Comedian Pete Davidson of SNL fame reaches father’s age at time of 9/11 death: ‘This year is a lot harder’ | Today’s news

Comedian Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live (SNL) fame turned 33, the same age his father, firefighter Scott Davidson, was when he died in the 9/11 attacks. In an interview with the New York Post, Davidson said he once thought of his father as an “old guy” because he was 33 when he died. However, becoming a father himself changed his perspective on the tragedy.

“I was like, ‘Oh, he was an old guy. He’s 33,'” Davidson said. “But now I’m there and I have a child, and it would be like my child not having a father.

Davidson will mark 25 years since 9/11 with a comedic contribution

To mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Davidson is participating in a comedy benefit at Madison Square Garden with Jon Stewart.

Davidson said this year feels especially difficult but also meaningful because he gets to spend the day with his daughter Scottie, who was born last December and was named after her late father.

“So this year is extra challenging but also extra beautiful because I get to spend the day with Scottie,” he said. “It will be very healing and special.

Why was Davidson’s daughter named Scottie

Davidson said Hewitt also wanted their daughter to bear his father’s name.

“It was really cool that Elsie wanted to name her Scottie, too,” Post said. “My dad’s name was Scott, but his nickname was Scotty. When she arrived, we both looked at her and said, ‘She looks like Scottie.’ It’s nice to keep the name alive.”

The Saturday Night Live alum said he also wanted to use the comedy event to “get” 9/11 and “have fun” rather than spend the day watching documentaries about the tragedy.

“And not to be in the middle of 12 documents that are so sad and not to repeat it,” he added.

Pete Davidson’s father was among the first responders at the World Trade Center

Davidson previously recalled on Theo Von Podcast that his father’s crew was the first fire truck to cross the bridge toward the World Trade Center.

“So they were the first truck and pretty much the whole house died, which is sad, but at least he died with his buddies.”

Davidson remembered his father as “terrifyingly cheerful” and said he had few memories of him because he was seven when the attacks happened.

“My memories are few because I was 7, but I remember laughing a lot, how he was pretty high and smoked a lot of cigarettes and drove a Subaru Impreza. That’s all I remember.”

He also remembered that his father always had a big smile on his face. Davidson said his father’s old friends still light up when they share stories about him.