Editing Father Guido Sarducci

{{Short description|Fictional character on Saturday Night Live}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2008}}
{{Infobox character
| name              = Father Guido Sarducci
| series            = <!-- or |franchise=; use without the italic on the outside -->
| image             = Don_Novello_2000.jpg
| caption           = Don Novello performing as Father Guido Sarducci, 2000
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| first_major       = <!-- per [[MOS:MAJORWORK]] - major works include TV series, films, books, albums and games -->
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| last_major        = 
| last_minor        = <!-- or |last_issue= -->
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| last              = <!-- Use instead of last_major= etc. when custom or complex formatting is needed. -->
| creator           = [[Don Novello]]
| based_on          = <!-- if not an original creation, use {{based on|character|author}} -->
| adapted_by        = <!-- for character adaption articles -->
| designer          = 
| portrayer         = Don Novello
| voice             = 
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| full_name         = 
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| species           = Human
| gender            = <!-- if not obvious -->
| title             = 
| occupation        = Priest, columnist
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| religion          = <!-- Include only if there are reliable sources discussing the character's faith, or if the character's faith is a major element of their characterization. -->
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}}

'''Father Guido Sarducci''' is a fictional character created by American [[comedian]] [[Don Novello]]. Sarducci is a [[chain-smoking]] priest with tinted glasses, who works in the United States as [[gossip columnist]] and [[rock critic]] for the [[Holy See|Vatican]] newspaper ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' (sometimes mentioned as ''The Vatican Enquirer'', a take-off of the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]]).

== Description ==
Novello created the character in 1973, after he purchased the outfit (consisting of big floppy black hat, white [[clerical collar]], and a long, red-trimmed black coat with cape) for $7.50 at a [[Society of Saint Vincent de Paul#St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store|St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store]]. The character was featured in 1970s cartoons by the [[Underground comix|underground cartoonists]] [[Dave Sheridan (cartoonist)|Dave Sheridan]] and Fred Schrier, appearing in person in the early 1970s on ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'' and later in the 1975 ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]''. His most prominent appearances were on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in the late 1970s, during which time Novello was also a writer for the show. In the late 1970s, Father Guido Sarducci was featured on radio commercials for ''[[High Times]]'' magazine, where he offered to perform blessings for a fee.

== Broadcast history ==
On his first appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'', a sketch called "How to Pay for Your Sins" on a 1978 episode hosted by [[Richard Dreyfuss]], he was on crutches from an injury suffered during a dress rehearsal sketch about hockey players. Most of his appearances on ''SNL'' have been on ''[[Weekend Update]]'', including one where he reported that "The take at the shrines in Italy has gone down", which he suggested correcting by creating "Shrinemobiles" and thus taking the shrines to where the people were, and another where he is sent to [[London]] to try to wake up [[Paul McCartney]] at 4:30 in the morning (11:30 p.m. in New York) by throwing coins, obnoxiously singing [[The Beatles]] and [[Paul McCartney and Wings|Wings]] songs, and finally, throwing a rock at the window—he says it works every time.

=== ''Saturday Night Live'' ===
Sarducci appeared in four [[cold open]]s in the [[Saturday Night Live (season 5)|1979–1980 season]] (on episodes hosted by [[Steve Martin]], [[Teri Garr]], [[Elliott Gould]], and [[Rodney Dangerfield]]), two commercial parodies ("MX-5 Tampons" on the 1981–1982 Christmas episode hosted by [[Bill Murray]] and "Bocce Ball My Way" on the last episode of the 1985–1986 season hosted by [[Anjelica Huston]] and [[Billy Martin]]), and two monologues on the 1985–86 season (the first hosted by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] in a pretaped sketch showing Madonna's wedding to Sean Penn (played by [[Robert Downey, Jr.]]) and the second on the Christmas episode of the 1985–86 season hosted by Garr as Sarducci's alter ego, Pope Maurice).

Sarducci also hosted two ''SNL'' episodes during the 1983–1984 season (when [[Dick Ebersol]] was executive producer) and cameoed during two 1990s episodes, most notably on a ''Weekend Update'' segment where he reports on [[Pope John Paul II]]'s missing wallet. Father Guido Sarducci has 31 appearances on ''SNL'', the most of any of the recurring characters.

=== Vatican visit ===
In 1981 Novello made newspaper headlines when he visited [[Vatican City]] wearing the Father Guido Sarducci costume to do a photo shoot for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine. After taking pictures in an area where photography was prohibited, he and his photographer, Paul Solomon, were arrested by the [[Papal Swiss Guard]]s and Novello was charged with "impersonating a priest". Although the guards attempted to confiscate the film from the shoot, Solomon managed to hand them the wrong film. The charges were later dropped. In the early 1980s, Novello was featured in advertisements promoting candidates for the priesthood. He listed one advantage of being a priest as getting first pick at the annual parish garage sale.

=== Other media appearances ===
During the 1980s and 1990s Sarducci appeared on other television shows, including ''[[Fridays (TV series)|Fridays]]'', ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'', ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'', ''[[Married... with Children]]'', ''[[Unhappily Ever After]]'', ''[[Blossom (American TV series)|Blossom]]'', ''[[It's Garry Shandling's Show]]'', the ''[[Tales of the City]]'' miniseries, and ''[[Square Pegs]]''. In 1980, Sarducci appeared in ''[[Gilda Live]]'', a film and an album recording based on [[Gilda Radner]]'s successful one-woman show that had been playing on Broadway. In 1983, he appeared in a music video for the Rodney Dangerfield song "Rappin' Rodney", where he gave Rodney his last rites on death row, and helped himself to Rodney's french fries from his last meal. In 1984, he appeared in a [[music video]] for the [[Jefferson Starship]] song "No Way Out". In 1995, he appeared as a priest trying to perform an exorcism in the movie ''[[Casper (film)|Casper]]''. The same movie featured a cameo by his fellow ''SNL'' alumnus [[Dan Aykroyd]] as the [[Ghostbusters|Ghostbuster]] Ray Stantz. In episode 11 of season four of ''[[Archer (2009 TV series)|Archer]]'', “Papal Chase”, Archer goes undercover at the Vatican, dressed exactly like Guido Sarducci.

=== Albums ===
He appeared on the 2002 album ''A Classic Rock Christmas'' performing the song "Santa's Lament" featuring [[Joe Walsh]] and [[Joe Vitale (musician)|Joe Vitale]].

The character also appeared on the [[Handsome Boy Modeling School]] albums ''[[So... How's Your Girl?]]'' and ''[[White People (album)|White People]]'', telling biographical stories of the life of a professional male model in the latter. Novello also released two [[comedy]] albums as Sarducci: ''[[Breakfast in Heaven]]'' and ''Live at St. Douglas Convent.''

=== Additional appearances ===
He also appeared on the [[MSNBC]] show ''[[Countdown with Keith Olbermann]]'' on March 19, 2005, discussing ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'' and his DaVinci Code Decoder Ring.

In the 2001 [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]] animated film ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'', Novello uses the voice and speech style of Father Sarducci to portray the character of demolitions expert Vinny Santorini.

Sarducci made a guest appearance on the April 30, 2005, broadcast of NPR and Chicago Public Radio's ''[[Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!]]'' news quiz show, commenting on the ascension of [[Pope Benedict XVI]].  He also gave the prayer of invocation at an April 11, 2007, roast of [[UConn Huskies women's basketball]] coach [[Geno Auriemma]] at the Aqua Turf Club in [[Southington, Connecticut]] sponsored by [[Connecticut Public Television]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Geno … Roasted, Toasted and Well Done |url=https://www.courant.com/2007/04/13/geno-roasted-toasted-and-well-done/ |publisher=Hartford Courant |access-date=May 8, 2025 |date=April 13, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=At Geno Roast, Imus a More Serious Subject |url=https://www.courant.com/2007/04/12/at-geno-roast-imus-a-more-serious-subject/ |publisher=Hartford Courant |access-date=May 8, 2025 |date=April 12, 2007}}</ref>

He appeared on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' on June 23, 2010, claiming to have conducted an interview with [[Glenn Beck]] while visiting the [[Vatican City|Vatican]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cc.com/video-clips/3dk57p/the-colbert-report-prophet-glenn-beck---father-guido-sarducci%3C!--|title=Prophet Glenn Beck&nbsp;— Father Guido Sarducci&nbsp;— The Colbert Report (Video Clip)&nbsp;— Comedy Central|website=Comedy Central|date=24 June 2010 |access-date=22 July 2018}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 

On May 6, 2025, he appeared on ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]'' to discuss the [[2025 papal conclave|upcoming conclave]] following the [[death and funeral of Pope Francis|death of Pope Francis]], where he claimed that Francis's predecessor Pope Benedict XVI was still alive, would be named the next Pope, and would take the name "Pope Benedict XVI the Second".

=== Benediction ===
He delivered the [[benediction]] at the Stewart/Colbert [[Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear]] from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2010. He was wearing his classic white clerical collar, a long red-trimmed black coat with cape, zebra vest/jacket and black beret.<ref>[http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/10/30/father-guido-sarducci-father-guido-sarducci-gives-benediction-at-rally-to-restore-sanity/ Father Guido Sarducci Gives Benediction at Rally to Restore Sanity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102144320/http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/10/30/father-guido-sarducci-father-guido-sarducci-gives-benediction-at-rally-to-restore-sanity/ |date=2010-11-02}}; ''Long Island Press''; October 30, 2010</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Comedy|Television|United States}}
*[[List of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches|List of recurring ''Saturday Night Live'' characters and sketches]]
*[[Saturday Night Live characters appearing on Weekend Update|''Saturday Night Live'' characters appearing on ''Weekend Update'']]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Saturday Night Live}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarducci, Father Guido}}
[[Category:Saturday Night Live characters]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1973]]
[[Category:Fictional Christian priests]]
[[Category:Fictional reporters and correspondents]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]
[[Category:Saturday Night Live in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Saturday Night Live in the 1980s]]