Molly Shannon Reprises Her Armpit-Sniffing Legend: Mary Katherine Gallagher Returns to Snl

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Mary Katherine Gallagher was not born in an NBC writers' room. Shannon conceived the character years earlier while studying experimental theater at New York University. She wanted to build a character that embodied pure, unvarnished adolescent insecurity. The armpit sniff was not intended as crude gross-out humor. It was a coping mechanism for paralyzing terror.

Shannon developed the persona further during her stage shows with Upright Citizens Brigade co-founder Matt Besser in Los Angeles. When she joined Saturday Night Live in 1995 during a massive cast overhaul, the Catholic schoolgirl character was her breakout weapon. The character's first television appearance on October 28, 1995, during an episode hosted by Gabriel Byrne, shifted the dynamic of the show. Shannon put herself in legitimate physical danger each week, intentionally bruising her legs, scraping her elbows, and hurling herself into stacks of metal folding folding chairs without stunt doubles.