Where this was said
Mitra's Last Questions: Bombing for Sandler, the Special's Audience, and John Waters
At 1:04:55 · chapter starts 57:30
The final run of Mitra's questions yields some of the richest material in the episode. Opening for Adam Sandler is described as a reliable bombing machine — people have driven from Hackensack and hired babysitters specifically for Sandler, and they do not want Long Island's Sarah Sherman sweating in front of them first. Sandler himself is described with pure warmth: a Mensch's Mensch who kept her sane. Then comes the Sarah Squirm origin: she had been performing under that name in Chicago basements with bands like Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan, and her SNL paperwork still officially lists her as Sarah Squirm. Lorne called to gently suggest dropping it; she surrendered the name without hesitation. And then the John Waters story: Sarah wrote him a letter decorated with intestines requesting he play stage manager in her special. Walking home from therapy, ripping apart a sourdough loaf, she got a call from an unknown Baltimore number. 'Hey Sarah, it's John Waters. I'll see you on set.' He showed up, delivered her words exactly as written, and riffed a Visine joke that made the cut.
Sarah bombed repeatedly opening for Adam Sandler because the audiences had paid large sums specifically to see Sandler, not an unknown opener doing shocking body-horror comedy.
Sarah Sherman was discovered performing as Sarah Squirm and all her SNL contract paperwork still carries that name; Lorne Michaels asked her to drop it when she joined.
Sarah mailed John Waters a letter covered in hand-drawn intestines asking him to open her HBO special. While tearing apart sourdough bread on the sidewalk post-therapy, she got a call from a Baltimore area code. 'Hey Sarah, it's John Waters. I'll see you on set.' The audacity of the ask paid off completely.
Sarah wrote John Waters a letter decorated with intestines asking him to open her HBO special; he called her from a Baltimore area code while she was walking home from therapy eating sourdough bread.
