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Friday, July 17, 2015

I suppose I'm dating myself when I say I've watched Saturday Night Live from the very first airing. That was long before people called it “SNL”. You know, “back in the day” when the Not Ready for Primetime Players were in their prime. It's hard to believe that SNL celebrated its 40th anniversary this year.

Since I never stopped watching (even through those dark days when critics were calling it “Saturday Night Dead”) I've become a bit of a SNL trivia buff. In honor of 40 years of silly fun, edgy humor and unforgettable characters, I thought I'd share some little-known tidbits with you.

  • Gilda Radner was the first performer cast for Saturday Night Live.
  • Before joining SNL, Dana Carvey had a small role in Rob Reiner's cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. He played a mime alongside Billy Crystal.
  • Seth Meyer held the Weekend Update anchor chair for eight years — longer than any other cast member.
  • Ben Stiller was a cast member in season 14 — but left after only four episodes because of “creative differences”.
  • Eddie Murphy joined the show when he was only 19 years old and stayed for four years.
  • Steve Martin hosted the show 15 times and did lots of special appearances, but contrary to popular belief, he was never a full-fledged cast member.
  • When the show first debuted, it didn't air every Saturday. The news magazine show Weekend aired the first Saturday of every month.
  • “The Coneheads” are ranked #15 in TV Guide's list of the “25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends”.
  • The Saturday Night Live logo first used the abbreviation SNL in 1995 and it's been called that ever since.

After 40 years, SNL is still funny, still edgy and still churning out crazy characters. I can't wait to see what they'll do for their next 40 years!

Saturday Night Live It's Always Something Tee The Blues Brothers Die Cast Set Saturday Night Live Garth Party On Tee Saturday Night Live Down By The River Tee
Posted by: Betty | 8:00 AM | permalink
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