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41 Vintage Photos That Show 'saturday Night Live' In Its '70s Heyday
Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Laraine Newman in 1977.
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- "Saturday Night Live" premiered on October 11, 1975. The first host was George Carlin.
- A 50th anniversary special featuring many celebrity guests aired this weekend.
- The first cast, to many people, remains the best of all time.
"Saturday Night Live" remains one of the most iconic institutions in TV history. For decades, it has been the goal of many a comedian to grace the halls of Studio 8H and scream "Live from New York, it's Saturday night."
This all started 50 years ago with a group known as the "Not Ready for Primetime Players," the first cast of "Saturday Night Live," along with writers, creator Lorne Michaels, and early replacement Bill Murray.
Keep scrolling to see vintage photos of "SNL" in its earliest days — and what some would call its best days.
"Saturday Night Live" premiered on October 11, 1975.Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Michael O'Donoghue, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris.
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The first cast consisted of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Michael O'Donoghue, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, George Coe, and Garrett Morris. They were called the "Not Ready for Primetime Players."
The show's creator, Lorne Michaels, has been with the show since the beginning, barring a brief hiatus in the '80s.Lorne Michaels in 1976.
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Michaels created the show and was originally a writer and producer. Barring his hiatus in the '80s between seasons six and 10, Michaels has been with the show since its inception. Its 50th season is airing this year, and there are no signs of him or the show slowing down.
Here's a peek at what it looked like behind the curtain in NBC's control room in the '70s.The "SNL" control room in 1978.
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"SNL" is exactly what it's advertised to be: live. That's why, sometimes, the show has aired people cursing accidentally (or on purpose, in the case of Charlie Rocket). The control room is there to oversee everything.
The very first host of the show was none other than comedic legend George Carlin.Host George Carlin during the monologue in 1975.
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Plenty of other comedic legends have passed through the halls of Studio 8H, like Richard Pryor.Host Richard Pryor during the monologue in 1975.
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Pryor hosted "SNL" just once, but left his mark forever. He took part in one of SNL's most controversial sketches of all time, the word association sketch with Chevy Chase.
Here, you can see Desi Arnaz, along with Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase, rehearsing for his debut on the show.Gilda Radner, Desi Arnaz, and Chevy Chase during rehearsal for "The Untouchables" sketch in 1976.
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Arnaz, of course, is known for "I Love Lucy."
Beloved comedian Steve Martin has also stopped by a fair number of times through the show's five decades.Gilda Radner, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray in 1978.
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To be exact, Martin has hosted the show a whopping 16 times, putting him behind only Alec Baldwin as the show's most frequent host.
But what really made "Saturday Night Live" the powerhouse it is today was the original cast and their iconic sketches, like the Coneheads.Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, and Laraine Newman in "The Coneheads."
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The Coneheads, an alien family trying to assimilate into American culture, was one of the show's first smash successes. It was turned into a movie in 1993 with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin reprising their roles.
The Killer Bees was another recurring sketch that was popular during the show's first seasons.John Belushi, in a bumble bee costume, at the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink.
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The Killer Bees was the first-ever sketch to recur on "SNL," after it debuted in the first episode of the show. The humor almost entirely consisted of puns about bee anatomy.
"The only note we got from the network on the first show was 'Cut the bees.' And so I made sure I put them in the next show," said creator Lorne Michaels, according to "Live From New York," a 2002 book about the show's history.
Even the hosts got involved with the bees — here's host Candice Bergen participating with the cast.Candice Bergen skated with the bees for a sketch.
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Bergen has hosted the show five times.
Another popular sketch that was turned into a movie? The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues and John Belushi as Jake Blues in 1978.
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The Blues Brothers were even a musical guest on the show as time went on. They released an album in 1978 and a film, "The Blues Brothers," in 1980.
After Belushi's death, there was a sequel in 1998, "Blues Brothers 2000," with John Goodman taking over Belushi's spot.
The longest-running sketch in the show's history is Weekend Update, a spoof on network news shows. It's still a weekly fixture.Jane Curtin and Chevy Chase on Weekend Update in 1976.
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Chevy Chase was the first to host the segment. The current Weekend Update hosts are Colin Jost and Michael Che.
But not everything about the first season worked. During the first few episodes, Jim Henson created sketches with the Muppets.Jim Henson's Muppets during the "Ploobis and Scred Get Drunk" sketch in 1975.
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"NBC was so scared of what Lorne ... was doing that they insisted on Jim Henson and the Muppets [to] soften it," Bernie Brillstein, Henson's manager, told Salon in 2013. "In the first contract for 'SNL,' there were three essential factors. Lorne Michaels, Jim Henson and the Muppets, and Albert Brooks's [short] films."
However, Henson and his creations only lasted for a season.
The show's first breakout star was Chevy Chase.Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner during the "National Uvula Association" commercial in 1976.
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Chase hosted Weekend Update, appeared frequently in sketches, and was the first person to ever utter the phrase, "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"
Chase was also famous for his pratfalls.Chevy Chase in 1976.
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Here's a compilation of some of Chase's most famous falls.
He was also famous for his impression of President Gerald Ford, who he'd get to meet at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1976.Chevy Chase, Lorne Michaels, John Belushi, Jacqueline Carlin Chase, and President Gerald Ford in 1976.
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You can see Chase's impression of Ford here.
But Chase was also the first person to leave the show — he left Studio 8H behind just over a year after the show debuted.Ron Nessen and Chevy Chase during a 1976 rehearsal.
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Chase left at the beginning of the second season, though he returned several times over the years. He even appeared in the 40th and 50th anniversary specials.
Although Chase left, the show still became a phenomenon.Hopeful audience members lined up to get tickets in 1978.
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To get tickets to "SNL," you can either enter the lottery and wait to see if you win, or you can camp out outside the studio and try your luck with rush tickets, like these gentlemen.
Other cast members also became breakout stars — most famously John Belushi.Kris Kristofferson as himself and John Belushi as Samurai Futaba during a 1976 sketch.
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Belushi remained part of the cast until 1979, when left to focus on a movie career.
Belushi was one of the most beloved cast members in the show's history.Stephen Bishop and John Belushi in 1978.
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Belushi died in 1982 of an overdose. He was 33.
Here's Belushi with host Gary Busey in 1979.John Belushi and Gary Busey in 1979.
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Busey only hosted the one time, in 1979.
But while Belushi's comedic chops can't be denied, he had a more complicated relationship with his female costars.John Belushi and Jane Curtin in the 1970s.
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"There were a few people that just out-and-out believe that women should not have been there and they believe that women were not innately funny," said Jane Curtin on a 2018 episode of "Watch What Happens Live." She added that he thought that "women should not be there."
But we beg to differ. The first ladies of "SNL," Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, and Jane Curtin were, and are, some of the funniest cast members in "SNL" history.Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, and Jane Curtain in 1976.
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The show would not be what it is today without the contributions of these three women.
Gilda Radner was known for her recurring characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna.Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna in 1976.
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Jane Curtin, the first female anchor of Weekend Update, did say she knew that John Belushi thought Radner was funny during "Watch What Happens Live." "He thought Gilda was funny, but she really — he didn't classify her as a woman. She was Gilda," she said.
Here's one of Roseanne Roseannadanna's appearances on Weekend Update.
Dan Aykroyd was another integral part of the original cast.Chevy Chase as Aramis McCord and Dan Aykroyd as Kevin Brut during the "Police State" sketch in 1976.
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Aykroyd left at the same time as John Belushi, in 1979.
Though he's appeared sporadically in cameos on the show, Aykroyd has only hosted "SNL" once, in 2003.
Garrett Morris was another member of the original cast, and the first Black cast member on "SNL."Garrett Morris during the "Gary Gilmore" sketch in 1976.
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Morris stayed with the show until 1980 when the remaining members of the original cast left as well.
Here's Morris as Chico Escuela, one of his recurring characters, alongside Bill Murray.Bill Murray and Garrett Morris as Chico Escuela during the Weekend Update.
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Bill Murray was brought in to fill the hole that Chase left.
By season two, the show had mainly ironed out any wrinkles, especially with the addition of Murray.Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Laraine Newman in 1977.
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This is part of the cast of season two.
Murray quickly solidified himself as one of the show's most valuable players.Bill Murray as Todd DiLaMuca and Gilda Radner as Lisa Loopner during a "Nerds & Milt" sketch in 1979.
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You can watch one of the Nerds sketches here.
He began popping up on Weekend Update. Here he is with Don Novello playing his most famous character, Father Guido Sarducci.Bill Murray and Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci during a 1979 Weekend Update.
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Here's Father Guido Sarducci in a 1979 episode.
Murray and Radner also dated off-screen during their "SNL" tenure.Bill Murray and Gilda Radner in 1979.
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Radner died in 1989 due to ovarian cancer. There's a legend that, at Laraine Newman's 35th birthday party in 1987, Murray carried around Radner so that everyone could say goodbye to her.
"[Murray] was the one to carry the tired, terminally ill Gilda Radner, the first true breakout superstar of the group, round and round the house, prolonging her departure from the party with everyone saying goodbye a hundred times, not knowing it would be their last," wrote Little White Lies' Rebecca Nicole Williams.
As the decade closed, more and more people began appearing on screen, like future senator Al Franken and Tom Davis.Al Franken and Tom Davis during the "Franken and Davis Show" in 1979.
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Both Franken and Davis were writers on the show who would occasionally appear on screen. When Lorne Michaels left in 1980, neither stuck with the show.
Davis never returned as a cast member, but when Michaels returned to the show, so did Franken. He remained from 1985 through 1995.
Here's Harry Shearer, who joined the show in 1979, alongside host Martin Sheen, and cast members Laraine Newman and Bill Murray.Harry Shearer, Martin Sheen, Laraine Newman, and Bill Murray in 1979.
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Shearer was on two separate seasons: 1979-1980 and 1984-1985.
"Lorne set things up as a zero-sum game," Shearer told Grantland in 2014. "If someone gets air time, that's an incursion on somebody else's chance at air time. As opposed to fostering a cooperative and collaborative atmosphere, a competitive atmosphere is fostered. So I don't think anybody worried too much about what was happening to the new guy. That's not a comment on [the cast members], that's a comment on the system."
Don't worry, we haven't forgotten the final piece of what makes "SNL" special: the music.Members of the "Saturday Night Live" band in 1979.
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Musical legend Paul Shaffer was one of the first leaders of the "SNL" band.
Plenty of musical legends have walked the halls of 30 Rock, especially in the '70s. Here's Willie Nelson during one of the earliest seasons.Willie Nelson on "Saturday Night Live."
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Nelson has appeared on the show a few times, including to host and perform in 1987.
Here's George Harrison and Paul Simon in 1976.George Harrison and Paul Simon performed on "SNL" together.
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While the Beatles famously never appeared on "SNL," Harrison stopped by in 1976 to duet with Simon, who has frequently pulled double duty on the show — that is, he's been the host and the musical guest.
Another legend to perform on "SNL" was Ray Charles.Musical guest Ray Charles performed in 1977.
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Charles also pulled double duty during his 1977 appearance.
One of the biggest rock stars of all time, David Bowie, also graced the stage of Studio 8H in 1979.Musical guest David Bowie performed in 1979.
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Performing in December of that year, he just made it within the '70s.
As the years pass, every generation claims that "their" cast of the show is the best ...Producer Lorne Michaels, Jane Curtin, and Dan Aykroyd during Weekend Update rehearsal in 1977.
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It's a contentious battle.
... but those who can claim the cast members of the '70s probably have the best case.Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Jane Curtin, and Steve Martin rehearsed for the "The David Susskind Show" in 1979.
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It's easy to find these debates online. Rolling Stone ranked every single cast member back in 2015.
What we know for sure is that without the magic of the Not Ready for Primetime Players, "SNL" wouldn't be celebrating 50 years on TV.Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Bill Murray in 1978.
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"SNL 50" aired on Sunday on Peacock and NBC with live musical performances, sketches, and new jokes. Former cast members including Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris also made appearances.
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