The New York Times has reported that Will Forte has opted not to return to the 36th season of Saturday Night Live. The news was confirmed by two unnamed sources who stated that the departure was amicable and Forte left at his own choosing to pursue other roles.
Well, I can’t lie - I saw this coming - but it doesn’t make the news any less disappointing. I’m disappointed not only by the future absence of Forte from Season 36, but by the fact that the show didn’t get the opportunity to give him an adequate send-off. Forte has been with the show since 2002 and in that time has been responsible for some of the show’s greatest characters - MacGruber, Tim Calhoun, Jeff Montgomery and The Falconer, to name but a few - and has played a central role in some of my favourite sketches - Locker Room with Peyton Manning, NASA Potato Chips, Jon Bovi, Jackie Snad & Clancy T. Bacclerat. I, for one, will certainly miss his contributions to the show and the often absurd comic sensibility he brought to each of his sketches.
Now obviously, I do not know Will Forte in any shape, form or manner, but I had a mini-interaction with him through the mail about two years ago that has always made me think that he’s maybe one of the nicest guys in the world. I wrote a letter to him declaring what a fan I was of everything he ever did and I happened to mention Tim Calhoun and how much I adored the line, “Super Tuesday? If forced to make a choice, I’d go with soup. Sorry Tuesday.”
Well, a few months later, I received an autograph from Forte along with one of the blue index cards actually used in the Tim Calhoun segment on Weekend Update. On the front? The Super Tuesday line. On the back? A note from Will Forte which read, “By the way, this is the actual card I used on air for the Tim Calhoun segment. Sorry for the coffee stain - I had to fish it out of the garbage after the show! Thanks again for your letter, Will”. I just thought this was a fabulously nice gesture and demonstrated what a great guy Will Forte is, and for this reason and more, I have nothing but goodwill for him.
So, in conclusion, I’m very sad to see Will Forte leave, but I have no doubt that he will move on to greater things and we’ll be seeing him very soon, be it on the small screen, the silver screen or the stage.
Good luck, Forte. We’ll miss your moustaches.
I did a marathon of Celebrity Jeopardy right after the cast changed… le sigh.
