B R O A D C A S T I N G C A B L E . C O M O C T O B E R 1 , 2 0 1 4 B R O A D C A S T I N G & C A B L E 3 5

Saturday Night Live was born out of JOHNNY CARSON’s request that NBC stop airing repeats

of his Tonight Show on Saturdays (he wanted them for weeknights so he could take time off). NBC president

HERB SCHLOSSER tasked VP of late-night DICK EBERSOL with creating a show to fill the slot. The two would hire little-known Canadian TV producer LORNE MICHAELS to build SNL.

The original cast included CHEVY CHASE, JOHN BELUSHI, GILDA RADNER,

DAN AYKROYD, LORAINENEWMAN, JANE CURTIN and GARRETT MORRIS. Chase (the first SNL star to rise) left early in season 2 , with BILL MURRAY replacing him.

Despite early success, SNL went through major upheaval, with Michaels exiting for Paramount Pictures in 1980. His successor, JEAN DOUMANIAN, lasted only 10 months before being replaced by Ebersol.

Ebersol’s tenure saw commercial triumph, but it was considered lackluster (even nearing the brink of cancellation) with the exception of break-out performer EDDIE MURPHY. Michaels returned for good in 1985.

Beyond Chase, SNL has launched many big-time comedians, including Belushi, Murphy, ADAM SANDLER, DANA CARVEY, WILL

FERRELL, AMY POEHLER and TINA FEY.

DON ROY KING, SNL director since ‘06, says the hectic production schedule remains. “After nine years, I still think the show can’t possibly be done this way,” King said at B&C and Multichan-nel News’ Business of Live TV Summit on Sept. 30. “There is nothing on paper until Wednesday afternoon.”

One constant for SNL has been changes in the troupe. Including this season’s two additions, PETE DAVID-SON and MICHAEL CHE, there have been 140 cast mem-bers. One of the biggest changes came this past summer, when for-mer cast member DARRELL HAMMOND was added as the show’s new announcer in place of

the legendary DON PARDO, who died in August at 96.

Michaels’ NBC late-night purview expanded over the past year when former SNL cast member JIMMY FALLON succeeded JAY LENO at The Tonight Show, while another, SETH MEYERS, took

over for Fallon on Late Night. Other former SNL cast members on TV include ANDY SAMBERG in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and NASIM PEDRAD in Mulaney, the eponymous sitcom from former SNL writer JOHN MULANEY.

The digital age has given SNL a new life, as many sketches are now

shared online after the live broadcast. Last year, Yahoo acquired the show’s entire library from Broad-way Video, a deal Yahoo has touted at CES and in its upfront pitches to ad buyers.

At the same time, however, “A ‘sketch that kills’ can go viral now in a flash

and be seen by millions who no longer watch the show. As a result, SNL has had to face, from Twitter and elsewhere, a huge new array of would-be satirists and commentators,” notes SNL

chronicler JAMES ANDREW MILLER. Arevised version of Miller’s book, Live From New York: The Complete Uncensored History of ‘Saturday Night Live’, has just landed in coordina-tion with the show’s 40th anniversary.

By Tim Baysinger

On Oct. 11, 1975, SNL’s Not Ready for Primetime Players tookthe stage at Rockefeller Center’s famed Studio 8H, launching an enduring cultural phenomenon that’s now in its 40th season.

FF/RWD«»

Ready for Primetime... And Middle Age

Press Play

If you would like to see a subject

in FF/RWD, send your idea to

bncletters@nbmedia.com with

FF/RWD in the subject.

Eddie Murphy playing his Gumby character; recurring sketches became a hallmark of SNL.

FF

The original Saturday Night Live cast: (left to right) Newman, Belushi, Curtin, Radner, Aykroyd, Morris and Chase.

Andy Kaufman doing his ‘Mighty Mouse’ bit on SNL’s premiere episode.

Host Chris Pratt helped kick off SNL’s 40th season on Sept. 27.

‘Weekend Update’ segment hosts

Bill Murray (above) and Seth Meyers.

SNL became known for its impressions of political figures, including Fey’s Sarah Palin (left) and Poehler’s Hillary Clinton.

Many sketches have been

made into films, with

Wayne’s World among the

biggest hits.

Fallon(Above) Will Ferrell gives more cowbell, rocking with Queens of the Stone Age.

RWD

1001_FFRWD.indd 3 10/2/14 12:31 PM