The Coneheads was originally a sketch on Saturday Night Live which originated on the January 15, 1977 episode, and starred Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter Connie.
The Coneheads were an alien family, natives of the planet Remulak, who found themselves stranded on Earth. When questioned by Earth neighbors as to their strange behavior, they inevitably replied that they were "from Remula[c], a small town in France".
The Conehead's most distinguishing feature was that the tops of their heads are shaped like large cones. Their unearthly appearance, however, was never strongly questioned—a point from which much of the humor was derived. The only time the shape of their head has ever come into question, was in the film (by Tom Arnold in a quick cameo).
Aside from their obvious physical differences, the Coneheads also had a very fast, nasal, monotone speech, and seemed to have much larger appetites than average humans. They would eat large amounts of food during meals (which they referred to as "consuming mass quantities"), drink entire six packs of beer at once, and smoke whole packs of cigarettes at a time. Despite their distinctions, they were never suspected of being aliens by anyone who encountered them (even when accidentally referring to their neighbors as "Earthlings").
Much humor derived from the Coneheads' use of over-technical dialogue, such as referring to food as "consumables", and saying "I summon you" to ask to speak to another person. The somewhat popular term "parental unit" also came from the sketches. They engaged in strange behaviors, such as rubbing their cones together as a sign of affection ("honing their cones") at which point a bizarre, theremin-like noise is emitted, presumably from the cones themselves. There is also a game they play involving tossing rings over each others' cones, which is somehow sexual in nature, and is considered taboo for the underaged Connie to play.
Dan Aykroyd said he developed the idea for the Coneheads based on the Moai, the mysterious and ancient stone statues of Easter Island, which had similarly conical heads.
Frank Zappa wrote a song based on the sketches, titled "Conehead". It appeared on his 1981 album You Are What You Is. Zappa also appeared in a Coneheads sketch when hosting, as a man dating Connie and makes note that he prefers Frenchwomen.[1]
The concept was turned into a Rankin/Bass animated special, The Coneheads, in 1983, and a movie, Coneheads, in 1993, with Aykroyd and Curtin reprising their roles in both. Michelle Burke took over the role of Connie in the film, with Newman appearing as Connie's aunt on Remulak. Marvel Comics produced a comic book limited series, with all original stories set after the events of the film.
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(from SNL Archives)
Coneheads is the title of a 1993 movie starring Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin based on the Saturday Night Live sketches about the Coneheads.
   | "Conehead". ''You Are What You Is'' - You Are What You Is |
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