Career
In the late 1960s, Novello worked as an advertising copywriter for Leo Burnett in Chicago.
Novello created the Father Guido Sarducci character in 1973 after finding a monsignor's outfit for $7.50 at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. Adding sunglasses, a broom mustache, cigarette, and a thick Italian accent, Sarducci became popular in a San Francisco nightclub. Sarducci appeared on San Francisco Channel 20's Chicken Little Comedy Show, and comic David Steinberg was watching. Steinberg hired Novello as a writer for a TV show that never aired, but he also introduced Novello to Tommy and Dick Smothers, and they hired him, too. Novello appeared as Sarducci on the Smothers Brothers Show in 1975. He also was with Pat Paulsen during Paulsen's "Presidential Campaign Tour" in the mid-1970s as his "campaign manager."
In the 1970s, Novello started to write letters to famous people under the pen name Lazlo Toth (after Laszlo Toth, a deranged man who vandalized Michelangelo's Pietà in Rome). The letters, written to suggest a serious but misinformed and obtuse correspondent, were designed to tweak the noses of politicians and corporations. Many of them received serious responses; Novello sometimes continued the correspondence at length, with humorous results. The letters and responses were published in the books The Lazlo Letters, Citizen Lazlo!, and From Bush to Bush: The Lazlo Toth Letters.
The Lazlo Letters caught the attention of Lorne Michaels, producer of Saturday Night Live. Novello was hired as a writer for the show's third season in 1977–1978, remained through the fifth season, and returned as a writer in the eleventh season. He also appeared as Sarducci numerous times on the show.
In 1980, under the name Father Guido Sarducci, he sang lead vocals on the Warner Bros. Records release "I Won't Be Twisting This Christmas"/"Parco MacArthur" (WBS49627). Novello co-wrote the first tune with M. Davich, and the second is an Italian-language cover of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park", in an arrangement similar to that recorded by Richard Harris.
Novello made newspapers around the world when he visited the Vatican in 1981 wearing the Sarducci costume and, while taking photographs for a magazine article in an area where photography was prohibited, was arrested by the Swiss Guards along with his photographer (Paul Solomon), and eventually charged with "impersonating a priest". The charges were later dropped and Solomon saved the film from confiscation.
In his stage show in Las Vegas and Reno with the Smothers Brothers, Sarducci rolled a wheelchair with a dummy in the robes of a cardinal. In the act, Sarducci explained he was the assistant of 108-year-old "Cardinal Dario Fungi".
For a brief period in 1982, Novello was a producer on SCTV, a Toronto-based comedy show starring Martin Short, Joe Flaherty, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara. He was installed by NBC as one of a series of producers for the show's fourth season, and produced a total of nine episodes.
In 1983, Novello appeared as Sarducci in the video for Rodney Dangerfield's comedy rap song "Rappin' Rodney", which was heavily played on MTV.
In 1984 Novello wrote The Blade, a high school yearbook parody in which the students are represented by sheep. Novello co-wrote the unfilmed script for Noble Rot with John Belushi. He also narrated Faerie Tale Theatre's third-season episode Pinocchio with Paul Reubens as the titular puppet. Also in 1984, Novello appeared in the video for Jefferson Starship's song "No Way Out".
In 1989, Novello co-starred in the anthology film New York Stories in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed segment, Life Without Zoe. In his 2 1/2 star review of the film, Roger Ebert wrote that Novello gave "the most engaging performance in the movie."
In 1990, Novello portrayed Dominic Abbandando in the film The Godfather Part III. Abbandando appears with speaking lines in the first scene as public relations and media coordinator for Don Michael Corleone. He also appears other scenes, shadowing George Hamilton, and in the climactic scene on the steps of the Palermo opera house, Teatro Massimo.
In the early 2000s, Novello voiced Vinny Santorini in the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire and its direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return. In 2003, he filed papers to enter the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, but did not collect enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
In 2005, after Pope John Paul II died, Novello, as Sarducci, reprised his former SNL role as "Special Vatican Reporter" for Air America Radio host (and fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus) Al Franken. He continued this role until the election of Pope Benedict XVI. In 2006, he portrayed Galileo on the podcast "The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd".
Novello portrayed Pope Pius XII in the 2009 short film All in the Bunker.
On June 23, 2010, Novello appeared as Sarducci on The Colbert Report. On May 6, 2025, he reprised his appearance in an interview with Colbert about the upcoming papal conclave.
On October 30, 2010, he gave the benediction at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
American recording artist Guthrie Thomas called Novello "the best performer in the room" when he appeared as Sarducci on one of Thomas's albums in a recording studio full of famous performers.
