Dan Aykroyd Praises ‘SNL’ 50th Anniversary Special as ‘Triumphant’ Following His Absence

Dan Aykroyd might not have been on hand for Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary special, but it still got his stamp of approval.

The 72-year-old was among the founding members of the late-night sketch comedy show in 1975 and left many fans confused when he did not join his fellow alums in New York City on Sunday, Feb. 16 for the star-studded three-hour anniversary special.

He acknowledged his absence days later in a Feb. 19 post on X as he congratulated everyone involved in the anniversary show, calling it “triumphant.”

“Advantage of not attending – got to see every second of concert and show on TV,” he wrote, referring to Friday’s Radio City concert, which featured sketches and performances by Lady Gaga, Cher, Miley Cyrus and more. 

“Quote from my children: ‘Look at daddy’s smile!’ Had it from start to finish.”

Aykroyd concluded the post with a message of congratulations for SNL creator Lorne Michaels. “Well done as usual.”

The Blues Brothers star, who was on SNL from 1975-1979, never explicitly addressed his absence from the weekend’s festivities, but he did reflect on the major moment for the show in another tweet on the day of the Radio City concert, which he called “as historical as the next moon landing.”

“Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago,” he wrote.

“Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America’s greatest living impresario, my boss Lorne Michaels. People it’s friggin’ Holy!!”

A rep for the comedian told Variety that he had “prior commitments” and thus, was unable to attend the festivities.

Aykroyd was not the only face missing from the SNL50 extravaganza. Bill Hader was another alum that fans missed, and his rep told PEOPLE that he “had a longstanding schedule conflict.” Additionally, Dana Carvey‘s rep told PEOPLE he had a “bad flu and could not travel” and thus, missed the show.

Also missing was former “Weekend Update” host Colin Quinn and Dick Ebersol, the NBC executive who gave co-creator Michaels the opportunity to create the show in 1975.

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Many of the original members of SNL did show up to the milestone event to celebrate, including Larraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Chevy Chase.

At the end of the show, Newman and Curtin made a poignant effort to honor the late Gilda Radner, who died from ovarian cancer at 42 in 1989, as they held up a framed photo of her for the cameras to see.