When Gerald Ford Went on Saturday Night Live

Since the topic of Presidents Going On Comedy Shows is hot this
week, I thought I’d pass along the tale of Gerald Ford’s
appearance on Saturday Night Live (or as it was then
known, Saturday Night). Ron Nessen, Ford’s press
secretary, hosted the program
on April 17th, 1976, and Ford agreed to pretape a few lines for the
episode. Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad tell
what happened next in their entertaining book Saturday
Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live:

The taping was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the
Cabinet Room down the hall from the Oval Office. [Director Gary]
Weis stopped off in an adjacent bathroom to snort some cocaine. The
film crew, provided by the NBC News bureau in Washington, set up
their equipment and waited. At 3:30 on the dot Ford marched into
the room. It was clear to [producer] Lorne [Michaels] and Weis that
this was but anoher stop in a blur of engagements the President
walked through every day. With a glimmer of recognition in his
eyes, Ford shook Lorne’s hand and said, “Chevy, how are you?”

As Weis attached a microphone to Ford’s lapel, Lorne tried to put
the President at ease. “Mr. President,” he said, “if this works
out, who knows where it could lead.” The President smiled
vaguely.

Ford had three lines to deliver that would be integrated into the
show: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” “Ladies
and gentlemen, the press secretary to the President of the United
States,” and “I’m Gerald Ford and you’re not.” Weis had to urge the
President gently to put a little more feeling in hs readings, and
it took several takes to get them down.

When they were through, Ford got up to leave for the next event on
his schedule. He forgot, however, to remove the microphone from his
lapel. The NBC News crew had used a relatively old-fashioned
microphone, one that attached by a wire directly to the camera.
When the President reached the full length of the cord, he was
jerked backward, faltering a step while the camera swayed and
almost tipped over.

Ford regained his footing, removed the microphone, and left. Nessen
implored Lorne, Weis, and [Dick] Ebersol never to mention the
incident to anyone.

A story is only as accurate as its sources, and it is of course
possible that, say, the bit about Gary Weis snorting coke in the
White House bathroom is an invention. I prefer to believe.

Elsewhere in Reason: Watch Weis’ greatest movie

here, and learn why Ford was the Ramones of the presidency
here.