At long last we get to meet Schmidt’s mother on New Girl. SNL alum Nora Dunn plays the “straight-outta-Long-Island, controlling matriarch, Louise.” Schmidt takes a mild sedative to prepare. At lunch, he asks Dunn for the money he received as a child for his bar-mitzvah. She says “of course” with the caveat that he write thank you notes. P.S. That’s Samuel Gilbert playing young Schmidt.
Nora Dunn is actually an Irish Catholic girl from Chicago, but we digress. She joined SNL in 1985 with Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller and Al Franken. Her most popular characters included half of “The Sweeney Sisters” lounge act with the late great Jan Hooks, and talk show host Pat Stevens. Some of her most memorable impressions included Liza Minnelli, Tyne Daly, and Martina Navratilova. New Girl airs Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC.
Jan Hooks and Nora Dunn as the Sweeney Sisters, SNL/NBC
