Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Show Off

The NYC trip is canceled. One of those things. I'll be back very soon. Until then, I'm all yours Michigan!

Here's a curious piece. After Jean Doumanian's SNL implosion in 1980, NBC replaced her with network executive Dick Ebersol. SNL went on a month-long hiatus for quick repairs, then returned with O'Donoghue as head writer, or Godhead, as he preferred. Chevy was brought back to remind viewers of the original show, complete with first season Weekend Update set.

This is right after John Hinckley tried to kill Ronald Reagan. You'll recognize Laurie Metcalf, who later won Emmys for her work on Roseanne. Metcalf had been hired from Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre to be in the SNL cast. But after this show, a writer's strike put SNL on summer vacation, and Metcalf was not invited back. Too bad.