John Belushi's "March Comes in Like a Lion" Bit Is a Weekend Update Classic
The Not Ready for Prime Time Player visited Chevy Chase's news desk to have some fun with language in the Season 1 sketch.
"Weekend Update" has evolved many times over Saturday Night Live's 50 seasons — the fake news broadcast even switched up titles and anchors during Lorne Michaels' five-year departure in the early 1980s — but a few parts of its winning formula have endured. The segment remains an excellent place for cast to introduce themselves, in all their quirky, creative glory, to viewers at home. Just as it was in Season 1, when John Belushi swung by Chevy Chase's "Update" desk to share his take on a weather report.
"Last week we made the comment that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb," Chase said, introducing the segment in 1976. "Now here to reply is our chief meteorologist, John Belushi, with a seasonal report."
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Belushi's subsequent commentary is as all-over-the-place as March weather so often is.
John Belushi's "March comes in a like a lion" bit was a blueprint for future "Weekend Update" guests
"Well, another winter is almost over, and March true to form has come in like a lion, and hopefully will go out like a lamb," Belushi said. "At least that’s how March works here in the United States. But did you know that March behaves differently in other countries?"
"In Norway, for example, March comes in like a polar bear and goes out like a walrus. Or, take the case of Honduras where March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a salt marsh harvest mouse," Belushi, an apparent fount of (fake) language facts, continues.
"Let’s compare this to the Maldive Islands where March comes in like a wildebeest and goes out like an ant. A tiny, little ant about thiiis big," he added, before going on to insist that in South Africa, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a different lion. Like one has a mane, and one doesn’t have a mane."
Before Chase can reign him in, Belushi begins to ramp up in excitement over the many animal-specific March weather metaphors around the globe.
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"And there’s a country where March hops in like a kangaroo, and stays a kangaroo for a while, and then it becomes a slightly smaller kangaroo. Then, then, then for a couple of days it’s sort of a cross between a, a frilled lizard and a common house cat," he goes on. "Wait wait wait wait! Then it changes back into a smaller kangaroo, and then it goes out like a, like a wild dingo. Now, now, and it’s not Australia! Now, now, you’d think it would be Australia, but it’s not!"
"Now look, pal! I know a country where March comes in like an emu and goes out like a tapir. And they don’t even know what it means, alright? Now listen, there are nine different countries, where March comes in like a frog, and goes out like a golden retriever. But that’s not the weird part! No, no, the weird part is, is the frog—the frog — the weird part is..."
And then Belushi's visit abruptly ends, in a moment that somewhat mirrors the very first SNL sketch, "Wolverines." Watch "John Belushi on March Weather" from Season 1 above, and stream all 50 seasons of Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
SNL writer Alan Zweibel donated the original script to the National Comedy Center archives
Alan Zweibel, an original SNL writer who worked on the show from 1975-1980 — famously hired after Lorne Michaels scouted his comedy act and approached him at the bar — donated the typed pages of his script to the National Comedy Center Archives. The gift was made alongside his wife, Robin Zweibel, who met Alan Zweibel while working in production during SNL's early years.
The National Comedy Center shared photos of the artifact on Facebook to mark John Belushi's birthday on January 24, 2022. Check them out here.
