Forty Years of Saturday Night Live
Mackenzie Schussler
Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night! On February 15th, SNL celebrated their 40th anniversary with a three and a half hour special that brought alumni including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell back to the studio. Countless montages and revamped sketches showed SNL over the years, revisiting favorite characters and scenes that are still as funny as they were forty years ago. Paul Simon led an ovation for the band and was one of the night’s four musical performers alongside Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, and Kanye West.
Most critics and even the creator, Lorne Michael didn't think the show would last very long. “At the end of the first season I’d written everything I’d wanted to write several times over. I thought of it as “That Championship Season.” I didn’t know what I would do for a second season. But by the end of Season 2, John Belushi and Gilda Radner were stars.” Forty years later and the show has produced many of today’s great comedians, such as Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, Taran Killiam, Tracey Morgan, Dan Aykroyd, and Eddie Murphy- just to name a few.
The show kicked off with a musical number from Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon (with cameos from Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer and Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher!) that sang through a roster of the show’s best characters, sketches, and one-liners. The Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special was a star-studded trip down memory lane. Steve Martin did King Tut, Molly Shannon’s classic Mary Catherine Gallagher showed up, the Blues Brothers made an appearance (with John Belushi’s brother taking his place). Sophomore, Maya Everts says, “I really enjoyed seeing the Weekend Update with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Jane Curtin. Wayne’s World is one of my favorite sketches so I loved seeing them back on the stage.” They also showed cast members original auditions. Seeing them in all their glory and baby faces was a fan favorite.
The night’s most touching segment paid tribute to those whom the “SNL” family has lost, including such gifted cast members as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman, and Chris Farley. In a move that spoke to how close those who work on the show are, the producers added many of the behind-the-scenes names as well, including iconic announcer Don Pardo.
In 1975, Lorne Michaels, the creator of the show, had a vision: “I wanted to see whether there were other people out there that felt the same way as I did,” he said, “It just sort of found its way.” Most people expected the show to die out before it hit the ten year mark but obviously SNL has lived long and strong, set high standards for comedy, and inspired young comedians all over the world. Long live Saturday Night Live.
