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Q: Who does the amazing impression of Sean Connery in the "SNL" "Jeopardy" sketches?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

If you're ever not sure who did a particular impression on "Saturday Night Live," not only recently but in the long history of the show, Darrell Hammond would be a safe bet.

He holds second place for the biggest number of impressions done on the show (behind Kenan Thompson, who also just edges Hammond out for most years on the show). That puts Hammond ahead of such greats as Mike Myers and even the legendary Dana Carvey.

And of all his impressions (there are more than 100, including presidents Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton), Sean Connery on "Celebrity Jeopardy" is his best remembered. "It's the most popular thing I ever did," he said in a 2007 interview on the web-based talk show "LateNet."

He admits, however, that he never quite understood why. Why does the idea of respected film great Sean Connery going on "Jeopardy" and deliberately doing a bad job while insulting the host strike so many people as funny? "It made no sense at all, but it was one of those strange, silly things people responded to."

People did indeed respond, and not just viewers. Rolling Stone magazine put the sketch at No. 23 on its list of the 50 greatest "SNL" bits of all time. That puts it ahead of some classic ones, including "Ask President Carter," by fellow great impressionist Dan Aykroyd, and the one where the Coneheads do "Family Feud," featuring Aykroyd and Bill Murray.

Hammond left the show in 2009 as a cast member but returned in 2014 for a new sort of gig, though it was once again thanks to an impression. He was hired as the new announcer for the show after longtime announcer Don Pardo died. Hammond was reportedly chosen because he had previously filled in for Pardo, doing an impression of him so viewers wouldn't notice.

 

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