SNL's "Toonces the Driving Cat" Was Named After Jack Handey's Actual Pet
Steve Martin starred in this surreal first installment in a series when he hosted for his 11th time.
In the weeks leading up to February 16's three-hour 50th anniversary celebration on NBC, the team behind Saturday Night Live has selected one sketch from every single season — 50 seasons in 50 days — to reflect the show's rich legacy across five decades. Presenting the sketch chosen to represent Season 14: "Toonces the Driving Cat: Driver’s Test” starring Host Steve Martin along with cast members Victoria Jackson and Kevin Nealon.
Look out, Toonces! The famous Saturday Night Live cat who could drive (but not very well) crashed off his first cliff over three decades ago — and certainly used up all nine lives during his iconic run.
SNL aired the very first “Toonces, the Driving Cat” sketch on May 20, 1989 when Steve Martin returned as a Host for his 11th time in Season 14. Filmed like a classic sitcom, the sketches featured a real cat for the opening and closing credits as well as a puppet Toonces for the driving scenes.
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In “Toonces the Driving Cat: Driver’s Test,” Lyle (Martin) excitedly tells his wife Brenda (Victoria Jackson) that their pet cat can drive. “Honey! You won’t believe it, Toonces can drive a car!” he announces.
“Toonces, our cat?” Brenda asks.
Lyle and Brenda then hop in the car with Toonces behind the wheel. “See, I told you he could drive!” Lyle says just before Toonces drives them all right off a cliff.
“I thought you said he could drive?” Brenda asks her husband as they walk out of the wreckage.
“Well, I thought he could,” Lyle says. “I saw him up there fooling around with the steering wheel and I guess I just assumed he could drive.”
Brenda comforts her husband, telling him that “anybody would think that,” and then Toonces drives away without them.
“I guess he can drive!” Brenda says.
“Yeah!” Lyle adds. “Just not very well!”
Toonces’ adventures continue when he takes his driving test, which Lyle admits will be “pretty hard” for a cat since, ya know, he can’t read. Playing the role of the driving instructor, Kevin Nealon screams at Toonces to “look out” before he drives off yet another cliff.
Of course, no quirky ‘80s sitcom would be complete without a catchy theme song and Toonces has a classic one: “He drives around, all over the town. Toonces the Driving Cat! How does reach the pedals?”
“Toonces, the Driving Cat” became a recurring SNL sketch in the early ‘90s
During the early ‘90s, Toonces made several more appearances on SNL, with Dana Carvey taking over the role of Lyle after the very first sketch. Beyond his tendency to drive off cliffs, Toones’ story arc included a cat nemesis named Spunky and running down Flippy, the Flipping Chihuahua with a car.
By 1992, NBC even aired a primetime special based on SNL’s wild “Toonces” sketches. Today, Toonces still very much has a fanbase, as you can find his face printed all over t-shirts and hats.
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SNL writer Jack Handey named the Toonces sketch after his cat
The creative mastermind behind “Toonces, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car” would be Jack Handey, the SNL writer best known for his Deep Thoughts series.
Told Entertainment Weekly in 1992 that he and his wife lived in a Manhattan brownstone with their three cats: Toonces, a kitty named Mickey, and Spunky — who, you may remember, was Toonce’s archenemy in the SNL sketch series.
“Toonces” definitely holds a special place in Handey’s heart. When he was asked by Vice in 2013 to name his favorite sketch that he wrote on SNL, he said it was “probably a toss-up between ‘Anne Boleyn’ and ‘Toonces, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car.’”
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SNL alum Robert Smigel was also a big fan of that chaotic cat. During an interview on the Inside Late Night With Mark Malkoff podcast, Smigel said he was “obsessed with Toonces,” specifically the opening credits that used a real cat.
“I was so amused by it that I would literally run up to 17 where the offices were and videotape the pre-tape,” he said. “Whenever there was a pre-tape where they were using the real cat and manipulating it, and the cat just sitting around has no idea he’s in a comedy bit, to me this was the funniest thing in the whole world.”
Dana Carvey says Victoria Jackson was “great” for SNL’s “Toonces” sketches
During a 2024 interview on Fly on the Wall, Carvey’s podcast with David Spade, Jackson said she was “so happy” to be in all of the “Toonces” sketches. “It was a hit sketch and I didn’t have to do anything,” she laughed.
Carvey also shared that he has fond memories of doing the sketch with Jackson. “That was a great use of the character that you would play on the show often,” Carvey told her, calling the tone "sincere and sweet."
