Lorne Michaels, the creator and longtime executive producer of “Saturday Night Live,” helmed a 40th anniversary special, broadcast Feb. 15th, that brought back many famous alumni, including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell. It also brought back a lot of memories. Two weeks prior to the broadcast, Michaels reminisced for the New York Times.
And now there’s “Saturday Night Live: The Book” (Taschen Books), which contains 500 pages of behind-the-scenes photographs and details about the show’s history. From the publisher:
“On October 11, 1975 at 11:30 p.m., NBC viewers who tuned in to the network’s new late night show saw a sketch featuring John Belushi repeating, in a thick foreign accent, nonsensical phrases about wolverines being read to him by head writer Michael O’Donohue. Abruptly, O’Donohue clutched his heart and collapsed onto the floor. Belushi paused, raised his eyebrow, and then did the same. Posing as the stage manager, Chevy Chase entered the set and feigned confusion before breaking character and announcing to the camera: ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!’
“In that instant, television, which had long been out of touch with the young and hip, experienced the first seismic tremors of a major paradigm shift. TV comedy as we know it today owes it all to Saturday Night Live, the show that dared to take risks (not least the fact that it’s broadcast live), challenge the censors, and celebrate the work of offbeat writer-performers.”
Did you watch that first show? And did you continue to watch as the decades passed?
