Mr. Bill is a clay figurine star of a parody of children's entertainment created byNew Orleans native Walter Williams in 1975.[1][2] The Mr. Bill showing got its start onSaturday Night Live as a series ofSuper 8 films sent in response to the show's request for home movies during thefirst season.[3] Mr. Bill's first appearance occurred on the February 28, 1976 episode.[citation needed] After five submitted films, Williams became a full-time writer for the show in1978 and wrote more than 20 sketches based on Mr. Bill.[citation needed]Each Mr. Bill episode started innocently but quickly turned dangerous for Mr. Bill and his dog Spot. He would suffer various indignities inflicted by "Mr. Hands",[4] a man seen only as a pair of hands (originally performed byVance DeGeneres).[5] Sometimes the abuse came from Sluggo, another clay character, which Mr. Hands usually jokingly brands as one of Mr. Bill's "best friends".[citation needed] A running gag in the sketches is whenever Sluggo would make his appearance, Mr. Bill would get worried and say, "He's gonna be mean to me!", to which Mr. Hands often gives him reassurance by responding with, "No!".[citation needed] The violence inevitably escalated, generally ending with Mr. Bill being crushed or dismembered while squealing "Ohhhh noooooooooooooo!" in afalsetto voice.[citation needed]
The concept for Mr. Hands came from Williams' observation that children's cartoons in the 1970s were sostatic, he expected the artist's hands to enter the screen at any moment and physically start moving the drawings around.[6]
InitialSaturday Night Live sketches featuring Mr. Bill were self-contained episodes with no direct continuity, with the earliest installments featuring higher-pitched character voices.[citation needed] After Walter Williams joinedSNL's writing staff in 1978, Mr. Bill formally moved toNew York at the start of the season. Later sketches saw Mr. Bill become aware of Mr. Hands and Sluggo's mistreatment, withthe 1979–80 season harboring an extended story arc where Mr. Bill lost his home, soughtpsychiatric help, attempted to get Mr. Hands and Sluggo arrested, and was ultimately thrown into prison.
Williams leftSaturday Night Live after that season, but Mr. Bill returned for a Christmas short film inDecember 1980, as well as the sixth-season finale, where guestChevy Chase found Mr. Bill in a garbage can.[citation needed] The last Mr. Bill sketch onSNL aired early inthe 1981–1982 season, where Mr. Bill moved toLos Angeles.[citation needed] AfterSNL, Mr. Bill has appeared on numerous other television programs and advertisements, including regular new sketches on theUSA Network seriesNight Flight in the 1980s and theFox Family Channel seriesOhh Nooo! Mr. Bill Presents in the 1990s.[citation needed]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mr. Bill" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The character's popularity spawned the 1986 live-action Showtimetelevision filmMr. Bill's Real Life Adventures, withPeter Scolari as Mr. Bill.[10]
A new Mr. Bill short film entitledMr. Bill Goes To Washington premiered in theaters in 1993, preceding the movieErnest Rides Again. The short, which sees Mr. Bill elected asPresident of the United States, was also featured on theErnest Rides Again home video release.[citation needed]
Two new Mr. Bill home videos were released in the mid-1990s featuring new content, including 1996's"Ohh Nooo!!! It's Mr. Bill's 20th Anniversary",[11] and 1997 straight-to-videoHo Ho Noooooo!!! It's Mr. Bill's Christmas Special!, the latter featuring a guest appearance by former SNL contributorDon Novello asFather Guido Sarducci.
AndMr. Bill's Real Life Adventures is a clunker Showtime special starring Peter Scolari as a real-life version of the ever-clobbered 10-inch clay character of long-agoSaturday Night Live fame.