Saturday Night Live Close this dialog window Streaming Options Most politicians have a love-hate relationship with Saturday Night Live. The NBC sketch comedy series has been poking fun at elected officials — with various degrees of brutality — since it premiered in 1975, and savvy presidential candidates know that studio 8H is a pivotal stop on the road to the White House. But most of those appearances are dutiful at best (see: Barack Obama in 2013) and disastrous at worst (see, or rather, don’t: Donald Trump in 2015). One notable exception: Senator John McCain. The longtime Arizona senator and two-time presidential candidate — who died on August 25 at age 81 after battling brain cancer since 2017 — took the stage at Saturday Night Live several times over the years, and each time, he looked like he was having a gosh-darned blast. Take a look back at his three most memorable SNL moments. “To Love, Honor and Stalk” (Oct. 19, 2002) McCain was the first sitting senator to ever host SNL, and while he played himself (and other politicians, like then-Attorney General John Ashcroft) in several sketches, he also fully committed to some sheer nonsense — with hilarious results. In this Lifetime movie parody, Amy Poehler stars as a woman whose husband, played by McCain, continually invades her personal space — whether she’s in the shower, coming in the front door, or even on the witness stand testifying against him. Simply managing to stand uncomfortably close to Poehler without breaking for the entire length of this sketch would be a victory for most hosts, but McCain drove the jokey melodrama home with his creepy grin and weaselly line-readings. (“Shall I loofah your back?”) “McCain in One” (May 17, 2008) Two months after winning the Republican party nomination for president, the 72-year-old Senator addressed the nation from Rockefeller Center. “I ask you, what should we be looking for in our next president? Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old.” He went on to spoof his reputation as a political maverick by boasting about reducing Arizona’s length of paved roadway to less than 900 miles, and forcing residents of the state to drive to New Mexico if they want to mail a letter. McCain delivered the speech with a winning earnestness and subtle comic timing, proving once again that he understood the value of self-parody when it came to winning the hearts and minds of the American people. “John McCain and Sarah Palin do QVC” (Nov. 1, 2008) Three days before the presidential election, McCain returned — alongside Tina Fey as his much-mocked running mate, Sarah Palin — for one last SNL hurrah. In a send-up of Barack Obama’s expensive 30-minute campaign ad, which ran on several broadcast and cable networks, McCain and Fey’s Palin talked up their potential administration (and some quality products) for the QVC audience. With his good-natured sales pitches for things like “McCain’s Fine Gold” (featuring a cameo from Cindy McCain) and self-deprecating humor (“I’m a true maverick — a Republican without money”), the Senator held his own with comedy veteran Fey and generated plenty of laughs himself.<doc-sep>Paul Galanti, who was held as a POW with John McCain during the Vietnam War, recalls the ailing senator as "one of the most courageous men I’ve known, with a hilarious sense of humor" Ailing Sen. John McCain has received well wishes and tributes from friends and colleagues amid his decision to cease treatment for stage-four brain cancer. One notable salute comes from Paul Galanti, a former Navy pilot who was held alongside McCain in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Despite the fact that the two men shared the most difficult and traumatic period of their lives, Galanti remembers the future legislator as a beacon of strength — and wit. Get push notifications with news, features and more. “John McCain is an incredible guy,” Galanti tells PEOPLE. “He is one of the most courageous men I’ve known, with a hilarious sense of humor.” McCain, now 81, spent five years as a POW after his A-4 Skyhawk was shot down in October 1967 during a bombing run over Hanoi. Over the course of his internment, he was beaten, tortured, starved, and battled recurring bouts of dysentery. When he was finally freed in March 1973, McCain earned the dubious distinction of being the most injured pilot to have survived the North Vietnamese prison camps. RELATED VIDEO: Despite these extreme hardships, Galanti said it never diminished the spirit of the man known to his service buddies as “JSM” — John Sydney McCain. Decades later, he saw McCain’s sense of humor shine through in a somewhat unexpected manner. “Google ‘McCain Sings Streisand’ for one of the greatest skits in SNL history,” he says. “It’s hilarious.” barbara Barbra Streisand and John McCain. | Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis/Getty Images In the 2002 sketch, McCain pokes fun at Barbra Streisand‘s left-leaning political activism by crooning some of her best-known songs. “I’ve been in politics for over 20 years, and for over 20 years, I’ve had Barbra Streisand trying to do my job,” the senator quips in the skit. “So I decided to try my hand at her job.” Laughter aside, Galanti says he will never forget the man whose endurance and leadership made him an inspiration to other prisoners. “John McCain is one genuine tough guy,” he shares. In a statement released on Twitter on Friday, the McCain family explained that the politician — who was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with a median survival rate of just 15 months, in July 2017 — made the decision to stop medical treatment. “Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious,” the statement said. “In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.” “Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from John’s many friends and associated, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers,” the statement continued. “God bless and thank you all.” Daughter Meghan McCain, 33, tweeted the statement, adding, “My family is deeply appreciative of all the love and generosity you have shown us during this past year. Thank you for all your continued support and prayers. We could not have made it this far without you – you’ve given us strength to carry on.”<doc-sep>Threaded throughout his performances was a certain lack of egotism. McCain never minded being the butt of a joke, if it was funny enough. Take his short cameo in “Parks and Recreation,” in which he is entirely blown off by Amy Poehler’s downtrodden Leslie Knope. The crux of the joke is that Knope completely snubs McCain, without ever realizing who he is.<doc-sep>
After a courageous battle with brain cancer, John McCain passed away last night at the age of 81. While senators, presidents, journalists and other dignitaries have spent much of last night and this morning celebrating and remembering John McCain, so has Saturday Night Live, where McCain hosted in 2002 and made several cameos over the years, most notably by appearing on the show three days before the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama. On that November 1st, 2008 appearance, John McCain appeared in the cold open, wherein he practically conceded to Obama while also standing alongside Tina Fey as she took McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin to the comedy cleaners. It was an extraordinary sketch for the way in which he reminded us of McCain’s sense of humor while not-to-subtly distancing himself from his running mate in the final days of the campaign. As politicians go, McCain was not only funny, but he had a great sense of humor about himself. On “Weekend Update” on the episode before the election, McCain also tested out some new campaign strategies, like The Maverick, The Double Maverick, The Sad Grandpa, and The Forrest Gump. Meanwhile, here he is months before that 2008 election encouraging the Democrats not to make a decision between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and just put them both on the November ballot, or maybe “kick the tires” on John Edwards again. Not all of his humor was political. Take, for instance, this spectacular 2002 sketch in which McCain played a stalker in a Lifetime movie. In the wake of his death, John Mulaney took to Twitter to remind the world just how funny McCain was, recalling a moment in that episode a few days before the 2008 election. SNL meeeting after dress rehearsal. McCain was on (a week before 2008 election) Sudeikis said “Where the fuck do I stand” during notes on a sketch then apologized for swearing when he realized McCain was behind him. McCain immediately: “Jesus Christ, I was in the Navy.” — John Mulaney (@mulaney) August 26, 2018 NBC executive Rick Ludwin — the guy who greenlit Seinfeld — also recalled how gracious and generous he was after hosting SNL in 2002. Small memory of Sen John McCain. He hosted SNL. At an after-party he made a point of walking around to all the tables & shaking hands & chatting with cast & writers + our NBC late night staff! He didn't have to do it. But we've never forgotten it. I'm glad I got to meet him. — Rick Ludwin (@riclud) August 26, 2018 Composer Katreese Barnes also recalls the “privilege” of writing arrangements for a John McCain sketch in which he hilariously performed Barbara Streisand songs. I had the privilege of writing these arrangements for this #SNL sketch with John McCain. A life well lived #RIPJohnMcCain https://t.co/HrzEZTsLSb — Katreese Barnes (@KatreeseBarnes) August 26, 2018 John McCain will lie in state in both Arizona and Washington, D.C., before he is buried in the cemetery at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. May he rest in peace.