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Please Don't Destroy

American comedy troupe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please Don't Destroy
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Please Don't Destroy is an American comedy group in New York City consisting of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, who began collaborating as students at New York University. The group was founded in 2017 and based on an act titled Please Don't Destroy My Farm.[1] The troupe performed monthly comedy shows, appeared at the New York Comedy Festival and produced sketch videos posted to YouTube.[1][2][3] During the COVID-19 pandemic, they began creating shorter videos for TikTok and Twitter.[1][4]

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In 2021, the trio was hired as writers on Saturday Night Live (SNL) to produce prerecorded digital videos for the show's 47th season.[5][6] Please Don't Destroy debuted on SNL on October 9, 2021.[4][7] They recorded the song "Three Sad Virgins" with Pete Davidson and Taylor Swift.[8] In 2023, they wrote and starred in Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, a comedy movie that follows three friends as they struggle through early adulthood and search for treasure.[9][10]

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Members

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Ben Marshall

Ben Marshall (born May 1, 1995) grew up in Savannah, Georgia, where he attended the Savannah Arts Academy.[11] He graduated from the NYU Tisch School of Arts in 2017.[12] At NYU, he was involved in the Hammerkatz sketch comedy and Astor Place Riots stand-up comedy groups.[11] Prior to SNL, he worked as an after-school counselor at the 14th Street Y while pursuing comedy.[13] In 2025, he guest-starred in an episode of season two of Poker Face.[14]

John Higgins

John Higgins (born November 14, 1995) grew up in Montclair, New Jersey.[15] Born into an entertainment family, he is one of four children of Steve Higgins, a producer and writer for SNL most widely known as the announcer of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[16] He is the nephew of actor David Anthony Higgins, actor Chris Elliott, and comedy writer Alan J. Higgins and the cousin of actress Abby Elliott.[15] He attended Montclair Kimberley Academy,[17] and has cited Simon Rich as a major influence during this time.[1][18] Higgins attended New York University where he was part of the Hammerkatz sketch comedy troupe and graduated with an English degree from the NYU College of Arts & Sciences in 2018.[12][11] Outside of his work with Please Don't Destroy, he has appeared in the films A Man Called Otto (2022) and in the indie comedy The Country Club (2023).[19] He is married to comedian Emily Wilson.[20]

Martin Herlihy

Martin Herlihy (born September 13, 1998) grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the son of Tim Herlihy,[16] the longtime comedy partner of Adam Sandler and a writer/producer for SNL in the 1990s. Herlihy attended Ridgefield High School and graduated from NYU Tisch in 2019.[12] At NYU, he was involved in Astor Place Riots stand-up comedy.[11]

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List of prerecorded sketches

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Season 47 (2021–22)

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Season 48 (2022–23)

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Season 49 (2023–24)

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Season 50 (2024–25)

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Filmography

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References

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