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Comparison — left: Doyle-Murray in early 1979; right: actor (Bob Shaw?) in Sesame segment.
In this season 9 segment, the boater who is not Richard Belzer has long been identified here and elsewhere as Brian Doyle-Murray (looks to have originated here in November 2007). I had never questioned that ID previously; however, after watching this segment again recently, and now having more familiarity as to how Doyle-Murray actually looked at around that time, it occurs to me that is actually not him, but a different actor.
For comparison's sake, here's other footage I could think of and find online of Doyle-Murray from roughly around that time:
- Footage from 1974 of him and others (including Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Joe Flaherty, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis) behind the scenes of The National Lampoon Radio Hour.
- An SNL sketch from April 1978 (two months after the Sesame segment first aired) in which Doyle-Murray plays a hockey referee (appears at 0:22 and 1:28 marks).
- A couple of screenshots (from the One SNL a Day website) of Doyle-Murray from Kate Jackson's SNL monologue, February 1979: here and here.
Comparing to how Doyle-Murray looked at around that time: this actor's hair is longer in the back and he has less on top than Doyle-Murray, and he looks taller and doesn't appear to be as slight of build.
I've put out a feeler on another online community who might be a bit more knowledgeable about this era of comedy to see if maybe the guy in question is another identifiable figure from that sort-of comedy scene as Belzer and Doyle-Murray were. But in any event, the other boater is definitely not Brian Doyle-Murray. — Jesse (talk) 06:30, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
- UPDATE: Someone from the online community I consulted said they think the other boater is comedian Bob Shaw, linking to this clip of him doing stand-up from a 1976 special. I can definitely see the resemblance (hair, profile, etc.), and since Belzer was also a stand-up in the NY comedy scene at the time, it does make sense for the guy to be another comic. I do wish we knew more about the film (who directed, et al). — Jesse (talk) 03:18, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
- UPDATE II: Found a screenshot of Shaw (via r/seinfeldgifs) from the 1979 film Time After Time. — Jesse (talk) 03:48, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
