personalities in hilarious ways--Bobby Bittman was a parody of Sammy Davis Jr--with all the jewelery etc, the late Alex Trebek was spoofed by Eugene Levy in "Half Wits" etc etc

@@bufnyfan1 - For that matter, wasn't Sammy Maudlin himself a Davis parody?

@@wmbrown6 yea I think he was--but Bittman's "ring on every finger but one" I think was also a spoof of Mr. Davis' penchant for jewelry

Earl was a protege of Les Nessman from WKRP, winner of the Buckeye NewsHawk Award. Also, don’t you dare forget that Les also won the Silver Sow Award 🤣

@@elijahrobinson2362 - Funny, I thought he took after the KGO "News Scene" team in San Francisco . . .

I don't!

I sent my money.

most people made their own

There is also a combo deal with a set of 3D glasses

I didn't get what that meant.

From the little Hut in Togo

@@hankkingsley2976 and Dave Thomas as The Beaver.

@@tertommy I really love the TV out the window opening. And the theme they used in syndication.

They never did this infront of an audience.

There are SOME people who are not old enough to know who "Mr. Bill" is....therefore, I thought I'd mention it. Also...I am not responsible for any hotels.com commercials you watch.

Homage.

Homage to Mr Bill

humble: well, that's the joke. For the young folks: The early seasons of Saturday Night Live had a running joke about a clay Puppet with a high pitched voice named Mr. Bill. He got smashed or mutilated every time he was on.

I can't decide who I feel sadder for: Mr. Bill or Mr. Earl. ;)