Bill Brasky

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Saturday Night Live skit
Bill Brasky stares down at the gang in the skit, Holiday Inn
Bill Brasky
Written by: Will Ferrell
Adam McKay
Stars: Alec Baldwin
Will Ferrell
David Koechner
Mark McKinney
Tim Meadows
John Goodman
Ana Gasteyer
Timeline: 1996-1998

Bill Brasky was the subject of a series of sketches on the television sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live between 1996 and 1998. The sketches were written by cast member Will Ferrell and writer Adam McKay.

Contents

[edit] Format

The format of the sketches resembles the short-form improv game "Two Describe a Third." Three or four friends (known as the "Bill Brasky Buddies") gather in a public place to drink Scotch, smoke cigars, and loudly reminisce about their mutual acquaintance Bill Brasky. While the friends refer to Brasky in both present and past tense on occasion, it appears that Brasky is still alive: some sketches end with Brasky's appearance via a forced perspective shot that makes him look like a giant. (One sketch, set at Brasky's funeral, ends with Brasky breaking out of the coffin holding a glass of Scotch.)

Most of the friends' discussions focus on their admiration of Brasky's superhuman accomplishments, usually focused on his huge size, virility, celebrity connections, amazing tolerance for drugs and alcohol, and reckless disregard for human life. The stories of Brasky's life and seemingly legendary accomplishments are exaggerated to absurd levels in the American tradition of tall tales, similar to the "Chuck Norris Facts" Internet phenomenon, employed nearly a decade later (in fact, Bill Brasky quotes are regularly recycled as Chuck Norris facts). If their stories are to be believed, Brasky is ten feet tall, weighs two tons, possesses a variety of superhuman capabilities, is capable of lactation, and has cheated death on numerous occasions.

The Brasky Buddies are all apparently salesmen who worked with Brasky, as they frequently state that he was "the best damned salesman in the office." They all have red cheeks and red noses (apparently due to the large amounts of Scotch they consume), and extremely large, white teeth (for unexplained reasons). They appear to be coming from a sales conference or a business meeting, and by the time the sketch begins, they are very drunk.

Typically, the three cycle through the same genres of comment four or five times. The first buddy will begin a long anecdote about Brasky, interrupted by the second drunkenly blurting out something embarrassing (e.g. "I masturbate to the Teletubbies..."). The buddies then exchange several shorter claims about Brasky. The cycle will then repeat, starting with the second Brasky Buddy, getting more outrageous each time around. At some point a man not party to the original conversation, usually played by Tim Meadows, will interject with "Are you guys talking about Bill Brasky? I know Bill Brasky!"

Some of the accomplishments recounted can be considered downright abhorrent (he has slept with all of their wives, and has apparently caused the deaths of several people) but are still celebrated with the same gusto. At regular intervals, they raise their glasses to toast him, shouting "To Bill Brasky!" They all seem to equally admire and despise Brasky.

According to the "Airport" sketch, Brasky's full name is William Robert Brasky, and he has a wife and a young daughter named Debbie. He is also said to have fathered a child while fighting in Vietnam. The buddies often claim that Brasky has fathered numerous bastard children, three of whom were sired with one of their wives after selling her husband into slavery. It is also noted that Brasky attended Auburn University and gave them the idea of War Eagle back in 1896.

[edit] Sketches

1. Airport (January 20, 1996) Bill Brasky Buddies: Alec Baldwin, Will Ferrell (as Hank), David Koechner, Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows

2. Holiday Inn (March 16, 1996) Bill Brasky Buddies: John Goodman (as Ted), Will Ferrell (as Hank), David Koechner, Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows

3. Funeral (February 22, 1997) Bill Brasky Buddies: Alec Baldwin, Will Ferrell (as Hank), Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows. With Ana Gasteyer as a Mourner.

  • Took place at "McKay Funeral Home", a reference to the sketch's writer, Adam McKay.

4. Little League (May 10, 1997) Bill Brasky Buddies: John Goodman (as Ted), Will Ferrell (as Hank), Mark McKinney, Tim Meadows. With Ana Gasteyer as a Parent.

  • The original live broadcast of this sketch was severely truncated, with the last 2-3 minutes of the sketch being cut off. Shortly before the closing shot with the forced-perspective shot of Brasky, the three Brasky Buddies can be seen struggling through their lines, presumably due to lack of cue cards. After the sketch ended, there was an impromptu 45-second shot of the SNL band to fill time, before the last commercial break and goodnights. It is unknown why this sketch was cut short, but it is likely because there was a time discrepancy. There was only about 45 seconds in the goodnights, which would explain why the last few minutes of the sketch were abruptly cut off. In reruns, this edition of the sketch was replaced with the full-length dress rehearsal version.

5. Bar (December 12, 1998) Bill Brasky Buddies: Alec Baldwin, John Goodman (as Ted), Will Ferrell (as Hank). With Ana Gasteyer and Andy Murphy as patrons.

6. Coffee Break (unaired) (October 25, 1997) Bill Brasky Buddies: Chris Farley (as Frank), Will Ferrell (as Hank), Norm Macdonald.

  • The unaired dress rehearsal was released on Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley. In a rather amusing manner, Farley's large (fake) teeth fall out twice and later Farley stumbles over his lines. This sketch was cut after dress rehearsal and never made it into the live show. However, Farley utters the sole Brasky factoid in the episode: "Did you know that he once took a bubble bath with Bruce Jenner?"

While there have been no further actual Bill Brasky sketches, a sketch called Mr. Willoughby appeared on the January 14, 2006, episode of SNL and followed a very similar format. Framed as a trailer for a movie based on a lost Jane Austen novel of the same title, the sketch featured Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey and host Scarlett Johansson as a trio of Victorian sisters rhapsodizing about one Mr. Willoughby, "the most eligible bachelor in all of Upper Cornholeshire." Like the Brasky Buddies' stories, the sisters' descriptions of Willoughby steadily grow more and more bizarre, and they recount even the most repugnant facts ("Mr. Willoughby reeks of urine!") with an attitude of lovestruck awe. At several points the three sisters sigh, "Mr. Willoughby!" in unison, much like the Brasky Buddies' periodic toasts of "To Bill Brasky!"

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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