Steve Martin, seen here on May 21, 2016, at the...

Steve Martin, seen here on May 21, 2016, at the 75th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony in Manhattan. Credit: Getty Images / Ilya S. Savenok

"Saturday Night Live" has its Roger Stone, and he's familiar, also a legend, and a huge part of "SNL" history  plus he's a guy who could have easily hosted this year's Oscars since he's done it so many times.

Ignominy does have its benefits.

Steve Martin took the stage and the cold open in Saturday's James McAvoy-hosted edition, then easily stole the show (sorry, James) because Martin  by virtue of simply being Martin on this particularly famous stage  usually tends to do that.

He appeared in the last 45 seconds of the open, framed by "Tucker Carlson Tonight," while the prosthetics, glasses, pasted-on-eyebrows and swept back hair could still leave little doubt about who this was. And in the event there was, Martin-as-Stone closed with  "I'm just a normal and straightforward guy," while leaning back and poking the air with both index fingers.

Georg Festrunk returns too!

(Ignominy does indeed have its benefits.)

Trump adviser Stone was arrested at his home in Florida Friday morning on seven felony counts, which gave "SNL" just enough material, and time, to turn around this notable cameo. To date, Stone has largely avoided "SNL's" attention for the simple reason that most viewers have no idea who he is. The arrest gave "SNL" all it needed, although a quick Google search on Stone gave it some more, most of which made it into "Weekend Update." (Check that out here, and caution  the language is a little raw, but then so were the old scandals.)   

Upon arrest, Stone flashed the old Nixon "V" for victory sign, which also gave Martin his opening line: "What a fun couple of days. I'm lovin' the ride. Go Nixon!"

Martin and "SNL" go back to the franchise's earliest days. He was a host (with musical guest Kinky Friedman) in the second season, one of the first members of the "Five Timers Club" (those who had hosted five times), and to date has hosted a total of 15 times, surpassed only by Alec Baldwin (you know him as President Donald Trump) who's held the stage 17 times.

Stone is a bit of a departure for Martin, however, who doesn't do a lot of characters  his season 5 Pope John Paul II comes immediately to mind. But as a longtime FOL ("Friend of Lorne"), he too has now been summoned to impersonate protagonists in the ongoing Trump dramedy. Others include Robert De Niro (as Robert Mueller), Ben Stiller (Michael Cohen) and John Goodman (Rex Tillerson).

By the way, had it not been for Martin, Kate McKinnon would have easily heisted Saturday's open. She portrayed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as a dome-headed, ice-blooded plutocrat who had no idea why furloughed federal workers were having a difficult time. (Last week he suggested they could get low-interest loans).

McKinnon/Ross: "Even if they sold a lesser Picasso, that’s still going to get you through a week or two of yacht maintenance."

FLASH SALE

$1 FOR ONE YEAR

Unlimited Digital Access

SUBSCRIBE NOW >>Cancel anytime - new subscribers only