Friends of the LBJ Library | May, 11 2026 6:30PM - 7:30PM
Since NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) debuted in 1975, with Chevy Chase playing a bumbling Gerald Ford, the show has shaped our perceptions of politics and the presidency—and has just plain made us laugh. Please join us on May 11 for a conversation with SNL regulars Alec Baldwin and Darrell Hammond. Baldwin holds the record for the most time hosting the show at 17 and played Donald Trump during Trump’s first term; Hammond was a cast member for 14 seasons and played Bill Clinton and Trump prior to his presidency. We’ll talk to them about their wide-ranging careers and what it’s like to be on SNL—including parodying our presidents.
This program is hosted by the Friends of the LBJ Library and the Harry Ransom Center, which recently acquired the archives of Saturday Night Live’s legendary creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels.
About the speakers
Alec Baldwin has appeared in numerous productions on stage, in films and on television. He received a Tony nomination (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1992) an Oscar nomination (The Cooler, 2004) and has won three Emmy awards, three Golden Globes, and seven consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on NBC-TV's 30 Rock, making him the actor with the most SAG Awards of all time. His films include Miami Blues, The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross, Malice, The Edge, It’s Complicated, Blue Jasmine, Still Alice, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, and The Boss Baby among many others.
Baldwin earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1994 and has received honorary doctorates from NYU and the Manhattan School of Music. He has served on numerous boards related to the arts, the environment and public policy including the Hamptons International Film Festival, Bay Street Theater, The Actors Studio, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and the Roundabout Theatre Company. He currently serves on the board of People For the American Way and the New York Philharmonic.
He has authored three books: A Promise to Ourselves, his memoir Nevertheless and, with Kurt Andersen, the Donald Trump parody You Can’t Spell America Without Me. He is the host of a podcast, Here’s The Thing, for iHeartRadio.
Baldwin is married to author and wellness expert Hilaria Thomas Baldwin. Hilaria and Alec oversee The Hilaria and Alec Baldwin Foundation, which focuses on funding the arts.
Darrell Hammond is the second-longest-running cast member and current announcer on Saturday Night Live. The actor and comedian has brought to life a cavalcade of politicians, media figures, celebrities and newsmakers on television through his impressions. Amongst the great number of people he has embodied include Bill Clinton, Sean Connery, Jay Leno, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Donald Trump, and more. Darrell is known for being one of the most prolific comedians of his time.
In addition to his SNL appearances, Hammond has been seen in a number of feature films and television shows. As a truly versatile actor Darrell has displayed his talents in both dramatic and comedic roles. He has appeared in the TBS comedy series Are We There Yet?, the acclaimed F/X series Damages, Law and Order, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Criminal Minds on CBS, and countless others. Some of his feature films include Weiners, Warner Bros’ New York Minute, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 5, Agent Codie Banks, Epic Movie, and most recently the films Cora Bora with Megan Stalter and Jerry Seinfeld's film Unfrosted on Netflix. In addition, Darrell is the author of his critically acclaimed and New York Times bestseller God If You’re Not Up There, I’m F**ed*, which was released to rave reviews. The documentary about this book, Cracked Up: The Darrell Hammond Story, trended on Netflix for two years and was translated into five languages.
Darrell is classically trained in theater, performing on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He played over 60 characters in his one-person show, Cray, which ran at the La Jolla Playhouse and off-Broadway to rave reviews. Cray was also recorded for Audible. Darrell continues to move audiences with his comedy, performing in comedy clubs and theaters nationwide and continues to look for new challenging roles to expand his talents in film and television.
Location and Parking
The Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium is located on the lower level of the LBJ complex at 2313 Red River Street. Access to the auditorium will be through the lobby of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Parking details will be shared with registered guests in advance.
To RSVP:
Please register using the form below. This event is open to members of the Friends of the LBJ Library (at the Individual level and above) and invited guests of the Harry Ransom Center. Friends Member guests will not be permitted for this event.
About the Lorne Michaels Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
The archive of Canadian-American producer and writer Lorne Michaels is an extraordinary collection of his achievements in television and film over a span of more than five decades. Michaels is best known as the creator of NBC’s sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) but has also produced over sixty other television series and specials, ranging from NBC’s flagship late-night programs The Tonight Show and Late Night to situation comedies like 30 Rock to concert films, awards broadcasts, and holiday specials. His production credits also include several top-grossing comedy films, such as Mean Girls and Wayne’s World, and Broadway productions. Broadway Video Enterprises, the production company Michaels founded in 1979, develops and distributes television and films, and produces content for digital media, advertising, and promotions. SNL, its associated films, and Michaels’s many other comedy productions have had a far-reaching impact on American popular culture.
In addition to introducing iconic characters and catchphrases, the creative productions of Lorne Michaels are beloved for their satirical take on current events, irreverent engagement with changing cultural norms, and attunement to the absurdity of everyday existence. Michaels and SNL have received more Primetime Emmy Award nominations than any other individual and program in history, and Michaels’s many other honors, including membership in the Order of Canada and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, testify to the enduring importance of his work.
The Lorne Michaels collection is currently open for research.
For more information, please visit the Harry Ransom Center’s Lorne Michaels Collection.
About the Harry Ransom Center
The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research center at The University of Texas at Austin. Our extensive collections provide unique insight into the creative process of some of our finest writers and artists, deepening the understanding and appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts.
The collections include nearly 1 million books, more than 42 million manuscripts, 5 million photographs, and 100,000 works of art. Highlights include Robert De Niro's archive of scripts, notes, costumes, and props; the earliest known extant photograph made with the aid of the camera obscura; E. E. Cummings's wooden paint box; manuscript drafts by Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing; Jack Kerouac's notebook documenting his writing of On the Road; original works by Frida Kahlo, including her iconic self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird; the Gernsheim Collection, containing some of the world's finest examples of photographic art and science; some of Albert Einstein's unpublished notes and calculations for his work on general relativity; Gabriel García Márquez's manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks, and more (digitized for easy perusal); and one of only 20 complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the world.
