Amy Poehler recalls comment from Jon Hamm that turned a tragic moment into one of laughter
Leave it to Jon Hamm to cause such a big laugh that you go into labor — at least that’s what might have happened to Amy Poehler on “Saturday Night Live” years ago.
During a recent episode of her podcast, “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” the “Parks and Recreation” actor recalled Hamm turning her tears into hysteric laughter over 15 years ago.
Discussing the moment with guest Paul Rudd, Poehler said she was pregnant while rehearsing Hamm’s “SNL” hosting debut show, which was set to air live Oct. 25, 2008, the day before she was planning to give birth to her first son, Archie.
“I was supposed to deliver the baby on Sunday, so I thought I was going to do the show on Saturday and deliver the baby the next day like a true psycho,” Poehler told Rudd.
Set to be in about nine sketches in the show, Poehler said they rehearsed all day that Friday, and she was “still feeling pretty good.”
Then, she received a call with tragic news.
“We were shooting like a ‘Mad Men’ pre-tape. I get a call that my OB-GYN has passed away,” she explained. “A wonderful doctor who was in his 80s, who was this incredible doctor.”
“He passed away, and I burst out crying on the phone,” she continued. “And when you see a very, very pregnant person hysterically crying, it’s very scary.”
After explaining that her OB-GYN died of a heart attack the night before, everyone became “really quiet” — before Hamm broke the silence.
“Hamm leans in, says to me, ‘This is a really big deal, and I need you to get your s— together. This is the first time I’m hosting, and I need you to f—ing … it’s a big week for me, you gotta pull it together.’”
“And I go from crying to laughing so hard that like squirt tears came out,” she recalled, saying she remembers “clapping and laughing” at how funny the moment was.
The “SNL” alum called Hamm’s reaction “a great example of like life is what you say it is, right? Life is what you make and what you say it is.”
“He made me laugh so hard, and I went into labor that night,” Poehler added. “And I think a lot of it was that.”
During a February episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Hamm recalled the same story from his perspective.
“Now this is Amy’s first child. She’s very nervous. She’s sitting next to me in the makeup chair and gets a phone call and immediately starts heaving sobbing,” Hamm said.
After Poehler returned from her phone call, Hamm described her as having a “tear-stained face” while she recounted the news.
“And, I said, ‘God, Amy, that’s really terrible, but you really need to pull it together because this is my first time hosting and you better bring it!’” Hamm said, calling his response a “big swing.”
“She immediately started laughing,” Hamm added. The “Mad Men” actor said the two shared a “big hug,” and Poehler had her first child that Saturday.
But, the birth caused Poehler to miss Hamm’s “SNL” debut, which he joked he “specifically warned her about.”
