Leonard Pinth-Garnell

Leonard Pinth-Garnell was a recurring character played by Dan Aykroyd on the NBC late-night television show Saturday Night Live. Pinth-Garnell, always clad in a tuxedo and black tie, would lugubriously introduce a short performance of "Bad Conceptual Theater," "Bad Playhouse," "Bad Cinema," "Bad Opera," "Bad Ballet," "Bad Red Chinese Ballet," or "Bad Cabaret for Children," and then exult in its sheer awfulness. Aykroyd played the character nine times from 1977 through 1979, and returned for a single appearance in a 2001 show, introducing "Bad Conceptual Theater."

Some believe that Pinth-Garnell was loosely based on the longtime PBS Masterpiece Theater host Alistair Cooke.

Pinth-Garnell's catchphrases include:

• "Stunningly bad!"
• "Monumentally ill-advised!"
• "Perfectly awful!"
• "Couldn't be worse!"
• "Exquisitely awful!"
• "Astonishingly ill-chosen!"

See also: Leonard Pinth-Garnell, 1977, 1979, 2001, Alistair Cooke, Catchphrase, Dan Aykroyd, Masterpiece Theater, NBC, PBS