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Cue cards, also known asnote cards,[1] are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used intelevision productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the audience. Cue cards are being used on many late night talk shows includingThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon andLate Night with Seth Meyers as well as variety and sketch comedy shows likeSaturday Night Live due to the practice of last-minute script changes.[2] Many other TV shows, including game and reality shows, use cue cards due to their mobility, as ateleprompter only allows the actor or broadcaster to look directly into the camera.
Cue cards were originally used to aid aging actors. One early use was byJohn Barrymore in the late 1930s.
Cue cards did not become widespread until 1949 when Barney McNulty,[3] aCBS page and former military pilot, was asked to write ailing actorEd Wynn's script lines on large sheets of paper to help him remember his script. McNulty volunteered for this duty because his training as a pilot taught him to write very quickly and clearly. McNulty soon saw the necessity of this concept and formed the company "Ad-Libs".[4] McNulty continued to beBob Hope's personal cue card man until he stopped performing. McNulty, who died in 2000 at the age of 77, was known in Hollywood as the "Cue-Card King".
Marlon Brando was also a frequent user of cue cards,[5] feeling that this helped bring realism and spontaneity to his performances, instead of giving the impression that he was merely reciting a writer's speech.[6][7] During production of the filmLast Tango in Paris, he had cue cards posted about the set, although directorBernardo Bertolucci declined his request to have lines written on actressMaria Schneider's rear end.[8] Tony Mendez became a minor celebrity for his cue card work on theLate Show with David Letterman.[9]
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Occasionally, cue cards are incorporated intomusic videos as an artistic element themselves, as, for example, byBob Dylan in his 1965 song "Subterranean Homesick Blues", by the Australian bandINXS in their 1987 song "Mediate",[10] by"Weird Al" Yankovic in his 2003 song "Bob" or by the German bandWir sind Helden in their 2005 song "Nur ein Wort [de]" (Just one word).[11]