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SNL redirects here. For other uses of SNL, see SNL (disambiguation).

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. It is one of the longest-running network entertainment programs in American television history. Each week, the show's cast is joined by a guest host and a musical act.

Originally, the show was called NBC's Saturday Night because Howard Cosell was hosting a show on ABC titled Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. After Cosell's show was cancelled in 1976, NBC retitled its show. The first show with the new title was broadcast on March 26, 1977.

The show — broadcast from Studio 8H at the GE Building in New York's Rockefeller Center — has been the launching place for some major American comedy stars of the last thirty years. It was created by Lorne Michaels who, excluding a hiatus from Season 6 through Season 10, has produced and written for the show and remains its executive producer (Jean Doumanian producing most of Season 6, and Dick Ebersol 7–10).

In 2005, NBC renewed SNL's contract until 2012.

Format of the show

The show usually follows a standard format. It opens with a cold opening sketch often parodying politics, pop culture, or other current events; this sketch always ends with someone saying "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!" (in keeping with the show's original title, as noted earlier). Of note, during Dick Ebersol's reign as Executive Producer (1981-1985,) the show would quite often not open with this line, as Ebersol tried to separate his SNL from Lorne's. The show then segues into the opening credits, which usually open with a shot of the Statue of Liberty and a montage of the cast members cut with various locations around the city. The opening credits are voiced-over by long-time NBC announcer Don Pardo. The show's theme music has been re-arranged many times, but always follows the same basic chord patterns. For three episodes in 1985 (11th season), the opening credits were run over photographs of New York and the host, musical guests, and cast members on segmented paper.

Next is the opening monologue performed by the guest host(s), often followed by a TV commercial parody. The show continues with more comedy sketches (sketches might feature recurring characters, running gags, celebrity impersonations, movie and TV spoofs, and sketches parodying the news issues of the day), followed by a performance by the guest musical act. More recent shows have the second act divided by an animated short by Robert Smigel. The news parody segment Weekend Update marks the show's midway point. The second half of the program continues with more sketches, and in most cases a second performance by the musical guest. Some shows also feature filmed segments, often featuring cast members, or it may feature independent film shorts. In a few rare cases, a third musical performance by the week's musical guest is done near the end of the show, but this was more common in the pre-1995-present era, and in fact, has only occurred once in the past 11 years (U2, host Luke Wilson, 2004.) The last segment is the goodnights, preceded by the SNL band playing a coda during the final station break, which has changed very little over the show's history. Often times, the show "fades to black", or just blatantly cuts away while the credits roll, as the timing of the show is often run over, thus negating a full credit roll (a full credit roll takes app. 80 seconds, when rolled at the standard speed.) Also, in some reruns, shows have been edited to contain a mixture of sketches, and do not follow this sequence ("Best of" cast member collections, typically.)

History

Cast

Current repertory players

Current featured players


For a full list of past and present cast, see Saturday Night Live cast.

Notable tenures

Although SNL has a rapid turnover of supporting players, some performers have had long tenures with the show. Few have broken the seven-year barrier. Among the longest serving repertory players are:

Cast Member Cast Status Tenure Total Seasons Other Notes
Al Franken Featured Player 1977–1980 and October, 1986–May, 1995 12 Left SNL for five years starting in 1980 but returned in 1986.
Darrell Hammond Repertory Player September 1995 – present 11 and counting Holds the record for the highest number of consecutive seasons as a SNL cast member.
Tim Meadows Repertory Player February 1991 – May 2000 9½ Holds the record for the longest serving African-American SNL cast member. Was often billed as a "Featured" Player during his first 1½ seasons.
Kevin Nealon Repertory Player October 1986– May 1995 9 Featured Player for his first season.
Phil Hartman Repertory Player October 1986 – May 1994 8
Horatio Sanz Repertory Player September 1998 – present 8 and counting Holds the record for the longest serving Hispanic-American SNL cast member. Is also the first Hispanic cast member in the show's history. Featured Player for his first season.
Chris Parnell Repertory Player September 1998 – 2001 and March 2002 – present 7½ and counting He was fired from SNL at the end of the 2000-2001 season. However, he was rehired for the remaining half of the 2001-2002 season. Featured Player for his first season.
Rachel Dratch Repertory Player October 1999 – May 2006 7 Holds the record for the longest serving female SNL cast member. Featured Player for her first season.

Longest serving Weekend Update Anchors (3 or more seasons)

Cast Member Tenure Total Seasons Total Episodes Other Notes
Tina Fey October 7, 2000 – May 21, 2005 and October 22, 2005 – May 20, 2006 6 seasons 118 episodes Longest serving Weekend Update anchor
Dennis Miller November 9, 1985 – May 18, 1991 6 seasons 111 episodes Longest serving male Weekend Update anchor
Jimmy Fallon October 7, 2000 – May 15, 2004 4 seasons 80 episodes
Jane Curtin October 23, 1976 – May 24, 1980 4 seasons 78 episodes
Norm MacDonald September 24, 1994 – December 13, 1997 4 seasons 69 episodes
Kevin Nealon September 28, 1991 – May 14, 1994 3 seasons 60 episodes
Colin Quinn January 10, 1998 – May 20, 2000 3 seasons 50 episodes

Family connections

Some cast members are related to former staff on the show. The most prominent example is Jim Belushi, younger brother of Not Ready for Prime Time player John Belushi. Before that, Bill Murray's older brother Brian Doyle-Murray was a writer and cast member. When Dan Aykroyd left the show in 1979, he was replaced by a series of short-lived featured players, one of whom was his brother Peter. Other family connections are not as obvious. For instance, long-time writer and sometime performer Jim Downey is former cast member Robert Downey, Jr.'s uncle. Cast member Gilda Radner was briefly married to G.E. Smith, who later became the show's bandleader. The same is true for Michael O'Donoghue. He was married to SNL band pianist Cheryl Hardwick. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall were an item during their tenure, and were married in 1987.

Saturday Night Live Curse

Although SNL is well-known as the launchpad for many successful careers, a few cast members (and active crew members) have died tragically young. This has given rise to a theory known as the "Saturday Night Live Curse". * * *

Cast member deaths
Cast Member Date of Death Cause(s) of Death Notes
John Belushi March 5, 1982 lethal overdose of cocaine and heroin Was the first SNL cast member to die. Ironically, years before Belushi's death, there was a short film on SNL called, "Don't Look Back In Anger" that showed an elderly John Belushi as the last living member of the Not Ready For Primetime Players.
Gilda Radner May 20, 1989 ovarian cancer She was scheduled to host the last episode of season 13 (1987-1988), a first for a former female cast member, but the season was cut short due to a writer's strike and her condition worsened. When Steve Martin hosted the last episode of the 1988-1989 season (season 14), his original monologue about photographing his good and bad sides was scheduled for later in the show when news hit that Radner had died. The new monologue was Steve showing a clip from a sketch on an episode he hosted in 1978 (Steve Martin/The Blues Brothers) where two strangers (played by Martin and Radner) meet each other in a disco and start dancing elegantly around the studio until they return to the sketch and go about their business as if nothing happened between them. This famous sketch is called "Dancing In The Dark" (transcript)
Danitra Vance August 21, 1994 breast cancer She was the first black female repertory cast member (not to be confused with the featured cast member from season six, Yvonne Hudson). She claimed to have quit the show because she was sick of being put in stereotypical roles, but Al Franken was quoted in 2002 saying that she could not read cue cards on the air because she was dyslexic.
Michael O'Donoghue November 8, 1994 cerebral hemorrhage He was a one-time SNL cast member and SNL writer who long suffered from severe chronic migraine headaches. Bill Murray cameoed in a season 20 (1994-1995) episode (hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker with musical guest R.E.M.) to honor him by replaying O'Donoghue's famous sketch, Mr. Mike's Least Loved Bedtime Stories: The Soiled Kimono from December of 1977. (transcript of Bill Murray's appearance; transcript of Mr. Mike's Least Loved Bedtime Stories: The Soiled Kimono sketch)
Chris Farley December 18, 1997 lethal overdose of cocaine and heroin Not unlike his idol, John Belushi, Farley also died from an accidental drug overdose of cocaine and heroin, commonly known as a speedball, at the age of 33 (which was also how old Belushi was when he died). Farley's death occurred nearly two months after he came back to host SNL. That appearance turned out to be his last television appearance.
Phil Hartman May 28,1998 Murder (Gun shot wounds) Hartman's wife, Brynn, had been in treatment for her depression, after months of speculated marriage problems. One day, she consumed a dangerous combination of alcohol, cocaine and the prescription drug Zoloft then shot Hartman that morning while he slept. She later turned the gun on herself. Hartman is the only SNL cast member to have been murdered.
Charles Rocket October 7, 2005 Suicide When local police found Rocket dead in his backyard with a slashed throat, the death was ruled a suicide. Rocket was the first SNL alum to commit suicide without the use of drugs (like Farley and Belushi), not to mention the first SNL cast member from the low-rated, widely-panned Jean Doumanian season (1980-1981) to die, and the first SNL cast member to die who was a Weekend Update anchor.

Contracts

SNL received some negative publicity in 1999 when it was leaked that, henceforth, actors joining the show would have to agree in their five-to-six year contract that, upon request, they would act in up to three movies by SNL Films, for fees of US$75,000, US$150,000, and then US$300,000; and also that, upon request, they would leave SNL and act in an NBC sitcom for up to an additional six years. This appeared to be a reaction to former cast members such as Adam Sandler and Mike Myers going on to movie stardom.

Some agents and managers characterized these long-term contracts as involuntary servitude, saying that almost any young, undiscovered comic would immediately agree to any given set of exploitative contractual restrictions for the opportunity to launch a career via the show. NBC publicly defended the new contracts, saying that SNL was doing a service to young comics by launching so many careers.

It was reported in 1999 that the starting salary for SNL cast members was US$5,000 per episode.

The studio

Since the show's inception, SNL has aired from Studio 8H, located on floors 8 and 9 of 30 Rockefeller Plaza (usually nicknamed "30 Rock"). Due to the studio originally being a radio soundstage for Arturo Toscanini and his NBC Symphony Orchestra, the layout of the studio floor and the audience positioning causes some audience members to have an obstructed view of many of the sketches.

Three of the first four shows of the 1976-77 season were shot at the former NBC Studios in Brooklyn, due to NBC News using Studio 8H for Presidential election coverage.

During the summer 2005 shooting hiatus, crews began renovations on Studio 8H. With its thirty-first season premiere in October 2005, the show began broadcasting in High Definition, appearing letterboxed on conventional screens.

On the August 17, 2005 episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien (also aired on NBC), O'Brien mentioned hearing furniture being moved around in the studio upstairs. When he asked if it was a rival show, someone mentioned that it was Saturday Night Live. Conan jokingly responded, "Saturday Night Live? It'll never make it." Late Night with Conan O'Brien is taped in Studio 6A, on floors 6 and 7 of "30 Rock". O'Brien wrote for SNL from 1988-1991.

The offices of SNL writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30 Rock". Last Call with Carson Daly used the studio until 2005, when the show moved to Studio 9 at the NBC Studios in Burbank, California.

Production process

The following is a summary of the process used to produce the show. It is based in part on an August 2000 Writer's Digest article and an April 2004 Fresh Air interview with writer and performer Tina Fey:

  • Monday: The day begins with a topical meeting, identifying the biggest story for the show's opening. This is followed by a free-form pitch meeting with Lorne Michaels and the show's host for the week. According to an October 2004 60 Minutes segment on the show, throughout the week the host has a lot of influence on which sketches get aired. Following the meeting, writers begin to draft the two scripts each must produce.
  • Tuesday: Starting in the afternoon, anywhere from 30 to 45 scripts are written, significantly more than will make it to air. Most writers work through the night. Once a writer's scripts are complete, he or she will often help other writers on their scripts.
  • Wednesday: All scripts get a read-through. After the read-through, the head writer(s) and the producers meet with the host to decide which sketches to work on for the rest of the week, with Lorne Michaels and the host having the final say.
  • Thursday: The surviving sketches are reviewed, word-by-word, by the writing staff as a whole (or in two groups in the case of co-head writers). Some sketches which survived the cut because of their premise but otherwise needed a lot of work are rewritten completely. Others are changed in smaller ways. Thursday is also the day that Weekend Update starts coming together, starting with the news items written by writers dedicated all week to the segment. This is also the first day the crew comes in for rehearsal. The music act is rehearsed as well as some of the larger, more important sketches.
  • Friday: The show is blocked. The writer of each sketch acts as producer, working with the show's set designers and costumers.
  • Saturday: With the show still far from finalized, the day begins with a run-through, with props, in front of Lorne Michaels. After the run-through, the cast and crew find out which of the sketches are in the dress rehearsal, and which are cut. The writer/producer deals with any changes. This is followed by an 8 p.m. dress rehearsal in front of a live audience, which lasts until 10 p.m. or sometimes later, and which contains around twenty minutes of material which will not make it to the broadcast. Lorne Michaels uses first-hand observation of the audience reaction to the rehearsal, and input from the host, to determine the final round of changes, re-ordering sketches as necessary. The live show then begins at 11:29 p.m. Eastern Time (some markets delay airing).

The status of the show during the week is maintained on a bulletin board. Sketches and other segments are given labels which are put on index cards and put on the board in the order of their performance. The order is based on content as well as production limitations such as camera placement and performer availability. Segments which have been cut are kept to the side of the board. As the broadcast approaches, often the writer/producer discovers the fate of his or her segment only by consulting the bulletin board.

A 60 Minutes report taped in October 2004 depicted the intense writing frenzy that goes on during the week leading up to a show, with crowded meetings and long hours. The report particularly noted the involvement of the guest hosts in developing and selecting the sketches in which they will appear.

When it's not live

SNL is one of the few shows on television to have its in- and off-season reruns aired out of its original broadcast sequence. The sequence of the in-season reruns (that is, encore shows that air during the season it originally aired) are usually determined by the episodes' popularity. So, for example, if by the midway point of the season in December, a show hosted by Robert DeNiro turned out to be the highest rated show of the season thus far, it would be the first show to be repeated when SNL begins airing its reruns during one of their live breaks. Shows usually air twice during a particular season, but often the highest rated shows of the season have a second encore show towards the end of the off-season.

Encore showings are not always identical to the original broadcast. Frequently, successful sketches that aired later in the show during the original broadcast will be reedited to appear earlier, and segments that did not work well during the original showing are replaced by a) alternate performances or b) completely different sketches that had been taped at the dress rehearsal that preceded the live broadcast.

From time-to-time, SNL airs compilation shows. Such shows will feature the best of a previous season (consisting of sketches and musical segments specially selected by the producers), or of a particular cast member (such as Eddie Murphy or Adam Sandler) or guest (such as Tom Hanks), or centered on a particular theme (for example, Halloween, Christmas, or a major news event). Almost every election year since 1992, SNL airs, during primetime, a "Presidential Bash" featuring both classic and new sketches involving Presidents and presidential candidates. The 2000 Bash was notable for having self-deprecating sketches taped by the actual candidates (George W. Bush and Al Gore, though not together) in addition to the sketches with the players normally assigned to impersonate them. The 2000 Bash featured both Al Gore and George W. Bush poking fun at themselves, as well as each other, and even a cameo appearance from Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura with the famous opening line "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night."

When it's less than live

Over the years SNL has almost always been broadcast live in the Eastern and Central time zones, in spite of the expletive spoken by Charles Rocket in 1981. Exceptions include shows hosted by Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and Andrew Dice Clay, which were broadcast on a five-second delay.

The episode scheduled for October 25, 1986, hosted by Rosanna Arquette, was not aired until November 8. NBC was broadcasting Game 6 of the 1986 World Series on the evening of October 25; the game entered extra innings, causing that night's broadcast of SNL to be first delayed and then cancelled. The show was performed for the studio audience starting at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, recorded, and broadcast two weeks later.

The episode scheduled for February 10, 2001, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, aired on tape delay by almost 45 minutes due to a late-running XFL game that was airing on NBC during primetime. Lopez and the cast were not told by Michaels that they were not being seen live *.

During Eddie Murphy's last season, he was only available for part of the season, so they recorded a number of extra sketches in September 1983 that featured him and were broadcast in episodes he was not available for, according to the book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad.

Some live shows may also be altered and edited for the West Coast (where it is broadcast at 11:35 p.m. Pacific Time, three hours after the live broadcast); in some cases recordings of sketches or performances from the program's dress rehearsal have been substituted for the later feed. During Richard Pryor's monologue, he twice used the word "ass," which was muted on the West Coast (but has been restored for syndication). When Sam Kinison delivered a comic monologue in 1986, NBC removed his plea for the legalization of marijuana from the West Coast broadcast and all subsequent repeats. There were even rumors that Ashlee Simpson's live performance recording fumble in 2005 was to have been edited out of the West Coast broadcast, but publicity surrounding the fiasco forced West Coast affiliates to keep the original footage aired that night. The original uncut version aired on the mid-season rerun, and also aired uncut on E!, which syndicates the show.

Rights to SNL

NBC holds the copyright to every episode of the show made thus far. The syndication rights to the original incarnation (1975–1980) were originally acquired by Filmways Television (later Orion Television and MGM), while the syndication rights to the shows made from 1980 forward (that is, rerun rights beginning two years after its original NBC airings) have been held by Broadway Video, Lorne Michaels' production company.

The home video rights have also been scattered. Warner Home Video originally released several episodes from the original incarnation (1975–1980). Paramount released a "Best Of Eddie Murphy" video compilation in the 1980s (Murphy had a multi-picture deal with Paramount at the time). In the 1990s, Starmaker Entertainment held the video rights. Today, Lions Gate Home Entertainment handles the VHS and DVD releases of SNL under a new license with NBC.

For many years, Comedy Central aired SNL reruns from 1980-93 under license from Broadway Video. In 1998 or so, Comedy Central began getting reruns from 1993 to the (then) present. In 2001, E! Entertainment Television contracted with Orion/MGM to show reruns from the 1975-80 seasons. At the same time, a deal was signed to move the 1980-present reruns to E! starting March 2003. By fall 2003, the 1975-80 reruns were rarely programmed by E! and had disappeared entirely by 2005. The reruns currently shown on E! are edited down to 60-minute shows.

The only episodes that have not been included in any syndication package (including the current deal with E!) are the prime-time special at Mardi Gras in New Orleans (the only time the show has originated outside of New York), and the infamous 1990 episode which Andrew Dice Clay hosted. A one hour edited version of the Andrew Dice Clay episode did air on one occasion, during a "Bleep Day" marathon on Comedy Central in the late 1990s.

In Canada, episodes from 1975–1980 are aired in late night programming hours, weeknights on some Global Television Network owned stations such as CHAN, CHCA, and CIII. However, these episodes are edited considerably to fit into to its one hour timeslot, rather than the usual hour and a half.

In Australia, SNL is seen on cable TV network Arena. It airs late night Weeknights and Saturday as well Premiere Episodes at 6.30pm Saturday for a limited run. However, all episodes are edited considerably to fit into to its one hour timeslot, rather than the usual hour and a half.

Recently, CNBC Asia dropped SNL from Starhub Cable Vision (SCV). SNL used to be broadcased on CNBC Asia via SCV on Channel 15, every Saturday at 11pm, with an encore telecast on Sunday in a similar time slot.

Guest hosts

A separate list of Saturday Night Live hosts and musical guests is available.

There have been many people who have been invited to host SNL. The hosts have ranged from stand-up comedians, like Steve Martin, Robin Williams and George Carlin, to serious character actors, like Robert DeNiro, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron and Charlton Heston; from pop music icons, like Janet Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears, to sports figures like Deion Sanders, Tom Brady, The Rock, O.J. Simpson and Derek Jeter. SNL has also had many of its distinguished alumni, like Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, and Will Ferrell to return to host the show.

Even elected political figures, like former Vice-President Al Gore, U.S. Senate members John McCain and George McGovern and New York Mayors, Ed Koch and Rudy Guiliani have hosted the show. Other notable public figures to have hosted SNL have included Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Ralph Nader. The following are lists of notable categories of SNL hosts.

Frequent hosts (five times or more)

There have been many people who have been invited to come back and host SNL again, but few have broken the "five time hosting" barrier. Since December of 1990, performers who have either hosted SNL (or appeared as a musical guest) for five times are considered members of SNL's Five Timer's Club.

Some of these "Five Timer" hosts (such as Steve Martin, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, and Alec Baldwin) have hosted so many times that special episodes of SNL have been compiled and aired as "Best of ..." episodes. Hosts who have been the subject of a Best of SNL videotape, DVD, or compilation special are marked with a (•) in the "Other Notes" section on the list below. The following people have hosted SNL at least five times:

Host Number of Episodes First Hosted Last Hosted Number of Special Cameos Other Notes
Steve Martin 14 October 23, 1976 February 4, 2006 5 Hosted three times in one year, 1978. He co-hosted with Chevy Chase and Martin Short on December 6, 1986 (•)
John Goodman 12 December 2, 1989 November 3, 2001 9 Hosted once a season for 11 straight seasons
Alec Baldwin 12 April 21, 1990 December 10, 2005 2 Co-hosted with wife (Kim Basinger) on February 12, 1994 (•)
Buck Henry 10 January 17, 1976 May 24, 1980 5 Hosted twice a season for each of the first five seasons. He is also the very first five-timer.
Chevy Chase 9 February 18, 1978 February 15, 1997 5 First former cast member to host more than five times. Was banned from ever hosting again in 1997. (•)
Tom Hanks 8 December 14, 1985 May 6, 2006 1 (•)
Elliott Gould 6 January 10, 1976 November 15, 1980 1
Danny DeVito 6 May 15, 1982 December 10, 1999 3 Co-hosted with wife (Rhea Perlman) on October 15, 1983
Christopher Walken 6 January 20, 1990 February 22, 2003 0 (•)
Candice Bergen 5 November 8, 1975 May 19, 1990 0 The only woman to host five times; hosted twice in one season in 1975.
Bill Murray 5 March 7, 1981 February 20, 1999 1 Second former cast member to host five or more times.

Cast members who have hosted

As of May 2006, there have been 22 performers who have hosted SNL who, at one point in their careers, were either a repertory or featured member of the SNL cast. The following performers have hosted SNL either before, during or after their tenure as a member of the SNL cast.

Host Number of Episodes First Hosted Last Hosted Number of Special Cameos Other notes
Chevy Chase 9 February 18, 1978 February 15, 1997 5 First former cast member to host and first to host more than five times. He is the first former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL. As of 1997, he has been banned from ever hosting again.
Bill Murray 5 March 7, 1981 February 20, 1999 1 Second former cast member to host five or more times. He is the second former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL.
Dana Carvey 3 October 22, 1994 October 21, 2000 5
Don Novello 2 January 14, 1984 May 12, 1984 3 Sometimes appeared as Father Guido Sarducci.
Eddie Murphy 2 December 11, 1982 December 15, 1984 0 He is the first African-American cast member to host SNL. He is the only performer to host while still a cast member. Also, he was the first of only four hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
Billy Crystal 2 March 17, 1984 May 12, 1984 2 He is the first performer to join the cast after he had hosted. He co-hosted with Ed Koch, Don Novello, Betty Thomas and Edwin Newman on May 12, 1984. Also, he is one of only four hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
Martin Short 2 December 6, 1986 December 7, 1996 1 He co-hosted with Chevy Chase and Steve Martin on December 6, 1986. He is one of only four cast member hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
Phil Hartman 2 March 23, 1996 November 23, 1996 0
David Spade 2 November 7, 1998 March 12, 2005 2 He is also the third of the Bad Boys of SNL to host.
Dan Aykroyd 1 May 17, 2003 8 He is the fourth former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL.
Paul Shaffer 1 January 31, 1987 0 He is the only former leader of the Saturday Night Live Band to host.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus 1 May 13, 2006 0 She is the first female alum to host SNL. She is one of only four cast member hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
Michael McKean 1 November 3, 1984 0 He is the second performer to join the cast after hosting a show.
Robert Downey, Jr. 1 November 16, 1996 0 He is the second cast member to come back to host SNL after being fired from the show.
Jon Lovitz 1 November 8, 1997 7
Damon Wayans 1 April 8, 1995 0 He is the second African-American cast member to host SNL. He is also the first cast member to come back to host SNL after being fired from the show, and the first cast member from In Living Color to host (the other In Living Color cast members who have hosted are Jim Carrey 21, David Alan Grier 21 and 22, Jamie Foxx 25, and Jennifer Lopez 26; was a musical guest in season 25 on an episode hosted by Alan Cumming)
Mike Myers 1 March 22, 1997 3
Ben Stiller 1 October 24, 1998 2
Chris Farley 1 October 25, 1997 1 He is also the second of the Bad Boys of SNL to host.
Chris Rock 1 November 2, 1996 2 He is the third African-American cast member to host SNL. He is also the first of the Bad Boys of SNL to host.
Norm MacDonald 1 October 23, 1999 0 He is the third former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL and the only former WU anchor to host after being fired from being an anchor on WU (he was not fired from the cast). Even though he's technically a secondary member, he is also the fourth of the Bad Boys of SNL to host.
Will Ferrell 1 May 14, 2005 2

Hosts who auditioned (or were offered) to join the cast

The following is a list of guest hosts who had previously auditioned for the show earlier in their careers only to be turned down. This list does not include the names of hosts, like Billy Crystal, who were rejected but eventually joined the cast at a later date. The list of the hosts and dates of their auditions are as follows:

He made a cameo on the Christopher Walken/Foo Fighters episode, playing his leg like a guitar during the Foo Fighters' second performance.
Host SNL Season of Audition First Hosted Last Hosted Other notes
John Goodman 6th (1980-1981) December 2, 1989 November 3, 2001 Hosted once a season for 11 straight seasons
Paul Reubens 6th (1980-1981) November 23, 1985 Hosted as his kids show alter ego Pee Wee Herman in 1985
Catherine O'Hara 6th (1980-1981) April 13, 1991 October 31, 1992 She was actually hired as a cast member towards the end of the 6th Season. However, she resigned, due to an incident involving Michael O'Donoghue's harsh treatment of the 1980-1981 cast and writers, before she appeared in any episode. She suggested to then SNL Producer, Dick Ebersol, that her good friend, Robin Duke replace her as a cast member.
Geena Davis 10th (1984 -1985) April 22, 1989
Jim Carrey 6th (1980-1981) May 18, 1996
Lisa Kudrow 16th (1990 -1991) October 5, 1996
Steve Carell 21st (1995 -1996) October 1, 2005 He is married to former SNL cast member Nancy Walls. He co-hosted SNL on April 26, 2006, along with Stephen Colbert, as the The Ambiguously Gay Duo. Colbert served as the voice of Ace and Carell voiced his partner, Gary. Carell and Colbert are the first performers to host SNL via voice over work and animation.
Johnny Knoxville 21st (1995 -1996) May 7, 2005 Cameoed on the Jack Black/Neil Young episode of season 31 in an Appalachian Emergency Room sketch
Dane Cook 28th (2002 -2003) December 3, 2005
  • Two notable names that auditioned for SNL yet never hosted were comedians Dom Irrera and Robert Townsend, who both auditioned before Season 6.

Political figures who have hosted

As of May 2006, there have been 11 political figures who have hosted SNL. These public figures include elected officials and/or political activists. The following is a list of such hosts.

Host Office/Occupation Number of Episodes First Hosted Last Hosted Number of Special Cameos Other notes
Al Gore Vice-President (Democrat) 1 December 14, 2002 2 He is the highest elected former public official to host SNL.
George McGovern U.S. Senator (Democrat) 1 April 14, 1984 0
John McCain U.S. Senator (Republican) 1 October 19, 2002 0 He is the first sitting Senator to host Saturday Night Live.
Ed Koch Mayor of New York City (Democrat) 2 May 14, 1983 May 12, 1984 0 As of May 2006, he is the only political figure who has hosted more than once. The first Mayor of New York to host SNL.
Rudy Giuliani Mayor of New York City (Republican) 1 November 22, 1997 1 The second mayor of NYC to host SNL.
Jesse Jackson Former Presidential Candidate (Democrat)/ Reverend 1 October 20, 1984 1
Al Sharpton Former Presidential Candidate (Democrat)/ Reverend 1 December 6, 2003 0
Steve Forbes Former Presidential Candidate 1 April 13, 1996 0
Ralph Nader Former Presidential Candidate (Green Party)/ Consumer Activist 1 January 15, 1977 1
Ron Nessen Press Secretary for US President Gerald Ford (Republican) 1 April 17, 1976 1
Julian Bond Civil Rights leader / Georgia Representative and Senator 1 April 9, 1977 0

Musical guests

Frequent musical guests

The following performers have been musical guests on SNL at least five times:

Musical Guest Number of Episodes First Musical Appearance Last Musical Appearance Other Notes
Paul Simon 7 October 29, 1977 May 13, 2006 Simon also hosted or co-hosted three shows. He co-hosted the second episode with Art Garfunkel on October 18, 1975, and co-hosted with Catherine Oxenberg on May 10, 1986, during the 11th season. He solely hosted on November 20, 1976, where he was one of two musical guests.
Tom Petty 7 November 10, 1979 April 10, 1999
Dave Grohl 7 January 11, 1992 November 12, 2005 He was the drummer for Nirvana in their two performances, was a drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on one performance, and performed with his most recent band, Foo Fighters four times.
Randy Newman 6 October 18, 1975 October 22, 1988
James Taylor 6 September 18, 1976 November 13, 1993
Sting 5 October 17, 1987 November 20, 1999 Only British performer to appear as a musical guest at least five times.
Beck 5 January 11, 1997 April 16, 2005

Musical guests who simultaneously hosted

The following performers have pulled a double duty as both musical guests and host during the same SNL episode:

Musical Guest Date of Hosting/Musical Appearance Other Notes
Paul Simon November 20, 1976 He is the first performer to appear simultaneously as host and musical guest.
Ray Charles November 12, 1977
The Rolling Stones October 7, 1978 Are the only band to host and be musical guests on SNL (even though Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, and Ron Wood were the only band members to appear in sketches)
Frank Zappa October 21, 1978
Olivia Newton-John May 22, 1982
Stevie Wonder May 7, 1983
Willie Nelson February 21, 1987
Dolly Parton April 15, 1989
Quincy Jones February 10, 1990 Jones' hosting stint had ten musical guests on one night, an SNL record.
Sting January 19, 1991
M.C. Hammer December 7, 1991
Garth Brooks February 28, 1998 and November 13, 1999 He is one of only two performers to simultaneously as host and musical guest more than once. Garth appeared in the second episode as himself as host, and his alter ego Chris Gaines as musical guest.
Jennifer Lopez February 10, 2001
Britney Spears May 13, 2000 and February 2, 2002 At 18, she was the youngest person in SNL History to host and musical guest the same time on May 13, 2000. She is also the only female in SNL History to host and perform in the same episode more than once.
Justin Timberlake October 11, 2003 Not only did he perform 3 times, but he also starred in 8 live sketches all in one night.
Janet Jackson April 10, 2004
Queen Latifah October 9, 2004

Last-minute replacements/changes

See also List of last minute changes on Saturday Night Live.

Canceled/replacement hosts

Original Host Replacement Host Date of SNL Episode Other Notes
Robert Guillaume None March 14, 1981 Guillaume was originally scheduled to host on March 14, 1981 with musical guest Ian Dury, but the show was cancelled upon Dick Ebersol's takeover as executive producer. Guillaume would eventually host two years later.
Al Franken & Tom Davis None April 18, 1981 Franken and Davis, former writers and featured players on the show, were scheduled to host on April 18, 1981 with The Grateful Dead as musical guest (Franken and Davis appeared in "The Grateful Dead Movie" of that year). It was cancelled due to a writers' strike and the temporary "cancellation" of SNL after Jean Doumanian and her cast were fired and Dick Ebersol was called in to retool the show.
James Caan None October 3, 1981 He was originally supposed to host the 1981-82 season premiere on October 3, 1981. He backed out to be with his ailing sister, and no host was booked to replace him for the episode.
Nick Nolte Eddie Murphy December 11, 1982 Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982 Christmas episode, but he became too ill to host, so his 48 Hrs. co-star (and then current SNL cast member), Murphy took over as host. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular, a choice reportedly upsetting to his fellow cast members. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy Show!"
John Candy and Eugene Levy None March 9, 1985 Candy and Levy were scheduled to host an episode on March 9, 1985, with musical guest Hall and Oates. It was cancelled due to a short writer's strike that season.
Gilda Radner None May of 1988 Gilda Radner was scheduled to host in 1988 but the episode was canceled due to a writers' strike, and she died the following year. She would have been the first female alumnus to host SNL in the history of the show. That honor went to Julia Louis-Dreyfuss on May 13, 2006.
Joe Pesci Tom Hanks May 9, 1992 He was originally supposed to host on May 9, 1992, but had to back out at the very last minute due to a change in the filming schedule of Home Alone 2. He was replaced by Tom Hanks. The show made light of the switch by having Hanks deliver a monologue that appeared to have been written for Pesci, complete with plugs of all of Pesci's recent films and a parody of the "Whaddya mean I'm funny" scene from Goodfellas. Pesci hosted five months later.
Gary Oldman Tom Arnold December 5, 1992 Oldman was originally scheduled to host in 1992, as announced on the "next week" ticket from the previous live show, but backed out at the last minute, replaced by Tom Arnold.
David Letterman Kevin Kline May 15, 1993 Letterman was originally supposed to host the finale episode of season 18 (1992-1993), but backed out due to his problems with NBC. Lorne Michaels also tried to get Sharon Stone to host again, but she declined as well. Kevin Kline would host the last show of the 1992-1993 season.
Michael Richards Nancy Kerrigan March 12, 1994 Richards was scheduled to host the March 12, 1994 episode, but was dropped by producers in favor of skating sensation Nancy Kerrigan.
Dana Carvey Emilio Estevez April 16, 1994 Carvey was supposed to host for the first time in April 1994, but he had to back out at the last minute. He was replaced by Emilio Estevez. Carvey finally hosted six months later.
Heather Locklear John Goodman May 7, 1994 Locklear was originally supposed to host the 7 May 1994 episode, with musical guest The Pretenders. She was replaced by John Goodman. She would host the following week, 14 May, with musical guest Janet Jackson.
Martin Short Steve Martin September 24, 1994 Short was originally supposed to host the 1994 season premiere but backed out at the last minute. He was replaced by Steve Martin.
Gary Sinise Alec Baldwin December 10, 1994 Sinise was originally supposed to host the December 10, 1994 episode. He was replaced by Alec Baldwin.
Alec Baldwin John Goodman February 7, 1998 Baldwin was supposed to host the February 7, 1998 episode. John Goodman was his replacement.
Drew Carey Alec Baldwin December 12, 1998 Carey was originally scheduled to host the December 12, 1998 episode. He was replaced by Alec Baldwin.
Dana Carvey John Goodman April 10, 1999 Carvey was scheduled to host the April 10, 1999 show. John Goodman, originally scheduled to host the next week, but as that episode was cut due to budget constraints, Goodman was moved up to replace Carvey.
Jim Carrey Danny DeVito December 11, 1999 Carrey was originally supposed to host the 1999 Christmas show to promote Man on the Moon. He had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by his Man on the Moon co-star Danny DeVito.
Jon Stewart Alan Cumming February 5, 2000 Stewart was supposed to host in February 2000, but had to back out at the last minute. He was replaced by Alan Cumming. Stewart finally hosted the show in March 2002.
Kevin Spacey Kate Hudson October 14,2000 Spacey was originally supposed to host for the second time in October 2000. He had to back out when production of his movie K-PAX got behind schedule. He was replaced by Kate Hudson. Spacey would finally host again in May 2006.
Ben Stiller Seann William Scott October 6, 2001 Stiller was scheduled to host on October 6, 2001, but he said it was "impossible to be funny at times like this" (shortly after 9/11). Seann William Scott took his place.
Ray Romano The Rock. April 13, 2002 Romano was supposed to host the show for the second time in April 2002 but had to drop out due to a busy schedule. He was replaced by The Rock.
Anthony Hopkins Nia Vardalos November 9, 2002 Anthony Hopkins was supposed to host the November 9, 2002 show. Nia Vardalos, scheduled to host the next week, was his replacement.
Nia Vardalos Brittany Murphy November 16, 2002 Vardolos was originally supposed to host the third show in November 2002. She was replaced by Brittany Murphy.
Elijah Wood Ray Liotta January 18, 2003 The show that Ray Liotta hosted in Season 28 was originally supposed to be hosted by Elijah Wood. Wood eventually appeared on SNL in Season 29.
Renée Zellweger Adrien Brody May 10, 2003 Zellweger was scheduled to host the May 10, 2003 show. She backed out at the last minute and was replaced by Adrien Brody.
Steve Martin Ben Affleck October 2, 2004 Martin and Prince were the original choice to host and musical guest the 30th season premiere, but Prince had to back out, and Steve Martin declined the invitation. They were replaced by Ben Affleck and Nelly. Oddly enough, Martin and Prince were later paired together for the 12th broadcast of Season 31.
Britney Spears Robert De Niro December 18, 2004 In a People Magazine article in Fall of 2004, it reported that one of the few promotional stops Britney Spears was going to do was host the December 18th episode of Saturday Night Live. But Jive Records later ditched the idea when her album tanked, so producers tapped Robert De Niro to host instead.
Ice Cube Paul Giamatti January 22, 2005 During the 2004-2005 season, an article was released in November 2004 concerning the hosts and musical guests further in the season. It included Ice Cube with musical guest Franz Ferdinand. Because the movie dates and albums were pushed back, Ice Cube was replaced with Paul Giamatti and Franz Ferdinand finally performed during Season 31, in October 2005.
Gwyneth Paltrow Jennifer Garner and then eventually Topher Grace January 15, 2005 During the 2004-2005 season, an article was released in November 2004 concerning the hosts and musical guests further in the season. It included Gwyneth Paltrow with musical guest Coldplay. Because the movie dates and albums were pushed back, changes had to be made. Coldplay was pushed back to perform on the season finale, and SNL replaced them with The Killers. Gwyneth Paltrow was replaced by Jennifer Garner, but she also had to cancel due to an injury she sustained while filming Alias. She was replaced by Topher Grace.
Alec Baldwin Tom Brady April 16, 2005 Producers originally wanted Alec Baldwin to host, straight off his The Aviator buzz & to add sketches for his 'Best of SNL: Alec Baldwin' DVD but they later ditched the idea for football player Tom Brady. Alec Baldwin would host later on the same year in December.
Patrick Dempsey Lindsay Lohan April 15, 2006 Dempsey was scheduled to host on April 15, 2006, but pulled out at the last minute due to personal issues and was replaced by Lindsay Lohan who originally was to host the 2005-06 season finale.

Canceled/replacement musical guests

(Prince) || Blues Traveler || || Princesymbol.png was originally scheduled to be the musical guest for the 1995 season premiere with host Mariel Hemingway but backed out at the last minute. David Spade poked fun at this in his inaugural "Spade in America" segment during the broadcast by calling him "The Artist Formerly Booked on This Show, But Flaked On Us" and showing the famous Prince symbol with a cornflake on it. Princesymbol.png was replaced by Blues Traveler. Prince did appear as the musical guest over ten years later on February 4, 2006.
Original Musical Guest Replacement Musical Guest Date of SNL Episode Other Notes
Sex Pistols Elvis Costello The Sex Pistols were supposed to be the musical guests of the December 17, 1977 episode, but because of visa problems, were replaced with Elvis Costello and The Attractions.
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Donnas The Chili Peppers were supposed to appear in Year 28 but cancelled a couple of weeks beforehand. They went fourteen years between their first SNL appearance in 1992 and their second appearance in 2006.
Scissor Sisters Queen Latifah They were the first choice to musical guest for the Queen Latifah episode for the 30th season, but they ended up having Queen Latifah double duty as host and musical guest. Scissor Sisters did later appear on the episode of the same season hosted by Colin Farrell.

Infamous moments

See Infamous moments in Saturday Night Live history.

Banned from the show

See Infamous moments in Saturday Night Live history.

Recurring characters and sketches

See also:

Below is a short list of some of SNL's most popular recurring sketches.

Films based on SNL sketches

The early days of SNL spawned a few movies and low-budget films. However, it wasn't until the huge success of Wayne's World that Broadway Video (Lorne Michaels' production company) became encouraged to feature more film spinoffs, with several popular 1990s sketch characters (and a few unlikely ones) becoming adapted into movies. Producers tried their luck with a revival of 1970s characters The Coneheads, followed by movies based around Pat, Stuart Smalley, The Ladies Man, The Butabi Brothers and Mary Katherine Gallagher. Some did moderate business but others bombed disastrously — notably It's Pat and Stuart Saves His Family, with the latter losing US$15 million despite good reviews.

Trivia

  • Steve Martin was a frequent guest host of the program and even had popular recurring characters. However, contrary to popular belief, Martin was never a regular member of the cast.

  • Mike Myers based his character Dieter, host of the avant-garde German TV talk show 'Sprockets', after a real person, a student whom Myers met in art college. The real Dieter would often say things like "I once had a course where we had to touch tapioca, styrofoam and monkeys. Michael, perhaps we can go to the zoo and touch monkeys." (thus giving rise to the TV Dieter's catchphrase "Would you like to touch my monkey?")

  • A film version of 'Sprockets' was planned, but abandoned after Mike Myers became dissatisfied with his own script. It would have involved Dieter travelling to the USA to rescue Klaus, his pet monkey. This aborted production would later be the crux of a 2000 lawsuit between Myers and Ron Howard, which was settled by Myers' agreeing to appear in The Cat in the Hat.

  • Although Darrell Hammond holds the record for longest tenure by a repertory player with 11 consecutive seasons (about 200 episodes), Al Franken has appeared in about 140 episodes over 12 seasons (1977–80) and (1985–95), as a featured player.

  • The recurring character that has appeared the most is Don Novello's Father Guido Sarducci with a whopping 31 appearances over the course of 17 years. Novello was not a cast member for most of these appearances and the Sarducci character was not even created specifically for the show.

  • Morwenna Banks holds the record for the shortest tenure of a repertory player, with only four episodes (April–May 1995). Laurie Metcalf holds the record for shortest tenure of a feature player (she only appeared in what's now considered the final episode of the 1980-1981 season, which was cut short due to a writers' strike).

  • An actress named Emily Prager was credited as a featured player during the last episode of the 1980-1981 season, yet she never appeared in this episode and wasn't brought back for the following season. She was to have appeared in a commentary during "Weekend Update", which was cut from the live broadcast. This makes her the only credited cast member to never appear on SNL.

  • During the rebuilding of SNL in the early 1980's, Dick Ebersol wanted John Candy and Catherine O'Hara (both of whom were on SCTV at the time) to be cast members on the show. John Candy declined, and Catherine O'Hara quit after Michael O'Donoghue yelled at everyone involved with the 1980-1981 season for the lackluster writing and acting.

  • The cold opening occasionally varies from the traditional "Live From New York...", usually to follow the consistency of a certain sketch. In 1981, the traditional cold opening was done away with entirely (returning the next season) and there are some episodes in the 1984-1985 season that have a cold opening (with the Pamela Sue Martin/Power Station episode being an exception since that had no cold opening to begin with), but it doesn't end with someone shouting, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!". The 1985-1986 season episode hosted by George Wendt and Francis Ford Coppola is the only Lorne Michaels-era episode to have a cold opening that doesn't end with someone saying, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

  • John Belushi was credited in the opening montage of the Christopher Lee/Meat Loaf episode as Kevin Scott, a continuing gag from the cold opening, where he was supposedly "moving up" from SNL to star as Grizzly Adams on the NBC program of the same name. Belushi had to change his name to Kevin Scott because NBC felt that his name was too synonymous with comedy and satire for "Grizzly Adams."

  • The opening montage of the Charlton Heston/Paul Westerberg episode from season 19 featured the entire cast replaced with apes, a continuing gag from the cold open, where Heston, in preparing for that week's show, lies down for a nap and slips into a deep slumber, and wakes up in the distant future, where apes have taken over SNL. While the cast members' names were all PotA-esque, G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band were still credited as such (though their photo was modified to fit the theme of apes.) When Heston was escorted, shackled in irons, out to Home Base by the apes for his monologue, the SNL Band and audience in front of Home Base were all dressed as apes. This gag thankfully ended with the monologue.

  • Harry Shearer and Brian Doyle-Murray are the only two cast members to work under both Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. Shearer in 1979 and 1984, and Doyle-Murray in 1979 and 1981. In addition, Doyle-Murray also worked under one-season producer Jean Doumanian as a writer (as did Terry Sweeney, who worked under Doumanian from 1980 to 1981, then become a writer and castmember for Lorne Michaels in 1985). Jim Downey, a featured player and writer under Lorne in 1979-80, was also a writer during 1984-85 (under Ebersol).

  • Cast members who have cameoed on SNL before becoming cast members include: A. Whitney Brown (performed stand-up in a 1984 episode), Yvonne Hudson (worked as an extra on some episodes from season 5), Denny Dillon (appeared in the first season of SNL as a guest performer), Rob Riggle (appeared in season 29 in a fake promo for a kids' version of Fear Factor), Phil Hartman (was credited as a writer for the season 11 episode hosted by Pee Wee Herman and appeared as a Pilgrim in the Pee Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special sketch), and Ben Stiller (appeared in an SNL short film in season 12).

  • The longest span of time between two hosting spots goes to Madeline Kahn who returned 18 years after her 1977 spot to host in 1995.

  • The longest span between musical guest spots goes to Prince when he was a musical guest for Steve Martin in 2006. Prince first appeared on the now infamous 1981 episode (where Charles Rocket says "I'd like to know who the fuck did it") hosted by Charlene Tilton, which would make it almost 25 years between appearances.

  • The youngest cast member hired was Anthony Michael Hall who was 17 years old when he joined the cast in 1985.

  • The oldest cast member hired was Michael McKean, who was 46 years old when he joined the show in 1994.

  • The oldest cast member to perform is Darrell Hammond, who is 50 years old and still a member of the cast.

  • In 2003, Kenan Thompson became the first cast member born after SNL's premiere in 1975 (Thompson was born in 1978). Bill Hader and Andy Samberg (also born in 1978) followed two seasons later.

  • Though never a credited player on the show, Bruce McCulloch, cast member of another Lorne Michaels/Broadway Video production, Kids in the Hall, has appeared on SNL in various cameo roles over the years, most notably in a 1985 U.S. Army parody ad (host Pee-Wee Herman), and in a number of short films he directed which aired during the 1994-95 season.

  • During the early years, the format of the show was not completely set in stone. For example, on the second episode, hosted by Paul Simon, included a reunion with his former musical partner, Art Garfunkel. Only a few comedy sketches were featured during the episode, with others dropped in order to allow Simon and Garfunkel to perform an extended musical set. On another occasion, Beat generation author William S. Burroughs appeared on the program and read passages from his books, to mixed response.

  • The Rob Reiner episode, third show of season 1, is the first and only episode to end without any credit/goodnight segment. The original live broadcast ran long, and by the time the last sketch ended and the two-minute final internal station break began, there was exactly 2 minutes left until the scheduled programme end. The show didn't come back from break, and stations rolled their terminal break immediately after the last internal break. In repeats of the show, a slideshow of Bumper graphics with the credits superimposed over them, with the ending theme music underneath, was attached to the end of the last sketch. This has come close to happening from time to time in more recent years, such as the Lindsay Lohan/Pearl Jam episode from season 31, whose situation was actually identical to the Reiner episode (there was 90 seconds until scheduled programme end by the time the last 90-second break began,) however in these instances, the show comes back from commercial and runs a bit long - in the case of the Lohan episode, it was scheduled to end at 12:59:25 EST, but went until 12:59:37 (returned from last internal break at 12:59:25.) The more recent (from the mid-80s onward) use of terminal "network IDs" (typically, promos for NBC shows) at the end of SNL broadcasts, allows for a "safety zone" of sorts for the director, should the show run long. Again, referencing the Lohan episode above, there was originally a 20-second promo scheduled to run and end at 12:59:45. During the last break of the night, the promo was replaced with a shorter 10-second version, ending the feed only two seconds past schedule, at 12:59:47. Occasionally, the show's ending will take up the net ID time, and some stations will simply cut off at that point, whether the feed has finished or not.

  • While SNL has used Commercial bumpers like many other late-night programmes, theirs have, since mid-way through season 1, been different in both their unique weekly nature and their evolving and engaging art. A typical episode will feature as many as 11 unique bumper graphics, featuring the host and musical guest in a series of inventive poses. These graphics have deviated on a few occasions. The first several episodes featured more standard late-night-style bumpers, with pictures of NYC, rather than the week's host. Until 1987, musical guests weren't usually featured in bumpers. During the Ebersol era, due to Ebersol's comparatively large number of shows without a host, the cast would be featured in bumpers of host-less episodes.

  • During the first season, besides the usual comedy sketches, Albert Brooks contributed short films and a rather adult cast of Muppets acted in a weird setting known as the Land of Gortch. The Muppet sketches were not liked by audiences and writers Al Franken and Alan Zweibel and only lasted one season.

  • Two years after leaving the show, Robin Duke made a brief and unintentional cameo in the 1985 episode hosted by Pee Wee Herman, being seen in the audience during Terry Sweeney's performance as Diana Ross on the Pee-Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special sketch.

  • George Carlin was the show's first host. Instead of taking part in sketches (Carlin was allegedly too high on cocaine to perform), Carlin performed snippets of his stand up comedy routines. Carlin returned to host on season 10 and appeared in sketches.

  • In issue #74 of Marvel Team-Up (cover dated October, 1978), the Not Ready For Prime Time Players (Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner) and Lorne Micheals teamed up with comic book superhero Spider-Man, making them among the few real people to have had a superhero team up.

  • According to his website, Dane Cook (who hosted December 3, 2005) performed the longest opening monologue in the history of the show. It consisted of jokes from his stand-up act.

  • Chris Parnell isn't the only cast member to get fired and rehired. Jim Belushi was fired on the 1983-1984 season, then brought back a week later. Tim Meadows was also fired when Lorne was rebuilding his cast for season 21, but Meadows didn't miss any episodes since the cast overhaul between seasons 20 and 21 took place during the summer and no new episodes of SNL air during that time.

  • Linda Richman, the host of the recurring sketch "Coffee Talk" is based on Mike Myers' mother-in-law.

  • Dana Carvey holds the record for the number of times opening SNL with, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night".

  • Don Pardo's announcing booth is located in the exact same spot on which legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini's podium once stood, when he conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in his famous and long-running series of radio concerts.

  • In the premiere episode, Dick Ebersol was credited as "Executive Producer for NBC". The credit drew immediate ire from NBC Vice-president of Talent David Tebet, because of a network policy that prohibited any NBC executives from taking any on-air credit for programming. According to the "Backstage History" book, Ebersol told Tebet that the credit was Lorne's idea.

  • Gerald Ford is the only US President to open the show with, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night" (this was when Ron Nessen hosted).

  • Conan O'Brien is the only SNL staff writer (who was not an official member of the SNL cast) to host SNL. However, he did make several appearances in sketches during his tenure at SNL. O'Brien hosted on March 10, 2001.

  • On April 29, 2006, Stephen Colbert, who briefly served as an SNL staff writer during the 1990's, reprised the voice of Ace from The Ambiguously Gay Duo, a frequent role during and after his writing tenure for the show, while hosting a Best of Saturday Night Live TV Funhouse special.

  • On February 10, 2001, Jennifer Lopez hosted the show, and instead of the normal cold opening "Live from New York it's Saturday night!", Tracy Morgan opened the show with "Live from New York, it's J.Lo's booty!"

  • NBC received 4,484 complaints after Sinéad O'Connor tore up a picture of the Pope on-air, but it also received 725 calls supporting O 'Connor.

  • The word "cheeseburger" was spoken 80 times during the Olympia Resturant Sketch.

See also

External links

Fansites

Further reading

  • Cader, Michael. (1994). Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395708958
  • Hill, Doug, and Jeff Weingrad. (1986). Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live. New York, NY: Beech Tree Books. ISBN 0688050999
  • Mohr, Jay. (2004). Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live. New York, NY: Hyperion. ISBN 1401300065
  • Shales, Tom, and James Andrew Miller. (2002). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Boston, MA: Little, Brown. ISBN 0316781460

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