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Saturday Night Live season 1 

Saturday Night Live aired its first season during the 1975-76 television season on NBC. At the time, NBC aired reruns of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on Saturday night, but Johnny Carson wanted to have new programming on, in order to save reruns to air during his holidays.

NBC hired Lorne Michaels to be the executive producer of a late-night comedy/variety television series. Michaels wanted to call his show "Saturday Night Live," but ABC was already airing a similar series called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. The show was named NBC's Saturday Night, and to mimic Cosell's "Prime-Time Players," Michaels called his cast "The Not Ready For Prime Time Players".

Certain elements exclusive to Season One included Jim Henson's Muppets in the Land of Gorch, short films by Albert Brooks, and live commercials for Polaroid played by the SNL cast.

The first season began on October 11, 1975 and ended on July 31, 1976.

Contents

Cast

Repertory cast members

Featured cast members

There were no featured cast members during the first season.

† Performer is deceased.

Episodes

Episode
Number		 Date Host(s) Musical Guest(s) Remarks
1 October 11, 1975 George Carlin† Billy Preston†
Janis Ian
  • During the opening credits, announcer Don Pardo flubbed the first-ever mention of the regular cast as "the Not For Ready Prime Time Players". According to the cast list shown on screen, the Players include George Coe and Michael O'Donoghue†.
  • Future cast member Billy Crystal was scheduled to appear, but his stand-up segment was cut when the dress rehearsal ran long. Andy Kaufman†'s segment, which consisted of him playing the Mighty Mouse theme on a record player, survived.
  • On June 28, 2008, NBC re-aired the episode due to the recent death of George Carlin, replacing an airing of a Season 33 episode featuring Ellen Page and Wilco.
2 October 18, 1975 Paul Simon Randy Newman
Phoebe Snow
Art Garfunkel
Jesse Dixon Singers
  • This episode contains an all-time record 11 musical performances. Among the comedy pieces, only Weekend Update and a sketch in which Paul Simon tells the Bees their piece has been cut involve the Not Ready for Prime Time Players.
  • Most of the sketches were cut in order to extend Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's musical set. They performed "The Boxer", "Scarborough Fair" and their then-new single "My Little Town".
3 October 25, 1975 Rob Reiner John Belushi† as Joe Cocker
  • Rob Reiner is the first host to appear in full sketches with the regular cast.
  • Denny Dillon appears as a "special guest" with Mark Hampton in a sketch as nuns running a parish talent show. Dillon would later become a cast member during the show's infamous sixth season.
  • Rob Reiner's then-wife Penny Marshall makes cameo appearances in this episode.
  • George Coe and Michael O'Donoghue's final appearance as cast members. All though they were no longer listed in the cast after this Coe would continue to appear regularly until the end of the season and O'Donoghue would appear regularly until the end of the 4th season.
4 November 8, 1975 Candice Bergen Esther Phillips
  • Bergen is the first female host of the show.
  • First appearance of the Landshark.
5 November 15, 1975 Robert Klein ABBA
Loudon Wainwright III
  • ABBA makes two appearances, set on board the sinking Titanic, and lip-synch their second number. Captions informed the audience that "It's not their fault. The tapes didn't arrive from Sweden".
  • First appearance of Emily Litella.
6 November 22, 1975 Lily Tomlin Tomlin with Howard Shore & the All Nurse Band
  • Lily Tomlin is the first host to interact with the Muppets. She is also technically the first to host and be in the musical act, but the show was listed without a musical act.
  • The episode is notable for spawning the catchphrase "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead" during Weekend Update, and for featuring "The Antler Dance" that would lend its name to The Antlers.
7 December 13, 1975 Richard Pryor† Gil Scott-Heron
  • This episode had the first seven-second delay for SNL.
  • This episode had the first black celebrity to host SNL.
  • The West Coast airing of this episode bleeped out Richard Pryor saying "ass" during one of his stand-up routines. It has since been shown intact.
  • Garrett Morris says "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" in this episode, one of only two Season One episodes in which the line is said by someone other than Chevy Chase. (The Ron Nessen episode is the other.)
8 December 20, 1975 Candice Bergen Martha Reeves
The Stylistics
  • Candice Bergen is the first person to host the show a second time. She is also the first person to host more than once in the same season.
9 January 10, 1976 Elliott Gould Anne Murray
  • The first of Gould's six hosting stints.
  • The last episode to feature a film by Albert Brooks.
  
10 January 17, 1976 Buck Henry Bill Withers
Toni Basil
  • The first of Henry's ten hosting stints.
  
11 January 24, 1976 Peter Cook†
Dudley Moore†		 Neil Sedaka
  • Don Pardo reads the names of the regular cast members during the opening credits for the first time.
  • Cook and Moore are the first British performers to host.
12 January 31, 1976 Dick Cavett Jimmy Cliff  
13 February 14, 1976 Peter Boyle† Al Jarreau  
14 February 21, 1976 Desi Arnaz† Desi Arnaz† & Desi Arnaz Jr.
  • Though he is not the first host to perform musically on the show, Arnaz is the first host to be simultaneously credited as musical guest.
15 February 28, 1976 Jill Clayburgh Leon Redbone
The Singing Idlers		  
16 March 13, 1976 Anthony Perkins† Betty Carter†
  • This is the first episode to feature pictures of the cast in the opening credits.
17 April 17, 1976 Ron Nessen Patti Smith
  • Ron Nessen, press secretary for President Gerald Ford, is the first political figure to host the show. Ford himself appears in a filmed segment during the cold opening where he opens the show with "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
  • Future cast member Billy Crystal appears on the show for the first time, performing a monologue.
18 April 24, 1976 Raquel Welch Phoebe Snow
John Sebastian
  • Lorne Michaels appears on air, famously offering the Beatles $3,000 to perform three songs.
19 May 8, 1976 Madeline Kahn† Carly Simon
  • Simon's segment was pre-taped.
  
20 May 15, 1976 Dyan Cannon Leon and Mary Russell  
21 May 22, 1976 Buck Henry Gordon Lightfoot
  • Lorne Michaels appears again, offering the Beatles $3,200 and free hotel accommodations to perform three songs.
22 May 29, 1976 Elliott Gould Leon Redbone
Harlan Collins & Joyce Everson		  
23 July 24, 1976 Louise Lasser Preservation Hall Jazz Band
  • Lasser was the first SNL host to be banned from ever hosting again. The ban was due to what was perceived as an incoherent performance and Lasser's difficulty in working with the cast and crew (Lasser refused to appear onscreen with any of the regular cast other than Chevy Chase). Contrary to most reports, this episode was not blocked from syndicated reruns.
24 July 31, 1976 Kris Kristofferson Rita Coolidge  
Preceded by
none		 Saturday Night Live
Season 1		 Succeeded by
Season 2
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