Who is Still Alive From the First Episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’?

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, original 1975 cast, from left: Chevy Chase, John Belushi (top), Laraine Newman (front), Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, (1975-).
TV Guide/NBC/Everett Collection
TV Guide/NBC/Everett Collection

The new film Saturday Night chronicles the events that occurred just before the premiere of the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live.  Airing on October 11, 1975, the show was originally titled NBC’s Saturday Night, and featured a cast who would go on to become household names: Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase and Laraine Newman. George Coe was featured in the first episode, and surreal comedian Andy Kaufman made an appearance, performing his infamous Mighty Mouse lip-sync sketch.

Many cast members went on to the peaks of comedy fame after the show (although a few didn’t). But in the decades since, what have they been up to?

Who Were the Guests on the First Episode of SNL?

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, (front to back), G Morris, J Curtin, L Newman, G Radner, M O'Donoughue, J Belushi, C Chase, 1975-

Everett Collection

The first person to ever appear on screen on an episode of SNL was neither a cast member nor a host; it was head writer Michael O’Donoghue, who appeared in the cold open of the show in a sketch called “Wolverines.” Not long after, the host George Carlin came out for a stand-up comedy monologue. He didn’t appear in any of the sketches but delivered short stand-up sets throughout the evening.

Comedian and actor Billy Crystal was originally supposed to appear. He was asked by Michaels to prepare a sketch, but it was ultimately cut from the show. However, there was another star that made a quick cameo in the episode: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cast member Richard Belzer. He was a background actor during “The Courtroom” sketch.

We can’t forget that Jim Henson’s Muppets made an appearance in the first episode and throughout the first season with a recurring sketch series called “The Land of Gorch.”

Meanwhile, the very first musical guests were Billy Preston and Janis Ian. Preston and his band performed “Nothing From Nothing” and “Fancy Lady,” while Ian sang “At Seventeen” and “In the Winter.”

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Episode 1 -- Air Date 10/11/1975 -- Pictured: Host George Carlin during the monologue on October 11, 1975

Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank

Who is Still Alive From the First Episode of SNL?

Lorne Michaels

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Lorne Michaels, producer, on set, circa 1990s.

Kwaku Alston/NBC/TV Guide/Everett Collection

Creator Lorne Michaels is 79 years old (he will be 80 next month!) and still working at SNL, guiding its 50th season.

Dan Aykroyd

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire from left: Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, 2024

Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection

Aykroyd is 72, and still acting, most recently appearing in 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The star, who appeared in everything from The Blues Brothers to Driving Miss Daisy, also co-founded the House of Blues chain of music performance venues.

Garrett Morris

THE JAMIE FOXX SHOW, Garrett Morris, 1996-2001

Warner Bros./Everett Collection

Morris was nearly 40 when the show first premiered, having already had a career as a musician, performing with the Belafonte Folk Singers and on Broadway. After his five seasons on the show, Morris took on occasional movie roles, and was a regular cast member on The Jamie Foxx Show from its full run, from 1996 to 2001. He also starred in the show Two Broke Girls, which ran from 2011 to 2017. Morris is 87.

Chevy Chase

COMMUNITY, Chevy Chase, 'Pilot', (Season 1), 2009-.

Jardin Altaus/NBC/Everett Collection

Chase is 81, and went on to a long career after the show, in films like Caddyshack and the National Lampoon’s Vacation series. He starred in the TV show Community from 2009 to 2014, and was most recently seen in the 2015 film Vacation, a reboot of his National Lampoon series.

Jane Curtin

QUEEN BEES, Jane Curtin, 2021.

Gravitas VenturesEverett Collection

After five season on the show, Curtin found great success on sitcoms, winning multiple Emmys for her work on Kate & Allie and appearing on the series Third Rock From the Sun for five seasons. She is 77, and still appears in occasional film, TV and theater roles.

Laraine Newman

 

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A post shared by Laraine Newman (@larainenewman)

In the decades after the show, Newman made numerous film and TV appearances, and beginning in the 2000s, became a popular name in voice acting. Newman is 72.

Janis Ian

 

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A post shared by Janis Ian (@therealjanisian)

The “At Seventeen” singer is 73, and was touring regularly until 2022, when she suffered an injury to her vocal cords.

Gilda Radner

Gilda Radner (1946-89) as Vicki Pearle in HAUNTED HOONEYMOON, 1986

Everett Collection

After leaving SNL, Radner did live theater, and appeared in multiple movies and TV shows. Sadly, Radner died on May 20, 1989, at the age of 42.

Michael O’Donoghue

MR. MIKE'S MONDO VIDEO, writer/performer Michael O'Donoghue, 1979,

New Line Cinema/Everett Collection

O’Donoghue wrote a number of film and TV projects, including the film Scrooged; he also wrote a song for Dolly Parton, “Single Women,” in 1982. He died on November 8, 1994 at the age of 54, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

George Coe

SANTA MONICA, CA - SEPTEMBER 22: Actor George Coe attends the Membership First Fundraiser at a private residence on September 22, 2009 in Santa Monica, California.

John M. Heller/Getty Images

Coe appeared in a number of film and TV roles after SNL, but is probably best known for voicing the valet Woodhouse on the animated series Archer. He died on July 18, 2015 at the age of 86.

John Belushi

John Belushi

Universal/Everett Collection; Columbia/Everett Collection

After a brief and promising career which included star turns in Animal House and The Blues Brothers, Belushi died on March 5, 1982, at the age of 33.

George Carlin

Comedian George Carlin appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios on October 8, 2003 in Burbank, California

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

One of the most influential stand-up comedians of all time, Carlin passed away on June 22, 2008, at the age of 71.

Billy Preston

CONCERT FOR GEORGE, Billy Preston, 2003,

ArenaPlex/Everett Collection

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter continued to perform all his life, both as a solo artist and in-demand session musician. Preston died on June 6, 2006, at 59.

Jim Henson

The Muppet Show Kermit the frog, and Jim Henson the human, 1976-1981

Everett Collection

The Muppet Show creator died on May 16, 1990, at 53.

Andy Kaufman

TAXI, Andy Kaufman, 1978-83, portrait with eyes wide open

Everett Collection

Kaufman went on to star on the TV show Taxi. The boundary-breaking comedian died on May 16, 1984 at 35.

 

Watch the first episode and relive the magic on the streaming service Peacock.

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