TV All Things SNL

[Mirah]

I am so grateful to live in the era of SNL

I didn't know he left it for 5 years!

 

[Eggs Mayonnaise]

I am so grateful to live in the era of SNL

I didn't know he left it for 5 years!

Yup - the original cast left after 5 years in 1980, and Lorne left with them. The best thing you could say about the next 5 years is that Eddie Murphy was discovered, became the show's #1 star, and then left the show to do movies (all within those 5 years). Then Lorne came back and eventually got the show back on its feet.

 

[Dr Dave]

I didn't know he left either. Why did he leave exactly?

 

[Eggs Mayonnaise]

I didn't know he left either. Why did he leave exactly?

After the first 5 years, everybody was burned out. Also, cast members started turning into movie stars and got restless. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left after the fourth year, so the fifth year cast had a big hole in it without them. After that, they were all ready to call it a day. They didn't know if NBC would keep the show going or not. The show kept going, but the sixth year was a horrible failure with a bad producer. Then came the Eddie Murphy years, and then Lorne decided to return when they called him.

 

[Charlemagne]

On the subject of things that started with SNL...