I would have to sing, dance, scream and kiss a man: When Chris Evert described her experience doing Saturday Night Live
Chris Evert appeared on the TV show Saturday Night Live back in 1989, shortly after her retirement.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion spoke about her experience doing the show during an interview with Bob Costas in 1990.
Chris Evert spoke about how she had to talk to Saturday Night Live's creator Lorne Michaels several times on the phone as she wasn't sure how she would perform.
"Well, Lorne Michaels had to talk to me on the phone several times because I talked to him and I said 'I'm not quite sure that I can wing this because I've seen your many, many times and I don't know if I can give out what these entertainers give out'. I said 'I might fall on my face and completely make a fool of myself', and he goes 'Good, that's what we want, that's what everybody does, you have to laugh at yourself'", Evert said.
The former World No. 1 said she realized on her first day that she would have to do things that were a stretch for her. This included singing, dancing, screaming obscenities and kissing other men.
"So, I tried it and I realized the first day that I would have to sing, I would have to dance, I would have to scream an obscenity and I would have to kiss a man who wasn't my husband, and that was a stretch for me. I did those things everyday and then, two rehearsals and the show," Evert added.
Chris Evert on how her husband helped her in rehearsals for Saturday Night Live
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion also spoke about rehearsing an intimate scene with actor Dana Carvey and how they were very uncomfortable about it.
She said that her then-husband Andy Mill helped them prepare for the scene by demonstrating what needed to be done, after which the atmosphere was more relaxed.
"Andy, my husband, he was great. I was supposed to kiss Dana (Carvey) and we weren't getting it right, we were rehearsing a lot but weren't getting it right. He had to throw me on the bed and start smooching me all over my face and my neck, and we were very uncomfortable, it was very awkward. So, Andy took me and he threw me on the bed, he goes 'Dana, this is how it's done', and he threw me on the bed. After that, the air was cleared and Dana did it very well," Chris Evert said.