Get the latest gossip
The Mythology Of ‘SNL’: A Look Back At The Inaugural Episode That Upended TV
'SNL' is no stranger to mythologizing, and no episode has been as elevated to the stuff of legend as the late-night sketch series' inaugural showing.
A tricenarian Lorne Michaels, half a century yet removed from becoming the preeminent juggernaut of television — before SNL produced such comedic powerhouses as Tina Fey and Steve Martin and late-night mainstays as Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, before Fey’s 30 Rock spoofed it and numerous other sketches were transformed into feature-length projects — and a group of rag-tag yet promising comedians, including Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner, comprised the as-yet untested unit piloting NBC’s experiment of sorts to replace reruns of Johnny Carson’s late-night TV program. Among them, the just-getting-started Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson, Sabrina Carpenter; veterans Dave Chappelle, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks and alumni Martin Short, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Molly Shannon, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson and Fred Armisen. Throughout the evening, there are a few bits that underscore SNL ‘s experimental format: Andy Kaufman’s lip-synching, Jim Henson’s lost series “The Land of Gorch” and a segment called “Impossible Truth News” that plays a baffling array of satirical ripped-from-the-headlines moments (including one where the age of consent in Oregon is lowered to seven).
Or read this on Deadline
