With his everyman looks and highly professional announcer’s voice, comedic performer Chris Parnell was often cast as a utility player for NBC’s venerable “Saturday Night Live” – until he and fellow cast member Andy Samberg took the world by storm with their hilarious rap parody, “Lazy Sunday.” After this digital short aired in 2005, SNL switchboards were inundated with inquiries about both the rap and the white boy “rappers” who had taught unsuspecting viewers that nothing was more “crazy delicious” than Red Vines and Mr. Pibb soda.
Born Feb. 5, 1967 and raised in Memphis, TN, Parnell’s father worked as a professional voice-over artist for local radio and television commercials and programs. At the same time, a young Parnell developed a not-so-passing interest in “Saturday Night Live” (1975- ), often staying up late with his father to watch the show on a small black and white television set. In high school, the teen was already developing an interest in performing, including auditioning for school plays and announcing football games. It was after one stage show in particular, where he and a classmate played 10 different comedic characters to great effect, that Parnell cemented his decision to pursue comedy and acting as a career.
After graduation, Parnell attended North Carolina School of Arts in Winston-Salem, where he received a degree in drama. Soon thereafter, he hit the road, performing at the Berkshire Theater in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas. Not realizing the rigors of the acting profession, the young Parnell returned to his hometown and got a job at his own Germantown High School, teaching acting and film & video classes.
Despite the stability of his new life, the performing bug proved too strong for Parnell, who decided to take another stab at show business. After packing up and moving to Los Angeles, he worked days at a toy store and spent his nights attending classes at the famed Groundlings Comedy Theater– a proven testing ground for fledgling “SNL”-bound comics. Catching the eye of talent scouts on patrol, Parnell was asked to fly to New York to try out for his dream job at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Nailing the audition, he joined the “SNL” cast as a featured player in the fall of 1998. His first appearance was playing Bill Clinton prosecutor Kenneth Starr. After a successful test run, he was promoted to cast member a year later.
Over the summer of 2001, Parnell was mysteriously fired from the show, only to be re-hired in March of the following year. Scant mention was made for the reasons behind the brief parting of ways, although a few on-air gags made light of it – including a Parnell penned song which referred to producer Lorne Michaels liking him so much “he hired me twice.”
Upon his return, Parnell created his first recurring character, “Merv the Perv,” a tacky, overconfident flirt. Over the next several seasons, Parnell played a number of unique characters, ranging from Sen. Joe Lieberman infamously hot tubbing with guest Al Gore, to barfly Wayne Bloater spewing out corny jokes. Parnell also began showcasing his unlikely rap skills on Weekend Update, where he fantasized about relationships with guests Britney Spears, Kirsten Dunst and Jennifer Garner. His rap repertoire hit its crescendo, when on Dec. 17, 2005, the digital short “Lazy Sunday” aired live. On the surface, the short featured two ordinary guys describing a simple trip to the bakery followed by their glee at attending a matinee of the film, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” What made it the water cooler topic du jour was how hysterically sold these guys really were on their baker’s dozen cupcakes and Google maps – enough to hardcore rap about it on the streets of New York. “Sunday” soon turned up on the Internet, and after countless iTune downloads, became a cult classic into the next year.
Throughout his tenure on “SNL,” Parnell popped up in several bit parts on both the big and small screen. In 1996, he played a sales clerk in the holiday comedy “Jingle All the Way,” before appeared as a network executive in a 1997 episode of NBC’s “Seinfeld” entitled, “The Butter Shave.” He also played bit parts on NBC's “Caroline in The City” (1995-99), “Union Square” (1997-98), “Suddenly Susan” (1996-2000) and a 2001 episode of “Friends” – “The One With Rachel’s Date.” Back on the big screen, he had a small part in fellow SNL alum Tim Meadow’s film, “Ladies Man,” in 2000. His biggest feature film role thus far was as newscaster Garth Holliday in Will Ferrell’s comedy “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” in 2003.
Apart from his continued work on “SNL” Parnell developed a sitcom entitled “Thick and Thin,” featuring Jessica Capshaw as a formerly overweight woman, now thin and enjoying a new lease on life. He also had a small part in another Will Ferrell flick, the racing comedy, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” set for a summer 2006 release.