Who is Peter Aykroyd? Saturday Night Live airs tribute card
The first thing that is worth noting here is simply that Peter had an invaluable impact on the series as a former featured player. He was only a part of the series for one season starting in 1979, but he made contributions on the series as an actor and a writer. Beyond the show, he also appeared in such work as The New Avengers and Java Junkie. He is the brother of actor Dan Aykroyd, who also holds a very important place within SNL lore and is likely known best for The Blues Brothers.
In a post on Twitter, you can see via the show’s official account one notable sketch he was a part of in “The Java Junkie.” It’s a unique sketch that relies on black-and-white scenery and has a very different look and feel from what you’re accustomed to within the SNL world.
Tribute cards are in general a fantastic way for shows to honor those who came before. They will be a part of all subsequent airings, and they can offer a sense of healing to those who knew and loved the person who is no longer with us. In this case, it also serves as a way to tell us, unfortunately, that Peter Aykroyd is no longer with us. Saturday Night Live has long done a great job of paying tribute to those they’ve lost, whether it be cast members, people who were a part of the crew, or even studio executives. They understand that their viewers have often been watching for decades, and they may have many fond memories of the people being spotlighted.
Our thoughts go out to Peter Aykroyd’s friends and family during what has to be a very difficult time. We hope that this title card allows for more people to go back and discover some of his work. (Photo: NBC.)