Al Franken Based His Popular SNL Character Stuart Smoley On Folks He Met In Al Anon
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00:00 Stewart was for SNL, I will say, a very three-dimensional character.
00:07 Stewart was someone in recovery and in specifically his, I think, group of choice was
00:17 Al-Anon, which is for family members and friends of alcoholics. But he also go to OA
00:24 and CODA, Codependence Anonymous. He went to a number of 12-step programs and had found a lot of
00:32 wisdom and knowledge and comfort in the programs. And I had gone to Al-Anon meetings, which again,
00:40 for family members and friends of alcoholics, and had, you know, there'd be someone
00:45 sharing in a meeting and I'd hear them say, "Oh, you know,
00:52 I know the higher power put an apartment in my life because I was at a meeting."
00:56 Oh boy. But the next week at the same meeting, that guy would say something that just would hit
01:04 me very profoundly. And I go, "Oh, I see. You can learn stuff from anybody and just from other
01:12 people and don't judge people." And that helped me. And so I kind of designed Stewart after
01:20 a couple of people in the program and it really resonated with people. Now, some people thought,
01:29 I don't think, totally understood that I wasn't making fun of him, that I was trying to show
01:37 someone with a lot of vulnerability who was actually working through stuff in a almost,
01:44 in a courageous way, if sometimes a little confused.
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