Valerie Bertinelli revealed that she and the late Phil Hartman butted heads while rehearsing a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch in 1987
Valerie Bertinelli’s 1987 Saturday Night Live hosting gig wasn’t all laughs.
The actress, 64, reminisced on her episode of the NBC comedy series in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published on Wednesday, March 5. While rehearsing a sketch called “Dinner at the Van Halen’s,” Bertinelli said she and the late Phil Hartman got into an unexpected argument.
“I remember Phil Hartman. I loved him,” she told the outlet. “[The script] didn’t have me say a name [for him], but I was like, ‘And, Phil,’ and he goes, ‘No, don’t call me Phil in this. My character’s name is [blank].’”
The sketch centered on Bertinelli and her then-husband, Eddie Van Halen, hosting their friends — played by Hartman and Victoria Jackson — for dinner. What was supposed to be a calm night turns chaotic as Van Halen’s roadies — played by Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey and Dennis Miller — continuously interrupt the meal, despite their good intentions to make everything go smoothly.
Accepting Hartman’s note about his character, Bertinelli recalled, “I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, you have a character name.
