MR. SAND-MAN

‘SNL’ alum returns as host after 24 years

Live from New York … it’s Adam Sandler.

The Brooklyn-born actor will return to “Saturday Night Live” on May 4 to host the show for the first time.

Sandler, now 52, joined the show in 1990 as a writer and was a cast member from 1991 to 1995.

“We are happy to welcome Adam back to ‘SNL’ in what is sure to be a special night,” executive producer Lorne Michaels said in a statement.

The comedy man was best known on the show for his Opera Man and Hank Gelfand characters. Opera Man exuberantly read the week’s top headlines, while Gelfand was, to his dismay, the husband of Beverly (played by Chris Farley). Gelfand would begrudgingly sit next to Beverly as she flipped through the Zagat Guide to choose a restaurant where they could eat.

Sandler and Farley often teamed up for skits and were close friends. Sandler paid tribute to the late comedian, who died of an overdose in 1997 at the age of 33, in his recent Netflix special “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh.”

“The first time I saw him he was sweeter than s—t. Plaid jacket and belt too tight, he wasn’t even doing a bit … you know I’m talking about my friend Chris Farley,” he sang.

Sandler showed off his singing chops with “Thanksgiving Song” and “The Chanukah Song,” the latter of which was first performed on “SNL” in 1994 and included famous Jewish celebrities.

“Hanukkah is the festival of lights! Instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights,” he’d belt out.

“So drink your gin and tonicah! And smoke your marijuanikah! If you really, really wannakah! Have a happy, happy, happy, Happy Chanukah!” he continued.

The song became so popular he updated the lyrics throughout the years, most recently in 2015.

Despite Sandler’s memorable characters and favored bits, he was fired from the show along with Farley.

“Yes, we were [fired]. We kind of quit at the same time as being fired. It was the end of the run for us. The fact that me and him got fired? Who knows?” he told The Daily Beast in 2014. “We were on it for a few years, had our run, and everything happens for a reason. We kind of understood because we did our thing. It hurt a lot at the time because we were young and didn’t know where we going, but it all worked out.”

He went on to star in box-office hits such as “The Waterboy,” “Big Daddy,” “50 First Dates,” “Click” and “Grown Ups” — grossing more than $1.1 billion combined.

Sandler will be joined by musical guest Shawn Mendes, who first performed on the show in December 2016.