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SNL's "Bill Brasky" Debuted 25 Years Ago Today

  • Bill Brasky is a son of a b*tch! 

    That was the first line of the last sketch of the night on the January 20, 1996 edition of Saturday Night Live. It's the spot in the show that's usually where sketches go to die. But somehow, four loud, obnoxious drunk salesmen screaming insane tall tales about a colleague while occasionally blurting out awkward confessions managed to become a recurring bit. 

    Written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, the Bill Brasky Buddies were originally Ferrell, David Koechner, Mark McKinney, and host Alec Baldwin, all playing just the absolute worst people in the bar on any given night. It was the sledgehammer kind of comedy that was perfect for Ferrell, who was so often finding the perfect blend of loud and awkward. It's an example of how you can make a throwaway piece memorable if you dive into it with gusto and deliver your lines with the strength of a mack truck.

    These jerks last resurfaced in 2013, when Paul Rudd was hosting and his Anchorman buddies Ferrell and Koechner dropped in to reprise it. This time, they were getting hammered at a Chuck E. Cheese. You can't get much lower than that.

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    Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.

    TOPICS: Saturday Night Live, NBC, Alec Baldwin, David Koechner, Mark McKinney, Will Ferrell