"I what?" — Martin Short recalls the time he called Paul McCartney 'Tony' on SNL, thanks to Fred Armisen

The Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special was a ceremony to remember. The show aired on February 16, 2025. Some of the biggest names in the American film and music industry were present that night. The guest list was star-studded as well as too long.

Among the several hosts were Martin Short and Fred Armisen. No doubt they are amazing actors, but they are great comedians, too. However, Armisen is an actor who enjoys playing little tricks with their friends. And he did the same with Short.

Martin Short recently appeared in one of the episodes of Amy Poehler's podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, and revealed an extremely funny incident that took place on the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special. Fred Armisen played a little prank on Short. Armisen very convincingly managed to make Short believe that he made an embarrassing mistake while ending the show.

Right after Short ended his sign-off speech, Armisen told him:

"Why did you call Paul McCartney Tony McCartney?"

To which Martin Short replied:

"I said, 'I what? What?' 'Did I?'"

You can check out Amy Poehler's podcast below, in which Martin Short narrates the funny incident. Just start watching from 26:26.

Later on, Martin Short shared the incident with Bill Hader, who eventually told Fred Armisen. After a few days, Armisen got in touch with Short, saying:

"Sorry — I thought you knew that was a joke."

However, it was not the first time Fred Armisen was pranking him. Martin revealed that Armisen would often pretend to fall asleep whenever he would pass his dressing room. Amy Poehler, who has also been a part of SNL, shared how Armisen would joke with her by sending her long texts. Poehler said:

"Fred used to send me long texts about his flight schedule. Like when he was arriving, what airport, what time to get picked up, as if I was picking him up from the airport."

Then she added:

"He is so deeply funny. He also does a bit that I love where, if you haven't seen him for a long time, at a party, and you go, 'Hey Fred!' he goes, 'Hi, how are you?' He pretends you're just a fan bothering him. He's so funny. He loves a bit."

Fred Armisen is not only an established comedian but is also a musician and writer. He is widely known for his funny, eccentric roles in movies and TV series. He is also quite popular for co-creating comedy series like Portlandia and Moonbase 8.