Jim Carrey hosted the final show of the 1995-96 season, the 21st season. The show aired on Saturday May 19, 1996, just one day before Jimmy's 88th birthday.
The sketch where Carrey impersonates Jimmy occurred during the "The Joe Pesci Show" sketch, which was a reoccurring "talk-show" type sketch featuring Jim Breuer impersonating Joe Pesci's character from Goodfellas. Most of the humor from these sketches involves the talk show host's "mob connections" and penchant for stabbing people, just like the character from Goodfellas. All of these sketches - including this one - usually contain several uses of Italian stereotypes, which I don't find very funny. Here's how the sketch went:
At the start of the sketch, Joe Pesci announces that his first guest is his "boyhood idol" Jimmy Stewart.
Jim Carrey walks out as a frail Jimmy.
"Hello, Johnny", says Jim Carrey (as Jimmy)
Jim Carrey then pulls out a piece of paper and announces he has a poem to recite, just like Jimmy Stewart used to do on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.
I didn't think anyone in the audience would remember that, but I guess they did because there were huge laughs at this and throughout the sketch.
Then Joe Pesci announces his next guest is Jim Carrey, and out comes Mark McKinney impersonating Jim Carey's "Ace Ventura" character, in costume. It's funny to see the Ace Ventura character next to Jim Carrey and how they interact.
"Smoke alot of dope, do you, son?" asks Jimmy Stewart of Ace Ventura.
Ace Ventura then does a mean-spirited impression of Jimmy Stewart which causes Joe Pesci to take out his baseball bat and clobber him. Jimmy Stewart says he doesn't like "gratuitous violence" and Joe Pesci responds by clobbering him over the head, too.
He gets up, and Pesci attempts to hit him again but Jimmy grabs the bat.
"Hey Harvey! Get Him!", shouts Jimmy Stewart.
"Who's Harvey?" says Joe Pesci, looking around.
Jimmy Stewart then clobbers him with a baseball bat several times,
including once in the crotch.
Then he comes after the cameraman, hits the camera, and says,
"Never underestimate the power of the elderly!"
and he walks off the set singing "Happy Birthday to me!"
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I remember watching the show back then (and I was a huge Jimmy Stewart fan even back then) and was really surprised that he was mentioned on the show. It's kind of a stupid sketch, really. And vulgar (I don't think Mr. Stewart would like it) I supposed kudos could go to the writers for giving Jimmy a little nod and letting the public know he was still around. Also I always like seeing Jim Carrey do Stewart. He did him once before on
In Living Color.
Jimmy passed away the following year in 1997.
