Daily Almanac for Monday, October 11, 2021; Day 284 of the Year

On this date in 1975, SNL premiered on NBC (Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org)
The original 1975 cast, from L to R Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase. By http 2.bp.blogspot.com jpg, Fair use, https en.wikipedia.org

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Saturday Night Live (also known as SNL) is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol. Michaels currently serves as the program’s showrunner. The show premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC’s Saturday Night. The show’s comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!“, properly beginning the show.

In 1980, Michaels left the series to explore other opportunities. He was replaced by Jean Doumanian, who was replaced by Ebersol after a season of bad reviews. Ebersol ran the show until 1985, when Michaels returned. Since then, Michaels has held the job of show-runner. Many SNL cast members have found national stardom while appearing on the show, and achieved success in film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. Others associated with the show, such as writers, have gone on to successful careers creating, writing, and starring in television and film.

Broadcast from Studio 8H at NBC’s headquarters in the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller PlazaSNL has aired 911 episodes since its debut, and concluded its 46th season on May 22, 2021, making it one of the longest-running network television programs in the United States. The show format has been developed and recreated in several countries, meeting with different levels of success. Successful sketches have seen life outside the show as feature films including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Wayne’s World (1992). The show has been marketed in other ways, including home media releases of “best of” and whole seasons, and books and documentaries about behind-the-scenes activities of running and developing the show.

Throughout four decades on air, Saturday Night Live has received a number of awards, including 86 Primetime Emmy Awards, four Writers Guild of America Awards, and two Peabody Awards. In 2000, it was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. It was ranked tenth in TV Guide‘s “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” list, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Times “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME.” As of 2018, the show had received 252 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, the most received by any television program.[5] The live aspect of the show has resulted in several controversies and acts of censorship, with mistakes and intentional acts of sabotage by performers as well as guests.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

THANKSGIVING (CANADA)

Thanksgiving Day in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday in October. The first Canadian Thanksgiving Day was observed on April 15, 1872, to celebrate the recovery of the prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious illness.

1580s

1720s

1800s

1810s

1820s

1840s

1850s

1860s

1880s

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

COURTESY www.almanac.com

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.