Elton John To Host 'Saturday Night Live' (Updated)

Sir Elton John will play double duty on April 2 when he hosts Saturday Night Live and appears as the show's musical guest with Leon Russell. It will be his first time back on the SNL stage since 1982, when he performed the songs "Empty Garden" and "Ball And Chain."

The booking was revealed at John's annual Oscar viewing party, held Sunday night at the Pacific Design Center. The swank bash included a live auction to benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation. Among the items offered was VIP access for two to SNL's April 2 show and cast after-party, courtesy of Lorne Michaels. The winning bid came in at $75,000. 

Academy Awards aside, John reminded the crowd of 1,000 that he and partner David Furnish were also celebrating a movie feat that night: Gnomeo & Juliet nabbing the top spot at the weekend box office in its third week out. Said John, who wrote the music for the film, which Furnish produced: "I never thought I'd be coming to our Oscar party having a No. 1 movie, but it's fantastic."  

Update: Gnomeo & Juliet was edged out by Hall Pass, which came in at No. 1 with box office receipts of $13.5 million, compared to Gnomeo's $13.4 million.