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The Television Debut Of The SNL Original Cast…Rare & Surprising!

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Eyes Of A Generation.com


The Television Debut Of The SNL Original Cast…Rare & Surprising!

As it turns out, “The Not Ready For Prime Time Players” were not even ready for late night television! Really! Here’s the story…

NBC’s new 90 minute, live comedy show “NBC Saturday Night” was scheduled to debut at 11:30 on October 4, 1975. The plane truth is, they just could not get the show ready in time for a number of reasons, with timing and blocking among the biggest hurdles to overcome.

Although Tom Snyder’s ‘Tomorrow’ show was a one hour, Monday – Friday production, NBC called on him at the last minute to do special 90 minute Saturday show to cover the SNL hole in their schedule. Fortunately, Jerry Lewis was in town and agreed to do the show. For the first 85 minutes, he was the single guest. The last five minutes were reserved for the introduction of the SNL cast and it’s producer Lorne Michaels.

In this clip, you will see the first ever network appearance of the original cast of “NBC Saturday Night”. Break a leg tonight SNL and happy 40th Anniversary! Enjoy and SHARE! -Bobby Ellerbee

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4 responses to “The Television Debut Of The SNL Original Cast…Rare & Surprising!”

  1. Jerry Lane

    I saw this Tomorrow show, got all excited about SNL, then our local NBC affiliate (KMJ in Fresno, CA) blocked it out the first year, choosing to run old movies instead…bummer. Back then, SNL was a breath of fresh air.

  2. Barry Mitchell

    I remember seeing this on my B&W portable when I was in college.

  3. Mike Plott

    I remember staying up late to watch the very first program!

  4. Greg Gabry

    I watched it last night and chuckled to hear Don Pardo flub the intro, referring to them as the “Not For Ready Prime Time Players” !
    I imagine there were alot of nerves floating in the air that night!

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