David S. Pumpkins

David Simon Pumpkins is a fictional character played by American actor Tom Hanks who first appeared on the October 22, 2016, episode of Saturday Night Live in a sketch written by Mikey Day, Bobby Moynihan, and Streeter Seidell. The character developed a cult following and served as the basis for an animated Halloween special in 2017 and has subsequently returned to SNL multiple times. Concept and creation The character was created by Bobby Moynihan, Mikey Day, and Streeter Seidell. Moynihan said they wanted to make a Halloween-themed version of the viral video "Little Superstar" with a character who was a "Santa Claus for Halloween". The writers said the character's middle initial "S" stands for Simon. The writers bought a pumpkin-themed suit for $12.99 at Party City, intending to use something that looked cheap. The initial idea for the sketch, which did not include the Pumpkins character, involved a "creepy hotel" which resembled Disney's Haunted Mansion, later changed into a Tower of Terror-style ride. Day credits Pumpkins' eventual creation to his love of "stupid suits". The first version of Pumpkins had more dialogue, which Hanks cut back while "playing with the character". There were plans at one point to include Lady Gaga, the episode's musical guest, as "Mrs. David Pumpkins", but she passed on it because "her musical set was pretty involved". Hanks thought the character was "very bizarre" before the sketch aired and initially suggested Chris Hemsworth would be better suited for the role.