13 Archival Photos of the First Saturday Night Live Cast, Hosts & Musical Guests
Did they realize they were making history in the halls of Studio 8H?
When Saturday Night Live debuted in October 1975, it marked the beginning of a surprising, funny, and unabashedly experimental phenomenon that quickly made stars of original cast members Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Chevy Chase.
"You’d pass by people and they would shake,” Curtin told The New York Times ahead of the SNL50 anniversary celebrations. “They had a physical reaction to you, because they could feel the energy behind what was happening at 30 Rock. And it was very, very exciting.”
Not that they necessarily knew they were making something that would remain iconic today. "I don’t think it concerned us one way or the other,” Chevy Chase We were going to do what we do, and if you laugh, great, you laugh. You’ll tell somebody else about it, and they’ll laugh the next time.”
The first season of SNL was funny, sure, but it was also deeply experimental. Future Five-Timers Club members Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen both hosted twice. Then-U.S. Press Secretary Ron Nessen only hosted once. The Muppets were also there. Briefly.
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Relive the earliest days of SNL in these photos from the NBC archives
Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin, and Gilda Radner were in the very first SNL cast. All three left the show in the Season 5 season finale on May 24, 1985, alongside Garrett Morris and Bill Murray, who'd replaced Chevy Chase in Season 2.
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Jim Henson contributed to SNL's first season with a short-lived series for adults called "The Land of Gorch." Here, Gilda Radner got cozy with one of the Muppets.
Before being recruited by fellow Canadian Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd — the youngest member of the original cast — had already struck up a collaborative friendship at Chicago's Second City. (Another friend and collaborator of Aykroyd's, Valri Bromfield, also did a comedy segment in the very first episode of SNL.)
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Chevy Chase told the New York Times that he initially turned down Lorne Michaels' offer of joining the new show as a writer, and then clearly changed his mind. Though he exited the show midway through Season 2 to pursue a film career, he was instrumental in creating the "Weekend Update" format that still exists today.
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Garrett Morris was a Julliard-trained singer and dramatic actor when he signed on to join the experimental new show.
SNL Season 1 Hosts
The Hosts of SNL's first season included a couple of repeat talents:
- Episode 1: George Carlin
- Episode 2: Paul Simon
- Episode 3: Rob Reiner
- Episode 4: Candice Bergen
- Episode 5: Robert Klein
- Episode 6: Lily Tomlin
- Episode 7: Richard Pryor
- Episode 8: Candice Bergen
- Episode 9: Elliott Gould
- Episode 10: Buck Henry
- Episode 11: Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
- Episode 12: Dick Cavett
- Episode 13: Peter Boyle
- Episode 14: Desi Arnaz
- Episode 15: Jill Clayburgh
- Episode 16: Anthony Perkins
- Episode 17: Ron Nessen
- Episode 18: Raquel Welch
- Episode 19: Madeline Kahn
- Episode 20: Dyan Cannon
- Episode 21: Buck Henry
- Episode 22: Elliott Gould
- Episode 23: Louise Lasser
- Episode 24: Kris Kristofferson
Paul Simon, Lily Tomlin, and Desi Arnaz were the first stars to pull SNL double duty as Host and Musical Guest.
SNL Season 1 Musical Guests
While today's SNL episodes typically only include one Musical Guest, episodes in Season 1 often featured two — or even three.
- Episode 1: Billy Preston and Janis Ian
- Episode 2: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Randy Newman, & the Jesse Dixon Singers
- Episode 3: John Belushi performs a Joe Cocker tribute
- Episode 4: Esther Phillips
- Episode 5: ABBA and Loudon Wainwright III
- Episode 6: Lily Tomlin
- Episode 7: Gil Scott-Heron
- Episode 8: Martha Reeves and The Stylistics
- Episode 9: Anne Murray
- Episode 10: Bill Withers and Toni Basil
- Episode 11: Neil Sedaka
- Episode 12: Jimmy Cliff
- Episode 13: Al Jarreau
- Episode 14: Desi Arnaz with Desi Arnaz Jr.
- Episode 15: Leon Redbone
- Episode 16: Betty Carter
- Episode 17: The Patti Smith Group
- Episode 18: Raquel Welch with John Belushi, Phoebe Snow, and John Sebastian.
- Episode 19: Carly Simon
- Episode 20: Leon and Mary Russell
- Episode 21: Gordon Lightfoot
- Episode 22: Leon Redbone; Harlan Collins Joyce Everson
- Episode 23: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
- Episode 24: Rita Coolidge Kris Kristofferson
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How can I watch the first season of Saturday Night Live?
Stream the episodes on Peacock anytime.
