That’s why Saturday Night Live honored Tom McCarthy at the end of the Season 50 premiere

The man on the tribute card was a former Biden Secret Service agent who was later involved in an investigation into John Mulaney’s “SNL” monologue.

At the end of the Saturday Night Live In the Season 50 premiere, hosted by Jean Smart, a title card honoring Tom McCarthy appeared onscreen. Unlike former hosts, musical guests or show employees who received similar treatment after their deaths, McCarthy was not a familiar face to most viewers.

Not to be confused with the Oscar-winning director and co-writer of “ Headlight this Tom McCarthy was a former US Secret Service agent who worked behind the scenes SNLHe was the parent company of NBCUniversal until his death on July 10 at age 62. His duties at the media company included him once being involved in an investigation into a John Mulaney SNL Monologue.

NBC

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Related: Saturday Night Live Review of the premiere of the 50th season: Jean Smart and Maya Rudolph with numerous surprise guests

McCarthy spent 27 years in the Secret Service. At one point, he was the special agent in charge of the unit protecting then-Vice President Joe Biden. McCarthy retired from federal law enforcement in 2013 to take a job at NBCUniversal as senior vice president and global chief security officer based in New York City. He held this position for 11 years until his death.

McCarthy’s obituary said: “After decades in government, he took on this new challenge, with Super Bowls and the Olympics becoming his new G20 and State of the Unions tournaments. He valued the role and his colleagues at 30 Rockefeller Center and around the world.”

In his role as NBC’s security chief, McCarthy was contacted by his former employer in 2020, with the Secret Service expressing a desire to discuss it SNL hosted Mulaney’s monologue from the Feb. 29, 2020 episode with the comedian’s legal team, according to records obtained by the Associated Press.

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Like the former SNL Author explains on Jimmy Kimmel Live Later that year, the Secret Service investigated him for a joke he made while hosting Leap Day that loosely linked it to the assassinations of Roman dictator Julius Caesar and then-President Donald Trump.

“Another thing that happened under Julius Caesar was that he was such a powerful madman that all the senators picked up knives and stabbed him. That would be an interesting thing if we brought that back now,” Mulaney joked in his comment SNL bit, before quipping, “I asked my lawyer if I could make that joke and he said, ‘Let me call another lawyer.’ And this lawyer said yes.

Mulaney told Kimmel that during the investigation, officials asked him whether he had posted any “rants or manifestos” about Trump online. He said no, but said he had been making jokes about him publicly for years.

Ultimately, Mulaney was determined not to pose a threat to national security, and the investigation was closed in December.

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Related: Everyone Saturday Night Live Host and musical guest of the 50th season

The Emmy winner Everyone is in LA The host, who recently welcomed a second child with his wife Olivia Munn, will host SNL for the sixth time on November 2nd with musical guest Chappell Roan. Next week, stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze takes over the helm of Studio 8H, along with frequent musical guest Coldplay.

SNL airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.