History of Saturday Night Live (1980-1985)
Encyclopedia
Doumanian's season
For much of the 1980-1981 television year, SNL was in turmoil and many critics wrote the show off as a pale imitation of its former glory. Jean DoumanianJean Doumanian
Jean Doumanian is an American producer.Doumanian is probably most well known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live between November 1980 and March 1981...
took over the show for Season 6, hiring a completely new cast and new writers, but it was plagued by problems from the start and deemed a commercial disappointment by both critics and in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
.
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
had originally wanted to make Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
(writer from 1976–1980; cast member between 1979–1980 and 1986–1995) his successor as executive producer after he left, and all was in place to do such until the May 10, 1980 broadcast. During a Weekend Update segment, Franken delivered a harsh criticism of then-NBC President Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
. The commentary angered Silverman so much that any chance of Franken becoming an executive under Silverman's watch was gone.
Jean Doumanian was a talent scout for SNL in the early days and was one of the few members of the staff who remained after Season 5. In Fall 1980, Doumanian accepted the job as the new executive producer. NBC almost immediately cut the show's budget from $1,000,000 (about $2,649,417 in 2010 dollars) per episode to about $350,000 (about $927,296 in 2010 dollars) per episode. Further, Doumanian had only two months to discover and prepare a new cast and crew; she claims she received virtually none of the support that was promised to her by either the network or her staff.
Eddie Murphy
In September 1980, talent coordinator Neil Levy received a telephone call from 19-year old Eddie MurphyEddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
, who had begged the producer to "give him a shot" on the show, but was rejected since "the black cast member had already been chosen." Murphy pleaded with Levy that he had several siblings banking on him getting a spot on the show. Levy finally auditioned him, and recommended him to Doumanian. Doumanian, after seeing Murphy's audition, advocated for Murphy with the network, and Murphy was cast as a featured player.
New cast for 1980
The first episode, renamed Saturday Night Live '80 in the opening credits, aired November 15, 1980 and featured an all-new cast – Charles RocketCharles Rocket
Charles Rocket was an American film and television actor, notable for his tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live as well as for his appearances as the villain Nicholas Andre in the film Dumb and Dumber; as Dave Dennison, the father in Disney's Hocus Pocus.-Early life and career:Rocket was...
(groomed to be the new break-out star), Denny Dillon
Denny Dillon
Denise "Denny" Dillon is an American comedian and former cast member of Saturday Night Live. At 4'11" , Dillon is the shortest cast member in the show's history...
, Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilbert Gottfried is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his trademark comedic persona of speaking in a loud, grating tone of voice. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin , and...
, Gail Matthius
Gail Matthius
Gail Matthius is an American actress and voice actress. She was a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live during its critical and ratings low point at the time , and co-anchored the Weekend Update segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.-Recurring characters:*Vicki, a Valley girl who,...
, Joe Piscopo
Joe Piscopo
Joseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
, and Ann Risley
Ann Risley
Anna "Ann" Risley was a cast member of the TV series Saturday Night Live for the 12 episodes of the 1980–1981 season. These 12 broadcasts were the first episodes after producer Lorne Michaels left the show...
rounded out the new "Not Ready For Prime Time Players". Yvonne Hudson
Yvonne Hudson
Yvonne Hudson is an American television actress who is best known for being the first African-American female cast member on Saturday Night Live. She joined the cast as a featured player in the show's 1980-1981 season...
was hired as a featured player the week before Murphy and became SNLs first black female cast-member. Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
had agreed to host the first episode.
The Elliot Gould episode
Contributing to the sense that Season 6 was doomed, in the first sketch the cast shared a bed with Gould and introduced themselves – Charles Rocket proclaimed himself to be a cross between Chevy ChaseChevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
, and Gilbert Gottfried (prior to adopting his signature screechy, obnoxious voice) referred to himself as a cross between John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
"and that guy from last year who did Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
, and no one can remember his name" (referring to Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
).
At the end of the show, Gould stood on stage and quickly introduced himself to the cast one more time by first name and declared "We're gonna be around forever, so we might as well..."
The Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
episode
The McDowell episode was notable in that Eddie MurphyEddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
made his non-speaking network television debut in a sketch called "In Search of the Negro Republican". He made such a positive impression that he would be called on for more in later episodes, and was made a full cast member by the season's seventh episode.
"Who Shot C.R.?"
On February 21, 1981 the show featured a parodyParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the "Who Shot J.R.?
Who shot J.R.?
Who shot J. R.? is an advertising catchphrase that American network CBS created in 1980 to promote the television series Dallas.In the final scene of the 1979–1980 season, the character J. R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was shot by a hidden assailant. The episode, titled "A House Divided", was...
" craze from the hit TV show Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
. In a cliffhanger titled "Who Shot C.R.?", cast member Charles Rocket was "shot" in the last sketch of the episode, after a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
in which other members of the cast shared their grievances about Rocket with one another. Onstage for the goodnights, Dallas star and that week's host, Charlene Tilton
Charlene Tilton
Charlene L. Tilton is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Lucy Ewing in the television series Dallas.-Career:...
, asked Rocket (who was still in character and sitting in a wheelchair) his thoughts on being shot. "Oh man, it's the first time I've been shot in my life", he replied. "I'd like to know who the fuck did it." The cast, along with some of the audience, reacted with laughter and applause.
This was not the first nor last time the expletive would be uttered live on SNL but Rocket's epithet, unbeknownst to him, would cost him his job. Almost the entire cast and crew lost their jobs on the show.
Ebersol steps in
By 1981 SNL had been overtaken in the ratings by ABC's derivative Fridays, which at the time was garnering more critical acclaim as well. These factors gave the impression that NBC might cancel the show. SNL was given one more chance when Dick EbersolDick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
was hired to replace Doumanian. He was the young apprentice the network hired away from ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to develop SNL in late 1974; he was responsible for hiring Lorne Michaels that year, and now was given the task of saving the once-acclaimed show from cancellation.
In his first week, Ebersol fired Gottfried, Risley, and Rocket, replacing them with Robin Duke
Robin Duke
Robin Duke is a Canadian actress and comedian. Duke is most famous for her work on the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In the 2000s, Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which she co-founded, toured Canada...
, Tim Kazurinsky
Tim Kazurinsky
Timothy J. Kazurinsky is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films...
, and Tony Rosato
Tony Rosato
Tony Rosato is an Italian-Canadian animated voice actor who has appeared in television and movies in both Canada and the United States....
. At the end of the season, he would eliminate the rest of the 1980 cast except for Murphy and Piscopo; he had wanted to fire Dillon as soon as he took over, but could not afford a replacement for her. Ebersol originally wanted to bring in John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
and Catherine O'Hara
Catherine O'Hara
Catherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
from SCTV; Candy turned down the offer and Rosato joined instead. O'Hara initially accepted, but she changed her mind after Michael O'Donoghue
Michael O'Donoghue
Michael O'Donoghue was a writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to National Lampoon magazine, and was the first head writer of Saturday Night Live.-Childhood:O'Donoghue was born Michael Henry Donohue in Sauquoit, New York...
– SNLs original head writer, who had been brought in to rejuvenate the show – screamed at the cast about the season's poor writing and performances. Robin Duke was added to the cast when O'Hara suggested her instead. Emily Prager
Emily Prager
- Life and work :Prager grew up in Texas, Taiwan, and Greenwich Village, NY. She is a graduate of The Brearley School, Barnard College and has a Masters Degree in Education...
and Laurie Metcalf
Laurie Metcalf
Lauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2...
joined as featured players, but were not retained after their first appearance.
The unfinished season
Ebersol's first show aired April 11, with appearances by Chevy ChaseChevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
on Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
, and Al Franken asking viewers to "put SNL to sleep". Ebersol, wanting to establish a connection to the original cast, allowed Franken's mock-serious routine on the air.
Ebersol had promised Franken and Tom Davis that in addition to appearing on the April 11 show, they could host the next week, with musical guest The Grateful Dead. During the following week, with a writer's strike looming
1981 Writers Guild of America strike
The 1981 Writers Guild of America strike was a 3 month strike action taken to establish compensation in the then-new markets of "pay TV" and home video.- See also :* International Affiliation of Writers Guilds * WGA screenwriting credit system...
, Franken and Davis wrote material and mailed it to themselves so that their postmark could be used to prove they did not violate the strike. After seeing copies of the material, Ebersol (never a fan of Franken & Davis') caved to the writer's strike and called off the rest of the season, promising the duo they could host the season premiere that fall. As the summer ended, Ebersol, confident in his new cast, decided he no longer needed a link to the original cast. Franken claims Ebersol never returned his calls, and Franken and Davis never hosted SNL. Al Franken wouldn't return to SNL until four years later, as a featured cast member.
Other episodes cancelled due to the strike were scheduled to air on May 9, 1981 (with host Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
, an SNL favorite) and May 23, 1981 (with another frequent SNL host, Buck Henry
Buck Henry
Henry Zuckerman, better known as Buck Henry , is an American actor, writer, film director, and television director.-Early life:...
). Martin wouldn't return to host SNL until 1986.
1981–82 season set-up
By Fall 1981, Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy were the only performers from Doumanian's cast to appear on SNL for Season 7Saturday Night Live (Season 7)
Saturday Night Live aired its seventh season during the 1981–1982 television season on NBC. The seventh season started on October 3, 1981 and ended on May 22, 1982...
. Murphy became a break-out star under Ebersol, and his soaring popularity helped restore the show's ratings. He created memorable characters, including the empty-headed former child movie star Buckwheat and an irascible, life-size version of the Gumby
Gumby
Gumby is a green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey, who also created Davey and Goliath. Gumby has been the subject of a 233-episode series of American television as well as a feature-length film and other media...
toy character, complete with life-size star ego. Murphy also performed an uncanny impression of Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
(Wonder sportingly hosted in 1983 and appeared in a fake ad for the "Kannon AE-1" camera, which is "so simple, even Stevie Wonder can use it".) Piscopo was also popular, renowned for his Frank Sinatra impersonation, as well as his characters Paulie Herman and (with Robin Duke) Doug & Wendy Whiner.
Other new cast members for the 1981 season included Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Ebersole was born in Winnetka, Illinois, where she attended New Trier High School...
, Mary Gross
Mary Gross
Mary Gross is an American comedian and actress, perhaps best known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch...
, and 1979 featured player Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
, who ran the Weekend Update (under the title Saturday Night Live Newsbreak & Current Affairs) desk for one season. Also returning were Second City veterans Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, and Tony Rosato, who had debuted April 11. In the spring of 1982, Ebersol traveled to The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
in Chicago to scout for more talent. Tired of recently losing key players to NBC (such as Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
George Wendt
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
and Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
Betty Thomas
Betty Thomas
Betty Thomas is an American actress and director in television and motion pictures.-Life and career:Born Betty Thomas Nienhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, Thomas graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree...
), the Second City top brass directed Ebersol around the corner to the Practical Theatre Company, where he hired Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger is an American actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduated from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michaels' hiatus...
, Brad Hall
Brad Hall
William Brad Hall is an American writer and actor, best known as a Saturday Night Live news anchor on Saturday Night News. He was also the creator of the TV series The Single Guy and Watching Ellie...
, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
(who later married Hall) to join in the fall. Second City alum James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
arrived three shows into Season 9
Saturday Night Live (Season 9)
Saturday Night Live aired its ninth season during the 1983–1984 television season on NBC. The ninth season started on October 8, 1983 and ended on May 12, 1984.Before the start of the season the entire cast returned for another season...
due to stage commitments in Chicago.
Dick's show
Ebersol ran a very different show than Michaels had in the 1970s. Many of the sketches were built less on "smart" and "revolutionary" comedy that was abundant in the early days and followed a much more "straightforward" approach. This shift alienated some fans and even some writers and cast members. Ebersol was eager to attract the younger viewers that advertisers craved. He dictated that no sketch should run longer than five minutes, so as not to lose the attention of teenagers. Many writers felt that Ebersol was simplifying the humor of the show by demanding more appearances of recurring characters for cheap laughs, among other things, leading to somewhat inconsistent writing. Unlike Michaels, Ebersol never had been a writer, and unlike Doumanian, he never claimed to be. He determined which sketches made it to air, and often made his decisions based not on creative content but budget or ease of production. Cast and writers often wondered if "Dick" (as nearly all of them called him) actually knew which sketches were funny and which were not.Despite these oppositions, there was little argument that Ebersol possessed a keen sense of business politics, which eventually helped revive a show that would have otherwise died at the hands of an inexperienced producer. Having come from the ranks of "the suits
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
" himself, Ebersol was adept at dealing with the network. Later in his tenure, Ebersol was generally handling much of the business aspects and day-to-day production affairs, leaving producer Bob Tischler in charge of most of the creative facets of the show.
Unlike Lorne Michaels, Dick Ebersol had no difficulty firing people. Among the first casualties after the 1981 season were Rosato (who later said that the firing was the best thing to ever happen to him) and Ebersole, who got the axe because of her frequent complaints that the women on the show had little airtime and what they did receive cast them in sexist and humiliating light. Michael O'Donoghue was fired in the middle of Season 7 after repeated arguments with Ebersol over the creative direction of the show, and because of his abusive treatment of the cast.
Live From New York, it's The Eddie Murphy Show
On air, SNL was mostly a two-man show from 1981–1984, with Murphy and Piscopo playing a bulk of the lead characters. This was not unprecedented – Chevy ChaseChevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
had become the breakout star of Season 1, Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
became the dominant forces upon Chase's departure, and Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
would play nearly every male lead during Season 5. But Ebersol made it clear from the beginning that his strategy was to showcase Murphy and Piscopo as much as possible. All other cast members played mainly supporting roles and were treated with very little patience by the producers. Writers often noticed that Ebersol would criticize their scripts for not featuring enough of Murphy and Piscopo, even though they were already the leads in most of the sketches.
With the release of the film 48 Hours, Murphy's star began to eclipse that of Piscopo. Murphy's co-star in the film, Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
, was scheduled to host the show, but canceled at the last minute due to a hangover after a night of partying at Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
. Ebersol offered Murphy the chance to host, a move that Piscopo would perceive as a major slight. Piscopo would later claim Ebersol used Murphy's success to divide the two erstwhile friends and play them against one another. Others countered that Piscopo was simply being a prima donna; said one writer, "Eddie Murphy's fame went to Joe Piscopo's head."
Another new cast
In February 1984, Eddie Murphy left the show. His appearances for the remainder of the season consisted of sketches he had pre-taped in September 1983. Duke, Piscopo, Hall, and Kazurinsky were not invited to return after Season 9. Piscopo was offered a chance to guest host during Season 10, but declined.Upon the departures of Murphy and Piscopo, Ebersol, having lost his key players, began rebuilding the cast for Season 10, enlisting what is in retrospect known as the "All-Star" cast. Along with veteran players James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
, Gross, Kroeger, and Louis-Dreyfus, Ebersol added somewhat, for the first time in the show's history, well-known names to the repertory. This new cast included Soap
Soap (TV series)
Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such...
star Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
; Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
, who had made a name for himself as Ed Grimley
Ed Grimley
Edward Mayhoff 'Ed' Grimley is a fictional character created and portrayed by Martin Short. Developed amongst The Second City improv comedy troupe, Grimley made his television debut the sketch comedy show SCTV in 1982, leading to popular success for both Short and the persona continued on Saturday...
(a character he would bring to SNL that year) on Canada's SCTV; Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
and Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
(who was also a cast member in 1979) from The Credibility Gap
The Credibility Gap
The Credibility Gap was a satirical comedy team comprising Harry Shearer, Richard Beebe, David L. Lander and Michael McKean. Lew Irwin, John Gilliland, Thom Beck, and Len Chandler also performed in their early days...
and This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
; Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand-born Australian clinical psychologist and writer now resident in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s...
from Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
& Superman III
Superman III
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...
; and Rich Hall
Rich Hall
Richard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
from HBO's Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
.
The newcomers helped put together a memorable year of hit sketches and widely accepted recurring characters. As Louis-Dreyfus noted in a November 2005 retrospective, the newcomers, particularly Crystal, Short, and Guest, all but took over the show, relegating her and most of the rest of the cast to supporting roles. Short has noted that his one year at SNL brought him more fame than his entire stint on SCTV, but it was Crystal who became the show's break-out star. Crystal had been scheduled to appear in the first SNL in 1975, but walked when his airtime was whittled away during rehearsal. Already known to some for his stand-up comedy and his role as Jodie Dallas
Jodie Dallas
Jodie Dallas is a fictional character from the 1977 American situation comedy Soap. He was played by Billy Crystal. The son of central character Mary Campbell, Jodie works as a television commercial director. Jodie was among the first gay characters on American television...
in Soap
Soap (TV series)
Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format and included melodramatic plot elements such...
, Crystal became the show's latest sensation, bringing the catch-phrases "It is better to look good than to feel good" and "You look mahvelous!" (both uttered by his "Fernando" character) into popular culture.
Harry Shearer would depart after the January 12, 1985 broadcast, citing "creative differences". Shearer would later remark "I was creative...and they were different." Shearer would go on to greater fame as a cast member of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
in which he voiced several characters including Mr. Burns and Principal Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
.
End of the Ebersol era
At the end of the season, Ebersol requested to completely revamp the show to include mostly prerecorded segments. Short, Guest, and Hall had tired of the show's demanding production schedule and showed little interest in returning for another season, leaving Crystal the only "A-cast" member available for Season 11. Like Michaels at the end of Season 5, Ebersol made it known to NBC that he would only return to SNL if the network would take the show off the air for several months to re-cast and rebuild. Another idea was to institute a permanent rotation of hosts (Billy Crystal, Joe Piscopo, and David Letterman) for "a hip Ed Sullivan Show".After briefly canceling the show, NBC decided to continue production only if they could get Lorne Michaels to produce again. Ebersol and Tischler, along with their writing staff and most of the cast, left the show after this season (those who wished to stay, such as Billy Crystal, were eventually not re-hired for 1985), which closed the book on an inconsistent, yet memorable, era in SNL history.
Lorne Michaels said that leaving SNL at the end of Season 5 would be the biggest error of his life.
1980–81 season
Opening montage
Two opening montages were used for this season. During Jean Doumanian's tenure, it opened with a shot of the Statue of Liberty whose torch suddenly lights after a few seconds. Using "paint-over" type transitions, it then cuts to various images of New York with neon lights embellishing each picture. Some of the subjects included were a taxi cab, a pair of drag queenDrag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s, Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
, Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
, a punk rocker, and Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. Dick Ebersol, however, apparently wanted a more simple opening.
For the one episode he produced this season (4/11/81), the original SNL opening theme music used from Season 1 until the first episode of this season (11/15/80) returns to accompany a different shot of the Statue of Liberty, followed by various still images taken from around New York displayed one after another. The cast is introduced using all new pictures, and plain-white block lettering reveals their name at the bottom of the picture. This opener was only used on this one episode.
Cast
- Denny DillonDenny DillonDenise "Denny" Dillon is an American comedian and former cast member of Saturday Night Live. At 4'11" , Dillon is the shortest cast member in the show's history...
- Robin DukeRobin DukeRobin Duke is a Canadian actress and comedian. Duke is most famous for her work on the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In the 2000s, Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which she co-founded, toured Canada...
(joined: April 11, 1981) - Gilbert GottfriedGilbert GottfriedGilbert Gottfried is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his trademark comedic persona of speaking in a loud, grating tone of voice. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin , and...
(final: March 7, 1981) - Tim KazurinskyTim KazurinskyTimothy J. Kazurinsky is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films...
(joined: April 11, 1981) - Gail MatthiusGail MatthiusGail Matthius is an American actress and voice actress. She was a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live during its critical and ratings low point at the time , and co-anchored the Weekend Update segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.-Recurring characters:*Vicki, a Valley girl who,...
- Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
(debut: November 22, 1980) - Joe PiscopoJoe PiscopoJoseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
- Ann RisleyAnn RisleyAnna "Ann" Risley was a cast member of the TV series Saturday Night Live for the 12 episodes of the 1980–1981 season. These 12 broadcasts were the first episodes after producer Lorne Michaels left the show...
(final: March 7, 1981) - Charles RocketCharles RocketCharles Rocket was an American film and television actor, notable for his tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live as well as for his appearances as the villain Nicholas Andre in the film Dumb and Dumber; as Dave Dennison, the father in Disney's Hocus Pocus.-Early life and career:Rocket was...
(last: March 7, 1981) - Tony RosatoTony RosatoTony Rosato is an Italian-Canadian animated voice actor who has appeared in television and movies in both Canada and the United States....
(joined: April 11, 1981)
Featuring
- Yvonne HudsonYvonne HudsonYvonne Hudson is an American television actress who is best known for being the first African-American female cast member on Saturday Night Live. She joined the cast as a featured player in the show's 1980-1981 season...
(final: March 7, 1981) - Matthew Laurance (final: March 7, 1981)
- Laurie MetcalfLaurie MetcalfLauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2...
(April 11, 1981 only) - Emily PragerEmily Prager- Life and work :Prager grew up in Texas, Taiwan, and Greenwich Village, NY. She is a graduate of The Brearley School, Barnard College and has a Masters Degree in Education...
(April 11, 1981 only) - Patrick Weathers (final: March 7, 1981)
1981–82 season
Opening montage
Another "simple" opening from the Ebersol era, and the only montage with Mel BrandtMel Brandt
Melville Brandt was an actor and NBC staff announcer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.Brandt joined the network around 1948. His radio announcing credits included The Adventures of Frank Merriwell, Author Meets the Critics, and The Eternal Light...
, an NBC staff announcer, doing the voice-over in place of Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
. This opener was used more-or-less for three seasons; it began with shot of a lady lighting a cigarette, then consisted of various grainy, black-and-white video footage of the gritty, yet glamorous New York City night life (including shots of dance clubs, a man practicing karate moves in a subway car, the outside of a triple-X movie theater
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, a police dog, street vendors, rainy smoky streets, etc.). Despite being bland, it did, however, have what is considered one of the better opening music themes of the show, which would be used (albeit in various incarnations) for virtually every episode under Dick Ebersol's tenure.
Because "Live from New York" is not yelled, announcer Brandt says, "And now, from New York, the most dangerous city in America, it's Saturday Night Live." After the opening ended, the announcer says, "and now ladies and gentlemen, live from New York, the cast of Saturday Night Live" (only for the 10/3/81 episode) or "and now, ladies and gentlemen, live from New York, your host..." (used for the rest of the season).
Cast
- Robin DukeRobin DukeRobin Duke is a Canadian actress and comedian. Duke is most famous for her work on the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In the 2000s, Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which she co-founded, toured Canada...
- Christine EbersoleChristine EbersoleChristine Ebersole is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Ebersole was born in Winnetka, Illinois, where she attended New Trier High School...
- Mary GrossMary GrossMary Gross is an American comedian and actress, perhaps best known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch...
- Tim KazurinskyTim KazurinskyTimothy J. Kazurinsky is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films...
- Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
- Joe PiscopoJoe PiscopoJoseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
- Tony RosatoTony RosatoTony Rosato is an Italian-Canadian animated voice actor who has appeared in television and movies in both Canada and the United States....
With
- Brian Doyle-MurrayBrian Doyle-MurrayBrian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
1982–83 season
Opening montage
Virtually the same montage from 1981, with a few minor changes: Don Pardo returned to do the voiceover; the opening shot changes from a woman lighting a cigarette, to a construction worker lighting his cigarette with an acetylene torch; further, the cast photos are different from the previous year, with a chalkboard NYC skyline background. Also this season the classic "Live From New York..." intro was re-introduced into the opening skits.Cast
- Robin DukeRobin DukeRobin Duke is a Canadian actress and comedian. Duke is most famous for her work on the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In the 2000s, Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which she co-founded, toured Canada...
- Mary GrossMary GrossMary Gross is an American comedian and actress, perhaps best known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch...
- Brad HallBrad HallWilliam Brad Hall is an American writer and actor, best known as a Saturday Night Live news anchor on Saturday Night News. He was also the creator of the TV series The Single Guy and Watching Ellie...
- Tim KazurinskyTim KazurinskyTimothy J. Kazurinsky is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films...
- Gary KroegerGary KroegerGary Kroeger is an American actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduated from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michaels' hiatus...
- Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Louis-DreyfusJulia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
- Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
- Joe PiscopoJoe PiscopoJoseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
Recurring characters and sketches
Brad Hall hosted Saturday Night News
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
throughout the season. Recurring characters featured during this season include The Whiners
The Whiners
The Whiners were recurring characters on Saturday Night Live, from 1982 to 1984. Joe Piscopo, playing Doug Whiner, and Robin Duke, playing Wendy Whiner, spoke all their lines in a whining, nasal tone, hence, a double meaning of their name...
, Mister Robinson (host of a parody of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, also known as Mister Rogers, is an American children's television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series is aimed primarily at preschool ages, 2-5, but has been stated by Public Broadcasting Service as "appropriate for all ages"...
), and Buckwheat.
1983–84 season
Opening montage
Same credits as the 1982 season. The addition of Jim Belushi is the only notable change, and the background of his photo is noticeably different.Cast
- James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
(debut: October 22, 1983) - Robin DukeRobin DukeRobin Duke is a Canadian actress and comedian. Duke is most famous for her work on the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In the 2000s, Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which she co-founded, toured Canada...
- Mary GrossMary GrossMary Gross is an American comedian and actress, perhaps best known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch...
- Brad HallBrad HallWilliam Brad Hall is an American writer and actor, best known as a Saturday Night Live news anchor on Saturday Night News. He was also the creator of the TV series The Single Guy and Watching Ellie...
- Tim KazurinskyTim KazurinskyTimothy J. Kazurinsky is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the Police Academy films...
- Gary KroegerGary KroegerGary Kroeger is an American actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduated from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michaels' hiatus...
- Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Louis-DreyfusJulia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
- Eddie MurphyEddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
(final: February 25, 1984) - Joe PiscopoJoe PiscopoJoseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
1984–85 season
Opening montage
A highly unusual, but fan-favorite opening montage. In addition to flying hot dogs, we scroll right to reveal each "giant" cast member towering over the New York skyline, and interacting with various objects along the way in a complete one-camera shot. From 1984-1986, the Statue of LibertyStatue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
was being renovated in preparation for its 100th anniversary; SNL acknowledged these renovations by showing the statue surrounded in scaffolding during the opening credits for this season and the next.
Cast
- James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
- Billy CrystalBilly CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
- Mary GrossMary GrossMary Gross is an American comedian and actress, perhaps best known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her credits also include minor roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch...
- Christopher GuestChristopher GuestChristopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
- Rich HallRich HallRichard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
- Gary KroegerGary KroegerGary Kroeger is an American actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduated from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michaels' hiatus...
- Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Louis-DreyfusJulia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
- Harry ShearerHarry ShearerHarry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
(final: January 12, 1985) - Martin ShortMartin ShortMartin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
- Pamela StephensonPamela StephensonPamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand-born Australian clinical psychologist and writer now resident in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s...