History of Saturday Night Live (1980-1985)

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History of Saturday Night Live series:
1975–1980
1980–1985
1985–1990
1990–1995
1995–2000
2000–2005
2005–Present
Weekend Update

Contents

[edit] The Early Eighties

[edit] Doumanian's season

For much of the decade SNL was in turmoil and many critics wrote the show off as a pale imitation of its former glory. Jean Doumanian took over the show for the 1980 season, hiring a completely new cast and new writers, but it was plagued by problems from the start, and was deemed disastrously unfunny by both critics and much of the viewing audience.

Lorne Michaels had originally wanted to make Al Franken 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. The commentary angered Silverman so much that any chance of Franken becoming an executive under Silverman's watch were all but gone.

Jean Doumanian was a talent scout for the show in the early days and was one of the few members of the staff who stayed behind after the 1979 season. In the summer of 1980, Doumanian accepted the job as the new executive producer, against the advice of most of her close friends. Many were convinced that the show could no longer succeed without the original cast and writers. They warned Doumanian to be prepared for harsh treatment from the network. It wasn't long before their cynical predictions became a reality. As a form of almost "retroactive retaliation" against Lorne's constant pressuring for better financing, NBC started by cutting Doumanian's budget from $1,000,000 per episode (Lorne's budget by his last season) to about $350,000 per episode. On top of this, Doumanian had only two months to discover and prepare a new cast and crew; she claims she received virtually no support that was promised to her by either the network or her staff.

Writers from that season recall that petitions were already being passed around by other writers and crew members to get Doumanian off the show. Doumanian herself would later discover that many members of the NBC staff, people she assumed devoted to her, were not on her side at all. Doumanian would not let writers work together if they had not been hired as a team, which resulted in the shoddy and unfinished sketches that permeated that year. From the start, the inner politics of the network were heated, and indeed the season was off to a rocky start before it had ever really begun. Doumanian focused on keeping the NBC brass out of the creative process instead of worrying about the writers and performers who were in it.

On an autumn morning in 1980, the phone of talent coordinator Neil Levy began ringing off the hook. A young man at the other end of the line begged the producer to give him a shot on the show, but was constantly rejected by the show having already booked a full cast. The man pleaded with Levy that he had several siblings banking on him getting a spot on the show. Levy finally conceded and allowed the man an audition. The caller was a 19-year-old named Eddie Murphy, and his audition performance had Neil Levy begging with Doumanian to let him on the show. Doumanian refused, citing that another actor named Robert Townsend had already been selected as the cast's "token black guy," and that the show's shrunken budget could not allow for any more actors. Doumanian changed her mind after watching Murphy's audition and also began pleading with the network to allow him on the show. NBC only agreed after it was determined that Townsend had not yet signed a contract, and Murphy was cast as a featured player. Amongst the other talent that Doumanian overlooked while forming the new cast were future hosts Jim Carrey, John Goodman, and Paul Reubens, as well as comedian Dom Irrera.

[edit] A new cast for 1980

The first episode, renamed "Saturday Night Live '80" in the opening credits, appeared on November 15, 1980, featuring an all-new cast: Charles Rocket (who was groomed to be the new break-out star), Denny Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthius, Joe Piscopo, and Ann Risley rounded out the new "Not Ready For Prime Time Players." Woody Allen (who reportedly hated SNL) suggested to Jean Doumanian that she hire one of his friends, Ann Risley. Some observers believed that while Ann Risley was a fine serious actress, she was not inherently funny (perhaps as a demonstration of Woody Allen's hatred for the show). Elliott Gould had agreed to host the first episode, assuming he would be working with the old cast. He was astonished when he reported to the studio and discovered that it was a different group of performers.

The season seemed doomed from the beginning, as in the very first sketch of that first show, the cast was seen sharing a bed with Gould and introduced themselves in a "less-than-modest" approach. Charles Rocket was self-proclaimed as a cross between Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, while Gilbert Gottfried (pre-signature high pitched "squeaky" voice) referred to himself as a cross between John Belushi, "...and that guy from last year who did Rod Serling, and no one can remember his name..." (referring to Harry Shearer). Indeed this self-serving comparison to the original cast alienated much of the audience from the very start, foreshadowing much of what was to come later that night and throughout much of the season. The rest of the show remained very inconsistent in terms of acting and writing. At the end of the show, Gould stood onstage 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..." However, Elliott Gould would never host the show again.

The next episode, hosted by Malcolm McDowell, is considered by some to be the worst in the show's history. Skits during Doumanian's tenure seemed as if the writers had started a half-finished concept and allowed the actors to improvise on-air before the sketch had been fine-tuned and edited enough to make it funny. Examples from the McDowell episode included "Leather Weather," a sketch featuring Rocket in S&M gear sprawled across a weather map, and "Jack the Stripper," an overlong and disorganized sketch about Prince Charles supposedly being a flasher. Meanwhile, Jean Doumanian nearly lost her job before this episode aired. NBC executives were battling Doumanian's insistence to include a sketch portraying a nun who was not a virgin. Before Doumanian backed down, Network head Fred Silverman told the standards department to repeat one of Lorne Michaels' shows, if necessary.

The McDowell episode was also notable in that Eddie Murphy made his network television debut a skit called "In Search Of The Negro Republican". An outside actor was hired to play the black lead, and Murphy was supposedly so embarrassed by this that he vowed to take a more active role on the show. Murphy had his first speaking role two weeks later as Raheem Abdul Muhummad on "Weekend Update". He made such a positive impression that he would be called on for more in later episodes, and was made a full castmember by the season's seventh episode.

The high point of the 1980–1981 season probably came with the Karen Black episode of January 17. It displayed the most consistent writing and performing of the season. Murphy was soon raised to the status of full cast member, and Piscopo had established himself as a reliable commodity with such bits as the eccentric New Jersey-an "Paulie Herman," and his impeccable Frank Sinatra impression.

On February 21, 1981, the show featured a parody of the "Who Shot J.R. Ewing" craze from the hit TV show Dallas. 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 in which other members of the cast shared their grievances over Rocket with one another. Onstage for the goodnights, Dallas star and that week's host, Charlene Tilton, 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 the last time the expletive would be uttered live on SNL for everyone to hear. However, given the circumstances of the season as a whole, and the direction it was headed, it was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Rocket's minor "slip-of-the-tongue," unbeknownst to him, would cost him his job. Almost the entire cast and crew lost their jobs on the show. At the time, Rocket reportedly justified his action, pointing out that musical guest Prince had performed "Partyup" earlier on that very same broadcast; the song featured the line "Fightin’ war is such a fuckin’ bore." Despite his release, Rocket appeared in the next episode anyway, his performance clearly affected by his termination. In result of the disastrous season thus far, and in a direct result of Rocket's behavior the week before, NBC—who had had enough—also fired Jean Doumanian after this episode (which Bill Murray hosted; it's thought Doumanian and Rocket were retained for the week to ensure Murray wouldn't bolt), closing the book on what is now widely regarded as the worst period in the show's history.

[edit] Ebersol steps in

It looked as if NBC might cancel the show—indeed, many nights NBC aired the sketch comedy show SCTV in its place, and it had been overtaken in the ratings by ABC's derivative Fridays—but SNL was given one more chance when Dick Ebersol was hired to replace Doumanian. Ebersol was the young apprentice the network had culled from ABC 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. His first show aired April 11, with host Chevy Chase and an appearance by Al Franken asking viewers to "put SNL to sleep." Ebersol desperately wanted to establish a connection to the original cast, and thus allowed Franken's rather disheartening remarks on the air.

In his first week, Ebersol fired Gottfried, Risley, and Rocket, replacing them with Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, and Tony Rosato. He would eventually eliminate the rest of the 1980 cast (except for Murphy and Piscopo) at the end of the season (he had wanted to fire Dillon all along, but could not afford a replacement for her). Ebersol originally wanted to bring in John Candy and Catherine O'Hara from SCTV; Candy turned down the offer and Rosato joined instead. O'Hara initially accepted, but she changed her mind after Michael O'Donoghue—SNL's 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 and Laurie Metcalf joined as featured players, but they would not be retained after this single episode.

In addition to appearing on the April 11 show, Ebersol had promised Franken and Tom Davis that they could host the next week, with musical guest The Grateful Dead. All through the following week, with a writer's strike looming, 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 wound to a close, Ebersol grew more confident in his new cast and decided he didn't need to establish a link to the original cast after all. Franken claims Dick never returned his calls, and Franken and Davis never hosted SNL.

By the fall of 1981, Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy were the only remainders from Doumanian's cast to appear on SNL for the 1981 Season. Murphy had rarely been featured during Doumanian's tenure, but became a break-out star under Ebersol, and his soaring popularity helped restore the show's ratings. He created some of the period's best characters, including the empty-headed former child movie star Buckwheat and an irascible, life-size version of the Gumby toy character, complete with life-size star ego. Murphy could also pull off an uncanny impression of Stevie Wonder (who, 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" [1]). Piscopo was also a popular face and became renowned for his Frank Sinatra impersonation. Other new cast members for the 1981 season included Christine Ebersole (no relation to Dick Ebersol), Mary Gross, and returning as a featured player, Brian Doyle-Murray (also featured in 1979) who ran the Weekend Update desk for one season. Also returning were Second City veterans Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosato, who had all first appeared in the April 11 broadcast earlier that year. In Spring, 1982, Ebersol travelled to Second City Chicago to scout for more talent. Tired of recently losing key players to NBC (such as Cheers' George Wendt and Hill Street Blues' Betty Thomas), the top brass pointed Ebersol around the corner to the Practical Theatre Company, where he hired Gary Kroeger, Brad Hall and Hall's future wife, Julia Louis-Dreyfus to join in the fall. Jim Belushi arrived 3 shows into the fall, 1983 season, the delay owing to stage commitments in Chicago.

[edit] 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 5min., 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 did determine what 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 weren't.

However, 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 himself, Ebersol was far more adept at dealing with and obtaining what he wanted from the network. By the later terms of 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 problem 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, because the SNL set helped encourage his drug addiction) 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 the season 1981-1982 season after near constant arguments with Ebersol over the creative direction of the show, and because of his abusive treatment of the cast.

[edit] 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 Chase had become the breakout star of the first season, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi became the dominant forces upon Chase's departure, and Bill Murray would play nearly every male lead during the 1979-1980 season. 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 Piscopo. Murphy's costar in the film, Nick Nolte, was scheduled to host the show, but cancelled at the very last second after a night of partying at Studio 54. Ebersol offered Murphy the chance to host, a move that Piscopo would perceive as a major slight (by now the rest of the cast were so used to playing Murphy's supporting company they hardly complained). 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."

[edit] 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 the 1983–84 season. Piscopo was offered a chance to guest host during 1984-1985, but declined.

Upon the departures of Murphy and Piscopo, Ebersol, having lost his key players, began rebuilding the cast for the 1984 season, enlisting what is in retrospect known as the "All-Star" cast. Along with veteran players Belushi, Gross, Kroeger, and Louis-Dreyfus, Ebersol added somewhat well-known names to the repertory. This new cast included Soap star Billy Crystal; Martin Short, who had made a name for himself as Ed Grimley (a character he would bring to SNL that year) on Canada's SCTV; Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer (who was also a cast member in 1979) from The Credibility Gap and This Is Spinal Tap; Superman III's Pamela Stephenson; and Rich Hall from HBO's Not Necessarily The News.

The newcomers helped put together a very memorable year of hit sketches and widely accepted recurring characters for SNL. 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 in Soap, 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 the greater fame as a cast member of The Simpsons in which he voiced several characters including Mr. Burns and Principal Skinner.

The 10th season is often remembered for relying heavily on pre-taped content. 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 1985-86. Like Michaels at the end of the 1980 season, Ebersol made taking the show off the air for several months to re-cast and rebuild a condition of his return. 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.

[edit] Season Breakdown

[edit] 1980-81 Season

[edit] 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 queens and Times Square. Dick Ebersol, however, apparently wanted a more simple opening. For the one episode he produced this season (4/11/81), the original SNL theme music 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. The original montage is from the March 7, 1981 Bill Murray/Delbert McClinton episode. The one-episode montage, from April 11, 1981, Chevy Chase hosted; the musical guest was Jr. Walker & the All Stars.

[edit] Cast

Featuring

  • Yvonne Hudson (final: 3/7/81)
  • Matthew Laurance (final: 3/7/81)
  • Laurie Metcalf (4/11/81 only)
  • Emily Prager (4/11/81 only)
  • Patrick Weathers (final: 3/7/81)

[edit] Notes
  • Murphy goes from recurring to contract in February 1981.
  • Weathers and Laurance officially debut on 12/20/80 (although they had previously appeared in an uncredited capacity). Rocket, Risley, Laurance, Hudson, Weathers and Gottfried last appear in the 3/7/81 episode. Rosato, Metcalf, Kazurinsky, Prager, and Duke first appear on the 4/11/81. Prager and Metcalf last for a sole episode, the shortest stint for any featured player (Nearly a decade later, Metcalf returned for a cameo in a short film piece). Dillon and Matthius are fired at the end of the season.
  • Weekend Update received a name and set change for a single episode (1981's show hosted by Bill Murray) in which it became SNL NewsLine. For this final episode, it was hosted by Rocket alone, without Matthius.
  • Jean Doumanian and her writing staff are dismissed after the 3/7/81 show. Dick Ebersol replaces her, and following one more episode, a writers' strike shuts down the season early for refurbishing purposes.
  • Denny Dillon, Gail Matthius, and Joe Piscopo are the only actors to appear in all thirteen episodes in this season.

[edit] 1981-82 Season

[edit] Opening Montage

Another "simple" opening from the Ebersol era, and the only montage with Mel Brandt doing the voice-over. 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 New York City nightlife (dance clubs, police dogs, 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 Brand says, "And now, from New York, the most dangerous city in America, it's Saturday Night Live."

[edit] Cast

With

[edit] Notes
  • Brian Doyle-Murray leaves at the end of the season and Christine Ebersole and Tony Rosato are fired.
  • This is the only season which does not feature the traditional "Live from New York..." opening. Instead, the cast appears with the host in a group shot, then runs off to prepare for their various sketches while the host delivers the monologue (much like a Second City stage show). This is also the only season not to feature Don Pardo as announcer; the job is taken by Mel Brandt. In addition, Weekend Update is renamed "SNL NewsBreak." The first two changes were made at the behest of Michael O'Donoghue, as part of his attempt to radically re-vamp the show (among other suggestions rejected by Ebersol was taping the show entirely with hand-held cameras). The effort didn't impress viewers and both the traditional opening and Pardo returned a year later. The "Weekend Update" name, however, would return only with Lorne Michaels in 1985.

[edit] 1982-83 Season

[edit] 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 a cigarette with an acetelene torch; also the cast photos are different from last year, with a chalkboard NYC skyline background.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Recurring characters and sketches

Brad Hall hosted Saturday Night News throughout the season. Recurring characters featured during this season include The Whiners, Mister Robinson (host of a parody of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood), and Buckwheat.

[edit] 1983-84 Season

[edit] 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.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Notes
  • Jim Belushi, a promising young improvisational actor, joins the cast with the third broadcast of the season, presumably to ease the departure of Eddie Murphy.
  • Murphy leaves after the 2/25/84 show; Piscopo, Duke, Kazurinsky, and Hall are all fired at the end of the season.

[edit] 1984-85 Season

[edit] 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. Note that from 1984-86, The Statue of Liberty 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.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Notes
  • Belushi is fired in December 1984 and rehired in January 1985, forcing him to miss two shows.
  • This season has more pretaped segments than any other SNL era, past or future.
  • Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld, is hired as a writer during this season. Only one sketch that he had written was ever aired, and it was in the last five minutes of the show, where the "weaker" sketches are usually scheduled. David quit his writing job at SNL mid-season, only to show up to work a few days later to act as though nothing had happened (and stayed through the rest of the season).
  • Shearer departed in January 1985, though he remains credited for the entire season (the continuous nature of the opening montage prevented his image from being removed).
  • The rest of the cast and writing staff, along with Ebersol and Bob Tischler leave at the end of the season.

[edit] Sources

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