Longtime Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member Cecily Strong got a grand send-off in her final episode on Dec. 17, and it incorporated first-time host Austin Butler.
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A not-so-subtle skit about a Radio Shack employee's final day took a surprise turn when Butler reprised his role as Elvis Presley for a sincere performance of "Blue Christmas." It began as a duet with Strong before becoming an SNL cast singalong.
"Blue Christmas" was a country hit for both Doyle O'Dell and Ernest Tubb before Presley immortalized it in 1957. The King's version is still among the best-known Christmas hits by any popular 20th century act.
Strong debuted on SNL in Sept. 2012. The two-time Emmy nominee since surpassed Kate McKinnon as the longest-serving woman cast member in the show's history.
"It's just my time now but I had a lot of fun here," Strong shared during the broadcast. "And I feel really lucky that I got to have so many of the best moments of my life at this place, with these people I love so much."
While playing the Radio Shack store manager, cast member Kenan Thompson made an emotional speech that came across as a genuine tribute to a beloved co-worker.
"Honestly I don't think Radio Shack could have survived this long without Cecily," Thompson said. "Every time she came to work, she had a new character or a new accent or a new impression that would just blow you away. She'd have a power and a joy to her performance that made you remember why you loved working at Radio Shack in the first place."
During his show-opening monologue, Butler said that as a painfully shy kid, he'd regularly watch SNL with his mother, who died of cancer in 2014.
"Anytime you see me doing a silly voice or making a funny face, that's for you, Mom," Butler said.
