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In 1998, the world was introduced to Jimmy Fallon when he made his grand debut in Studio 8H after joining the cast of Saturday Night Live.
The comedian would ultimately star on the late-night program for six seasons (four of which saw him sharing the “Weekend Update” desk with Tina Fey), and while he was undoubtedly a funny dude, his primary legacy was his tendency to laugh (or “break” during sketches), which is typically something you want to avoid when you’re paid to perform in a comedy show that airs on live television.
There are plenty of examples you can point to in order to show how he cemented that reputation, including the “Debbie Downer” sketch (where, in fairness, he was far from the only person who was able to hold it together).
The bit where Will Ferrell plays a soldier who is an old prospector named Gus Chiggins also springs to mind; again, he wasn’t the only person who was unable to keep a straight face, but he definitely played a pivotal role in things going off of the rails.
The comedian’s bad habit inspired a subplot on the live episode of 30 Rock where Tracy insists on breaking after realizing its an easy way to get a laugh, and there are plenty of people who’ve accused Fallon of purposefully losing his composure to do exactly and calling unnecessary attention to himself in the process.
You could argue that theory is either firmly debunked or impossible to dispute when you consider how little it takes to get Fallon to laugh when he’s hosting The Tonight Show—and now, the man himself has chimed in with some insight.
Jimmy Fallon says he never laughed or broke on purpose on SNL while revealing the real reason he had trouble keeping it together
Fallon recently reflected on his days at Saturday Night Live during a conversation with Interview where he addressed the aforementioned “controversy,” saying:
“I never did it on purpose, and I always felt bad if I did, but I tried my hardest not to.
People started knowing that I was an easy laugh, so Will Ferrell or Molly Shannon would go out of their way to make me laugh. We were playing, and I was just having a good time.
There’s probably a bunch of sketches where I laughed that no one talks about, but there’s a few that got famous.”
Take that for what you will.