Feresten began working at Saturday Night Live after his brother, who worked at SNL as a receptionist at the time, informed him there was a vacancy in the cue card department. Feresten's first cue card handling job was in 1990 during a "Sprockets" sketch featuring host Kyle MacLachlan.[3] His first appearance on camera was in 1991 during a monologue featuring Steve Martin. Feresten had his first spoken lines on the show in 1993 during an Alec Baldwin monologue.[4] Feresten became the cue card handler for Last Call with Carson Daly when the show moved to New York.[5]
Since 2014, Feresten has also been a cue card handler for Late Night with Seth Meyers. He has appeared on camera on the show several times including once as an interview guest when Action Bronson did not appear.[6] His increasing frequency of spoken lines and his popularity with the audience has caused guest John Oliver to joke that Feresten is staging "a slow-motion coup".[7][8]
In 2020, Feresten began Cue Cards by Wally, a private business wherein he creates personalized cue cards, mostly for SNL fans. He started the business while SNL was doing remote-recorded episodes and, thus, his cue cards were not needed.[4]
^ abBlake, Meredith (June 29, 2015). "'SNL' Still Takes Cues from Wally". The Los Angeles Times. p. A16. An unassuming, 49-year-old father of two with short white hair and glasses, he has played a vital but largely unsung role in one of the most enduring institutions in American pop culture.
