Landshark
Encyclopedia
The Land Shark was a recurring character from the sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live
. The character first appeared in the fall of 1975, in part as a response to the release of the shark
movie Jaws
and the hysteria over purported shark sightings.
predator (voiced by Chevy Chase
). As narrated by Don Pardo
(the announcer):
The skit showed the Land Shark attacking several people by knocking on their doors and pretending to be repairmen, door-to-door salesmen, and the like. Once the victim opens the door, the Land Shark quickly enters and bites or swallows the human victim. The skit is typified by the following exchange:
The "Land Shark attack" scenes are intermixed with other scenes directly spoofing Jaws, featuring Dan Aykroyd
as Chief Brody and John Belushi
playing Matt Hooper.
Season 1, Episode 6
Titled "Jaws III". The attacked women were played by Laraine Newman
, Jane Curtin
, Gilda Radner
, and guest host Lily Tomlin
. The shark also eats Brody (Dan Aykroyd
) and announcer Don Pardo
(offscreen).
Season 1, Episode 23
In the opening monologue with guest host Louise Lasser
, the Land Shark tries to lure Lasser out of her dressing room.
Season 2, Episode 6
Titled "Trick-or-Treating Land Shark". Having lured Gilda Radner out by claiming to be with UNICEF, the shark attacks her, then pops his head back in, opening its mouth to reveal Chevy Chase and announces "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" (the cold opening).
Season 2, Episode 22
Titled "Lucky Lindy," the shark meets aviator Charles Lindbergh
, played by Buck Henry
, on a transatlantic flight. Since Chase left the show after this season, the character did not return as a regular.
Season 3, Episode 11
Titled "No Funny Ending". The final sketch of the show; various sketch endings are attempted. Chevy Chase is guest star for the show.
Season 3, Episode 19
Twice in the episode, host Richard Dreyfuss
hears the Jaws
theme. During the closing credits, Richard is attacked by the shark.
Season 8, Episode 1
Chevy Chase
hosted the eighth season premiere on September 25, 1982, live via satellite from the west coast (he was represented by a TV on the set which interacted with the other performers). He opened the show as the land shark who attacked through the TV set.
Season 27, Episode 2
During "Weekend Update
", as Jimmy Fallon
introduces a segment about that year's spate of shark attack
s, the Land Shark knocks at the door to the newsroom, then attacks Tina Fey
. As Fallon closes the show with "I'm Jimmy Fallon", Chase turns to the camera, and replies, "And I'm not. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow".
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. The character first appeared in the fall of 1975, in part as a response to the release of the shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
movie Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
and the hysteria over purported shark sightings.
Original skit
The Season 1, Episode 4 skit, titled "Jaws II," featured the "Land Shark," a cunning urbanUrban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
predator (voiced by Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
). As narrated by Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
(the announcer):
... the Land Shark is considered the cleverest of all sharks. Unlike the great white sharkGreat white sharkThe great white shark, scientific name Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. It is known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached...
, which tends to inhabit the waters and harborHarborA harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
s of recreational beachBeachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
areas, the Land Shark may strike at any place, any time. It is capable of disguising its voice, and generally preys on young, single women.
The skit showed the Land Shark attacking several people by knocking on their doors and pretending to be repairmen, door-to-door salesmen, and the like. Once the victim opens the door, the Land Shark quickly enters and bites or swallows the human victim. The skit is typified by the following exchange:
[Scene: A New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
apartment. Someone knocks on the door.]
Woman: [not opening the door] Yes?
Voice: (mumbling) Mrs. Arlsburgerhhh?
Woman: Who?
Voice: (mumbling) Mrs. Johannesburrrr?
Woman: Who is it?
Voice: [pause] Flowers.
Woman: Flowers for whom?
Voice: [long pause] Plumber, ma'am.
Woman: I don't need a plumber. You're that clever shark, aren't you?
Voice: [pause] Candygram.
Woman: Candygram, my foot. You get out of here before I call the police. You're the shark, and you know it.
Voice: Wait. I-I'm only a dolphinDolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
, ma'am.
Woman: A dolphin? Well...okay. [opens door]
[Huge latex and foam-rubber shark head lunges through open door, chomps down on woman's head, and drags her out of the apartment, all while the Jaws attack music is playing.]
The "Land Shark attack" scenes are intermixed with other scenes directly spoofing Jaws, featuring Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
as Chief Brody and John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
playing Matt Hooper.
Other appearances in SNL
The character returned in later episodes using the original cast, but then was not used for many years.Season 1, Episode 6
Titled "Jaws III". The attacked women were played by Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman is an American comedienne, actress, and writer, and was part of the original Saturday Night Live cast.-Personal life:...
, Jane Curtin
Jane Curtin
Jane Therese Curtin is an American actress and comedienne. She is commonly referred to as Queen of the Deadpan.First coming to prominence as an original cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series on the 1980s...
, Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
, and guest host Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
. The shark also eats Brody (Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
) and announcer Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
(offscreen).
Season 1, Episode 23
In the opening monologue with guest host Louise Lasser
Louise Lasser
Louise Lasser is an American actress. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. She was married to Woody Allen and appeared in several of his films.-Personal life:...
, the Land Shark tries to lure Lasser out of her dressing room.
Season 2, Episode 6
Titled "Trick-or-Treating Land Shark". Having lured Gilda Radner out by claiming to be with UNICEF, the shark attacks her, then pops his head back in, opening its mouth to reveal Chevy Chase and announces "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" (the cold opening).
Season 2, Episode 22
Titled "Lucky Lindy," the shark meets aviator Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, played by Buck Henry
Buck Henry
Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
, on a transatlantic flight. Since Chase left the show after this season, the character did not return as a regular.
Season 3, Episode 11
Titled "No Funny Ending". The final sketch of the show; various sketch endings are attempted. Chevy Chase is guest star for the show.
Season 3, Episode 19
Twice in the episode, host Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
hears the Jaws
Jaws (soundtrack)
The original soundtrack for Jaws was released by MCA in 1975, and as a CD in 1992, including roughly a half hour of music that John Williams redid for the album...
theme. During the closing credits, Richard is attacked by the shark.
Season 8, Episode 1
Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
hosted the eighth season premiere on September 25, 1982, live via satellite from the west coast (he was represented by a TV on the set which interacted with the other performers). He opened the show as the land shark who attacked through the TV set.
Season 27, Episode 2
During "Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
", as Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
introduces a segment about that year's spate of shark attack
Shark attack
A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year around 60 shark attacks are reported worldwide, although death is quite unusual. Despite the relative rarity of shark attacks, the fear of sharks is a common phenomenon, having been fueled by the occasional instances of serial attacks,...
s, the Land Shark knocks at the door to the newsroom, then attacks Tina Fey
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls and Baby Mama .Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the...
. As Fallon closes the show with "I'm Jimmy Fallon", Chase turns to the camera, and replies, "And I'm not. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow".