Wave Wire Services
HOLLYWOOD — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled June 22 honoring Molly Shannon for a television career highlighted by six seasons as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member.
Will Ferrell and Connie Britton joined Shannon at the ceremony at 6765 Hollywood Blvd., near Highland Avenue and the Hollywood Wax Museum.
Shannon reflected on her career during the ceremony, saying perseverance was essential to succeeding in entertainment.
“Yes, there is a lot of rejection in show business, and many people will make you doubt yourself, until one day, you get on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and become a superstar,” Shannon said, referencing the catchphrase of her nerdy Catholic schoolgirl character, Mary Katherine Gallagher. “Then they’ll finally shut their mouth, except for asking you to get them tickets. … Getting a star means so much to me. Dreams do come true.”
Shannon’s star is next to Ferrell’s. They were castmates throughout her time on “Saturday Night Live.” She joined the cast of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series at the start of the 1995-96 season, the same season as Ferrell, and left in the midst of the 2000-01 season.
Shannon and Ferrell portrayed eccentric broadcasters Tish Cattigan and Cord Hosenbeck in coverage of the Rose Parade in 2018 and 2019 for Prime Video and the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for HBO.
Ferrell joked about the significance of the honor while speaking at the ceremony.
“And as important as this is to you, this is Hollywood, kid. This is big time. This is big,” Ferrell said. “Photographers, livestreams, people eating sandwiches, watching this on their computers in their cubicles, going, ‘I didn’t know that.’ … This is big.”
Ferrell ended his remarks on a more heartfelt note, praising Shannon’s talent and perseverance throughout her career.
“So, to you, Molly, I give you a small tip of a tiny chapeau and say, ‘You really are a superstar.’ Congratulations. I love you,” Ferrell said.
The ceremony came in advance of the July 16 premiere of the Netflix comedy series “The Hawk,” which stars Ferrell as 2004’s best golfer attempting a return to greatness, with Shannon portraying his ex-wife.
Shannon and Britton were castmates in the 2015 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” the 2020 black comedy thriller film “Promising Young Woman” and two 2021 episodes of the HBO black comedy-drama anthology series “The White Lotus.”
After recalling how Shannon brought joy to her son with her “SNL” characters, Britton said the actress has had the same effect on millions of viewers through her work “with the incredible characters that you played, and continue to play, all of whom are so knowable, so accessible, and full of human heart and soul, so that we see ourselves.”
Born Sept. 16, 1964 in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Shannon graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1987. She moved to Los Angeles after graduation, performed at the Upfront Comedy Theater in Santa Monica and worked as a hostess at the Cravings restaurant in West Hollywood and demonstrated food at the Marina Del Rey Gelson’s supermarket.
Shannon made her movie debut in the 1989 horror film remake of “The Phantom of the Opera” and her television debut in a 1991 episode of the ABC surrealist mystery horror drama “Twin Peaks.”
Shannon was hired as a featured player on “Saturday Night Live” in February 1995, replacing Janeane Garofalo, who had left mid-season.
In addition to Mary Katherine Gallagher, Shannon was known on “Saturday Night Live” for characters such as licensed “joyologist” Helen Madden. She also portrayed Courtney Love, Liza Minnelli, Monica Lewinsky, Melania Trump, Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna.
Shannon received an Emmy nomination for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program in 2000, losing to Eddie Izzard for his work in his HBO special, “Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill.”
Shannon received outstanding guest actress in a comedy series Emmy nominations in 2013 for her recurring role as the shy assistant to mysterious Abaddonn Industries CEO Charles Szidon (James Rebhorn) on HBO’s comedy-drama “Enlightened,” and in 2018 for her recurring role as unhinged, eccentric neighbor Val Bassett on NBC’s “Will & Grace.”
Shannon’s other television credits include the recurring role of movie producer Bev Melon on Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” “Seinfeld,” “Sex and the City” and “Glee.”
Shannon starred as her Mary Katherine Gallagher character in the 1999 film “Superstar.” Her other film credits include “Other People,” which brought her an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting actress, “A Good Person,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Year of the Dog” and “Never Been Kissed.”
