About
Saturday Night Live is a comedy based variety program. It was first aired on 11th October 1975, on the NBC network. The fact, that the 90 minute show is broadcast live, makes it unique. The show contains short comic scenes called sketches, a musical performance and a guest who acts as the host for the night. The show which is based in New York has already completed thirty three successful seasons and is currently running in its 34th season. It is one of the longest running programs in the history of American Television. It has acted as career launcher for key comedy stars such as Eddie Murphy, Jane Curtin, Norm McDonald, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Martin Short and many more. The show’s creator, Lorne Michaels has written and produced all episodes for all the seasons, except for the episodes from season 6 to season 10. Initially, the show was named NBC’s Saturday Night since ABC network was running a show named Saturday Night Live. On 8th September 1976, the show was renamed Saturday Night.
The name was again changed to Saturday Night Live, from 26th March 1977. Don Pardo, who is now 86, has been the announcer since the start of the show and even after his retirement from NBC in 2004, he continued with the role of the announcer for the show. The band on the show, commonly referred to as The Live Band, has included some of New York’s best studio musicians such as Paul Shaffer, David Sanborn, Ray Chew, Alan Rubin and many more. Many of the sketches that featured in the show, were turned into successful movies. Notable among these are The Blues Brothers, Wayne’s World, Superstar, Ladies Man etc. The show has won many awards including an Emmy Award and an Academy Award.
