Saturday Night Live: The book by Alison Castle, book review: It covers the making of the show and its 40-year history
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.On 11 October, 1975 at 11:30pm, NBC viewers who tuned in to the American network’s new late-night show saw a sketch featuring John Belushi repeating, in a thick foreign accent, nonsensical phrases about wolverines being read to him by head writer Michael O’Donoghue.
Abruptly, O’Donoghue clutched his heart and collapsed on to the floor. Belushi paused, raised his eyebrow, and then did the same. Posing as the stage manager, Chevy Chase entered the set and feigned confusion before breaking character and announcing to the camera: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
It was the birth of Saturday Night Live, a show that dared to take risks, challenge the censors, and celebrate the work of offbeat writerperformers. The list of alumni reads like a Who’s Who of the past four decades in comedy: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, Billy Crystal, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Tina Fey to name a few.
Saturday Night Live: The Book covers both the making of the show and its remarkable 40-year history.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments