“LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT”

Original cast (l to r): Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase

Hard for me to imagine, but also sharing the Kowalski Heat Treating 40th Anniversary this year is another “one-of-a-kind” – Saturday Night Live, a late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show, created by Lorne Michaels. As most people know, the show parodies contemporary culture and politics performed by a large and varying cast of characters (over 130 since its inception), hosted by a celebrity guest and most often features a musical guest. Some of my favorite actors, actresses and comedians got their start on SNL. Most of us remember John Belushi as the Samari Warrior, Lisa and Todd, Chevy Chase falling and Gilda Radner dancing. I could go on and on, but I thought it would be more fun to give you some trivia you may or may not know:

• The show airs from Studio 8H, NBC’s Headquarters in the Comcast Building, and to date has aired over 785 shows

• The original cast members included Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase – all of which went on to become huge stars.

• Movie spinoffs Wayne’s World and The Blue’s Brothers grossed nearly $300M, while a little known movie It’s Pat lasted one week and grossed under $61K.

• The show was narrated by Don Pardo for years, and later by actor Darrell Hammond

• The writing begins late on Tuesdays and includes the guest host and producer, with most sketches selected on Wednesdays, including the full support staff who begin set designs, costumes and any needed special effects.

• A 1975 performance by pop group ABBA was the first and only act to feature lip-synching,[97] until the controversial 2004 performance of Ashlee Simpson, who is the only person to ever walk off stage during a performance.

• George Carlin was the first host of the first episode.

For more, visit SNL on Wikipedia.