The True Story of Saturday Night Live's FIRST Show

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re unveiling the true story behind the wild, chaotic, and legendary first episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Who’s your favorite “SNL” host? Let us know in the comments below!

“SNL” Enters Existence Because Johnny Carson Wants More Time Off

Before the age of streaming, before anyone could watch anything at any time, one man ruled the airwaves: Johnny Carson. His “Tonight Show” lasted for almost 30 years, airing from October 1962 to May 1992. Finding his schedule punishing, Carson requested that “Tonight Show” reruns be moved from weekend nights to some weeknights. NBC, seemingly under the impression that the legendary late-night host was threatening to move to a rival network if his demands weren’t met, promptly began to brainstorm. Herbert Schlosser, NBC’s then-president, was tapped to fill the hole that Carson would be leaving, tasked with spicing up the network’s poorly-rated Saturday night programming lineup.

Enter: Dick Ebersol & A Young Canadian Named Lorne Michaels

Schlosser's first move was to court Dick Ebersol, NBC’s vice president of late-night programming, to solve his Carson conundrum. Schlosser and Ebersol’s first move as a unit? Bringing on Lorne Michaels, who’d been recommended by Paramount Pictures chairman/CEO Barry Diller. Michaels, a Toronto native who’d moved to Los Angeles to pursue comedy writing, was later described by Schlosser as being “talented and well-liked,” as well as — crucially — well-connected in the comedy world. As detailed in a 2011 Hollywood Reporter profile: “Over three weeks at L.A.’s Chateau Marmont hotel, Ebersol and Michaels hashed out the latter’s blueprint for [“SNL”]: high-concept sketches, political satire, news spoofs, short films and exclusive music performances.”

Live From New York (Because There’s No Other Choice)

The suits at NBC were skeptical of “SNL’s” chances of making a real cultural splash. A clear example of this was where they decided to broadcast it from. Carson’s aforementioned “Tonight Show” had departed New York City for sunny Los Angeles two years earlier, leaving a significant vacancy at NBC’s Rockefeller Center production studios. With that in mind, NBC executives gave Michaels the now-iconic Studio 8H, which was, at that point, primarily used for the network’s election coverage. The future “SNL” home studio was originally built and intended for radio broadcasting, and hosted the NBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1951.

Assembling the Not Ready for Prime Time Players

“SNL” has long been known as a consistently reliable breeding ground for comedy’s superstars of tomorrow. This was true from the very beginning: the variety show’s first cast included instant heavy hitters Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase and more. A number of performers had personal connections to Michaels: he personally cast Radner first, and brought on Laraine Newman after working with her on another, earlier production. The budding showrunner was initially hesitant to hire John Belushi given his reputation for chaos and unpredictability; he relented after Gilda Radner, along with writers Anne Beatts and Michael O’Donoghue, vouched for Belushi.

A Completely Different Kind of “SNL”

It seems fair to say that “Saturday Night Live” has evolved considerably since its early days, when Michaels was devising the blueprint for what he didn’t yet know was a veritable comedy empire. The modern “SNL” adheres to an extremely rigid timeline and format, starting with a cold open, progressing to a monologue, then sketches, musical performances, and so on. However, you’d never know this would be the case watching the “SNL” series premiere on October 11, 1975. That first episode barely featured host George Carlin (more on his participation in a bit), with non-sketch performances by Andy Kaufman and the Muppets taking up part of the show’s runtime, in addition to not one but two musical guests performing separately.

Lorne Michaels’ “Enlightened Amateurs”

From our contemporary point of view, “SNL” may seem like the safest bet in comedy, as an institution dating back nearly 50 years. However, Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad’s book “Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live” reveals, Lorne Michaels openly declared that “no one who’d ever worked in television before would be hired,” and that he was looking to flip the script on typical network TV productions, which he felt had become stodgy and stale. As such, he sought out “enlightened amateurs,” which he defined as “talented renegades from the thriving underground comedy scene who were contemptuous of everything network television in those days stood for.” Looking back, Michaels’ instincts clearly paid off.

George Carlin: A Dangerous Host

In case you were still unconvinced that “SNL” initially had the makings of a colossal flop, even its first host was, ah, let’s say significantly under the influence. Carlin, who by this point had already made a reputation for himself as a hell-raising provocateur, was taken aback by the show’s format: a seasoned comedian and expert monologist, he was reportedly unnerved by “SNL’s” extremely loose sketch comedy environment. As Hill and Weingrad explain, Carlin “stayed aloof from the proceedings, declining as the week went on the opportunity to appear in any of the sketches he was offered” — owing partially to his debilitating cocaine addiction at the time.

Against All Odds, Michaels Was (Somewhat) Overprepared

We should qualify that statement by clarifying that, true to “SNL’s” chaotic spirit, even being over-prepared ended up as a stressor for Lorne Michaels. The “SNL” showrunner, in speaking to Hill and Weingrad, revealed that “[o]ne of [his] nightmares for the first show was that he’d run out of material 30 minutes before it was supposed to go off the air.” In a noble effort to get out ahead of that potential problem, Michaels booked three standup comics beyond Carlin: the aforementioned Andy Kaufman, Valri Bromfield, and a then little-known actor-comedian named Billy Crystal. Crystal’s performance was cut altogether once Michaels had realized that he had overstuffed the show’s lineup, reportedly devastating the up-and-comer.

Nothing Worked

And we are not exaggerating when we say “nothing.” According to Hill and Weingrad, the show’s first full dress rehearsal ran approximately three hours long— that’s twice as long as NBC had initially planned for. In addition, the show’s ancient sound system, which wasn’t properly equipped for either comedy or musical performance, was so janky that the audience couldn’t hear the performers’ dialogue. Dick Ebersol was a vital part of getting the show on air at all, buying off a local event production company’s equipment from a concert they'd just put on at Madison Square Garden. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the show’s sets were finished only half an hour before showtime.

John Belushi: Ever the Rebel

With almost everything in place, it looked like “Saturday Night Live” would be able to — at least passably — make it to the airwaves in one piece. Wait… almost? As you’ll recall, Michaels’ fears that John Belushi would be a major source of headaches were proven right when the animated comic performer refused to sign his contract, reportedly displeased with his compensation of $750 a week. At 11pm, just about the time the show’s sets were being finished up, Ebersol pleaded with Belushi to sign his contract to no avail. Belushi’s demands were met by Bernie Brillstein, Michaels’ manager, and the future “Animal House” star appeared in the evening’s first sketch. And just like that, a new age of network television began.