Snl the Oral History: The Beginning
Lorne Michaels:
Oh yah, yah. I remember the founding of SNL like it was 39 years ago. I was a youthful writer for CBC Radio, and I thought to myself, you know what would be fun, if during the night on Saturday, and this was what was real revolutionary at the time, is what if there was, instead of just 24 hours of unbroken footage following one bear tribe as they learn and love, I thought what if we had a show, that had fun musical guests, and, you know, one or two sketches. I figured we could have interviews with actors and all that fun stuff, and if there was time, maybe a sketch or two, you know, if we couldn’t think of anything to do. So that lasted for about two shows, us being able to fill up the show with something other than sketches. And then, the next forty-plus years have just been an attempt to fill up time. And let me tell you, the third episode was where the show really began, where Chevy Chase officially became the star of nineteen seventy something or other. I don’t remember what year it was; I pay people to remember that for me.
Chevy Chase:
Cheverson Obadiah Chase, but my friends call me Chevy Chase or the specter. I remember the first time I ever met Lorne Michaels. I was touring with Steely Dan.
why yes, it is me, Dan Aykroyd,
skull vodka provider to the world. I had spent most of my days traipsing through the Amazon and then, for me my Saturday Night Live adventure started when that ironic folk heroChevy Chase crept into my living room almost like he was a shadow. I never figured out how he was able to creep in. When I asked him he said he crept into the door crease. I had always heard rumors that his mother was a ghost he came into my place one night, and I had overslept by six minutes. Exhausting time, and he said to me that low terrible wispier that most as was part of the room tone
"Lorne is putting together a show"
I finished my fish and chips and thought about this over what must have been several lifetimes. Finally we punting the team together but we needed a more vivacious gentleman I know of such a gentleman living out his life in the some claimed he was a hermit, others claimed he was but myth He was living in the Andes John Belushi.
Agustín Gonzalez: Argentinian farmer.
We would see him often for years He the person we now call jon he may have successfully at one point in the Chicago comedy scene I was never sure I can neither confirm or deny that we called him The naked crazy person. We were quite shocked when the helicopter came down with a posh Candean man you can tell by looking at them who is posh and who is Canadian. At least the people here in Argentina can tell. It’s well at least in our village. Because our village and we might be the only village in the world was very into the Toronto jazz scene wasn't even really are village it was just me and a few friends so literally we were the only people in the world that could tell upper-class Canadians by Just look at them Nowhere else in Canada. So we could always tell who was a hip Toronto person somebody say especially when they say it in those exact wordsits very easy confirm this we would tell immediately. He was really that cool. and he was asking about the carzy naked man.
Lorne Michaels:
We had the Chase; we had the S469 dash7 who took up the stage name Dan Ackroyd and jon. I sought after female elements. Now initially our plan was to simply just have Chevy Chase play the women that was not the bravest idea in the world. So, we had to look far and wide for a woman who was funny And then during one of the searches our plane begin to crash and then the intercom came on in there was the pilot insulting each one of us because were afraid to die. Her insults were so hilarious both laughed and cried the whole time, and it was like that two extra weeks after. And then it happened three or four more times with her. I started to suspect that she was doing it on purpose to get on the show. Really appreciated her ambition Had to have her on the show; had to hire her. Also she was apparently a really experienced comedian. One would have never guessed. So that’s how we hired Jane Curtin. then rest done with the traditional adution processes. well expect for her