1975: Live, It’s Saturday Night!

Ever wonder when the announcer for Saturday Night Live comes on and he always says, “…it’s Saturday Night” instead of “Saturday Night Live?” That’s because when the show began on this day in 1975, it was originally called simply Saturday Night. During that year, another show had a similar-sounding name (Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell) on ABC. While the latter variety show fizzled out rather quickly, SNL is still alive and kicking. Created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol, SNL became an instant hit and has become one of the longest-running TV programs in the U.S. Over the years, it has received numerous Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a few Writers Guild of America Awards. The original cast of “Not Ready for Prime-Time Players” performing spoofs of TV shows and political satire included Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase. After Chase left the show (after the first season), he was replaced with Bill Murray. In 1980, Michaels left the show to explore other projects and the show found itself on the brink of cancellation but recovered when Ebersol took the helm. Michaels returned in 1985. He’s been there ever since. (Image: NBC)