‘Saturday Night Live’: Tom Hanks Almost Got to Sing ‘The Penis Song’ Before It Got Cut
Saturday Night Live host Tom Hanks is experienced when it comes to performing his guest duties for the show. Therefore, he has plenty of insight when it comes to how the show operates behind the scenes. Hanks once recalled a Saturday Night Live skit that included “The Penis Song,” which made its way to the table read while he was there. However, he wasn’t the lucky man with the opportunity to sing that particular song on national television.
Tom Hanks said some ‘Saturday Night Live’ skits reappear behind-the-scenes
As of 2020, Hanks hosted Saturday Night Live a total of 10 times. He made his first hosting appearance in 1985 and also appeared on the show as a cameo on nine occasions. According to James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales’ Live From New York, the actor explained how the production ultimately decides on what sketches to go with.
There are some sketches that don’t make the cut the first time around. As a result, they continue to make appearances during the read-through. Hanks said you know this is the case when groans fill the room because they already heard it multiple times before. Nevertheless, the sketch pitches continue to return “hoping that the host will click with it.” This was exactly the case with “The Penis Song” on Saturday Night Live.
‘Saturday Night Live’ host Tom Hanks nearly got to sing ‘The Penis Song’ before it got cut
Hanks discussed “The Penis Song” with Miller and Shales and how the Saturday Night Live sketch almost made it when he was on the show. However, it was certainly a bit risqué, especially with how many times it says the word. Hanks explained that the song was “Penis, Penis, Penis, Penis, Penis, All Day Long. Penis, Penis, Penis, Penis, Penis Song,” and it just kept going.
The actor thought that the sketch would never find its way back onto the show after it was rejected. Nevertheless, it ultimately did make it onto the show, but not with Hanks involved. “Somebody else got to sing ‘The Penis Song’ on TV, God bless him,” Hanks said. “Can’t remember who it was.”
The world was robbed of getting to hear the Oscar-winning actor sing “The Penis Song” for all to hear.
Matthew Broderick got to sing ‘The Penis Song’
“The Penis Song” made its appearance on Saturday Night Live Season 14 with Matthew Broderick hosting. The sketch followed him as he went to a nude beach for the first time. He got anxious when he heard people talking about small penises, so he joined his friends in singing “The Penis Song.” The group of friends was played by Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, Nevin Nealon, and Dennis Miller.
The censors lifted that week approving the word “penis” on network television, so Saturday Night Live saw the perfect opportunity to incorporate “The Penis Song” to truly run with it. However, its frequent use of the word offended some audiences, who wrote a heap of hate mail to the show.
There’s a universe that exists where Hanks sings “The Penis Song” on Saturday Night Live, and that’s enough for some of his fans to love this moment in the sketch show’s history.
