SNL's Stuart Smalley: Al Franken's Affirmations Guru Was Based on a Real Guy
Al Franken originally wrote the self-help-obsessed character for Mike Myers.
If the phrase "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me" sounds familiar, you've likely seen Saturday Night Live's classic recurring sketches starring Stuart Smalley, host of the Daily Affirmations talk show. Created and portrayed by Al Franken, the well-intentioned self-help guru was so popular in the early 1990s, he made 19 appearances on the show over the course of the decade.
With his dyed blond hair, fuzzy cardigans, and self-serious sincerity, Stuart Smalley was hard to take seriously. But his satirical take on therapy speak clearly struck a chord with some SNL viewers — Stuart Smalley even got his own book and movie! — and moments with celebrity hosts in the sketches took a turn for the sweet at times (as in his sketch with adorable 11-year-old Macaulay Culkin above).
And as over the top as he was, Franken's character was inspired by a real man the writer and sometime cast member had met not far from SNL's home in 30 Rock.
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Stuart Smalley was created and played by Al Franken
Al Franken's long relationship with SNL dates back to the very first season, when he was one of the show's first writers. He initially joined the cast as a Featured Player from 1979-1980, exiting after Season 5 alongside creator Lorne Michaels. When Michaels returned to Saturday Night Live in 1985 at the start of Season 11 — aka "the weird year" — Franken also returned as a writer and producer. After making one credited appearance as a Featured Player in Season 12, Franken returned as a Featured Player, writer, and producer in Season 14, remaining through Season 20 in 1995.
Franken's Stuart Smalley made his first appearance in Season 16, Episode 12, hosted by Kevin Bacon. He made subsequent returns soon after, sharing sketches with celebrity Hosts like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Martin Lawrence, or with cast playing headline-making figures in other segments.
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Al Franken based Stuart Smalley on a man he met at a 12-step meeting
During a January 2025 interview with Cracked, Franken shared that Stuart Smalley was inspired by a person he met at an Al-Anon meeting he attended near Rockefeller Center back then. Saying he got a lot out of the meetings at the time, he added that "there’d be people who I’d judge as not being smart, and then they’d say something that was kind of brilliant, or it made me realize something about myself."
"That was the case when there was a guy somewhat like Stuart who said he was happy that a higher power put a new apartment in his life. That struck me as funny, and I thought of this guy as kind of ridiculous," Franken told Cracked. "Then, a couple of weeks later, he said something that was profoundly important to me, and it made me think a lot about myself. From that I said, 'Oh, I get it, you can learn stuff from everyone.'"
Stuart Smalley was almost played by Mike Myers
Despite his major roles behind the scenes at SNL, Franken didn't typically star in sketches — which might've been why he originally wrote Stuart with prominent cast member Mike Myers in mind.
"I originally wrote it for Mike Myers, but we tried it in read-through and it didn’t work," Franken told Cracked. "I can’t remember if Lorne (Michaels) told me to try it myself, or I said that. Either way, there was no resistance to it; so I started doing Stuart."
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Stuart Smalley got his own movie, Stuart Saves His Family
After four years of sketches on SNL, Smalley Fever reached its pitch in 1995 with the release of the feature film Stuart Saves His Family. Written by and starring Franken and directed by Harold Ramis — who helmed Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day – it took Stuart into the real world, introducing viewers to his surprising backstory. Watch the trailer below.
Watch "Daily Affirmations" sketches, and every episode of Saturday Night Live, on Peacock anytime.
