WhenTom HankshostedSaturday Night Livein October 2016, he had a cheap Halloween suit, four-and-a-half minutes, and his charming personality, which was all he needed to create a new iconic character. That episode’s “Haunted Elevator” sketch introduced the world to a mysterious character named David S. Pumpkins, whose bizarre appearances lead to hilarious questioning from the ride’s guests.
The comedy sketch became one of the best of that decade and even the show (which started its 50th season this year) in general. Tom Hanks’s character has made many more appearances, inspired Halloween costumes, and received his own merchandise. Here’s a look back at the character’s creation and what’s happened since the original sketch aired.
The Birth of David S. Pumpkins
Saturday Night Live
The original David S. Pumpkinssketch was writtenby Mikey Day, Streeter Seidell, and Bobby Moynihan.Moynihan and Day played the sketch’s dancing skeletons alongside Tom Hanks’s David S. Pumpkins. Streeter Seidell and Mikey Day are regular writing partners and wrote a sketch with similar execution the same year.
In one of Larry David’s season 41 sketches, David plays a character named Kevin Roberts, who keeps making bizarre appearances in an FBI simulator. The sketch’s FBI trainees can’t make heads or tails of Roberts’s importance within the simulator, which is very similar to the David S. Pumpkins sketch that would air that Halloween.Like David S. Pumpkins, Kevin Roberts also wears a cheap orange suit, shouts random catchphrases, and dances. Bobby Moynihan also appears in the sketch.
Odd suits are a staple of Mikey Day’s comedy. In aninterview with Vulturebehind the creation of the sketch, Day said, “Normal names in insane situations and dumb suits are funny.” When writing the David S. Pumpkins character, Day and Seidell came up with a vision in their heads of what he looked like, then they coordinated withSNL’s costume department to buy a matching suit.
The dancing in the sketch was inspired by a clip from the movieAdhisaya Piravi, where an actor breakdances to a remix of Madonna’s “Holiday.“Theclip was uploadedto YouTube in 2006 as “Little Superstar,” and that song became the inspiration for the music used in “Haunted Elevator.” This was not the first ofSNL’s references to the viral video, as Fred Armisen played the breakdancer in the 2007 Scarlett Johansson episode.
There were some ideas for the sketch that didn’t make it to air.Seidell and Day originally wanted David S. Pumpkins to break-dance, but Tom Hanks said he didn’t know how. The writers also wanted Lady Gaga, the episode’s musical guest, to make an appearance as Mrs. David S. Pumpkins, but she was already busy with her musical performances for the night.
How the Sketch Became Iconic
With hundreds of sketches airing each season, it’s hard for a sketch to cement itself in popular culture.A sketch needs humor, imagery, and catchphrasesthat remain in viewers' minds, so it’s not forgotten by the time the next episode comes out. The “Haunted Elevator” sketch had all of that.
The sketch features Beck Bennett and Kate McKinnon entering a ride called “Tower of Terror,“which is supposed to show horrific characters. Instead, Bennett and McKinnon keep seeing David S. Pumpkinsand his two dancing skeletons, and most of the humor comes from the couple questioning why he’s there. “The scariest thing to the mind is the unknown,” Kenan Thompson’s elevator worker tells them.
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Throughout the sketch, Tom Hanks says many iconic lines. He first introduces himself, saying, “I’m David Pumpkins, and I’m going to scare the hell out of you” (which could also be a reference tothis classic Stephen King trailer).When Beck Bennett and Kate McKinnon ask if David S. Pumpkins is from something, he replies that he’s “his own thing.“The majority of his appearances also end with him frustrating the confused riders by asking his classic line, “Any questions?” Even more infectious than any of these lines, however, is the image of Tom Hanks in a pumpkin suit with finger guns out and arms crossed, smiling as two skeletons dance to the sketch’s silly song.
What Has David S. Pumpkins Been Up To?
Since “Haunted Elevator” aired, David S. Pumpkins has made a few more appearances. In the Season 42 finale, Tom Hanksmade a brief appearancein the digital short “Rap Song,” which was centered around the idea of too many rappers being introduced as features on a song.Hanks is humorously introduced as “David S. Pimpkins,” and the character sports an orange fuzzy hat and coat, as well as two guns.
A year after “Haunted Elevator,“NBC airedan animated Halloween specialfocusing on David S. Pumpkins. The special was written by Mikey Day, Streeter Seidell, and Bobby Moynihan. Hanks, Day, and Moynihan all reprised their roles from the original sketch, and Seidell voiced one of the special’s villains. The special plays off tropes of other holiday specials, with David S. Pumpkins being a magical man trying to teach children about the meaning of Halloween. Peter Dinklage played the rhyming narrator of the story, and the special features an original song as well.
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In 2021, the “Haunted Elevator” sketch received a sequel titled “David Pumpkins Returns,” which Jack Harlow hosted. In trueSNLfashion,the sequel sketch plays out mostly the same as the originalwith Tom Hanks, Mikey Day, Bobby Moynihan, and Kenan Thompson all doing the same jokes as before, but Jack Harlow, Ego Nwodim, and Andrew Dismukes play the ride’s attendants this time.
The character also has a life outside of TV.In 2023, David S. Pumpkins could be found at Universal Studios, where he was a character in the Halloween Horror Nights events. He has been featured in merchandise including T-shirts, mugs, and Funko Pops. For those in need of a quirky and simple costume, novelty stores like Spirit Halloween sell replica suits, allowing people to dress as the iconic character.StreamSNLon Peacock.
