Live from New York … Saturday Night Live made its television debut on October 11, 1975. In honor of its 45 years of comedic contributions, here are 40 things you might not have known about the legendary sketch show.
1. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’S EXISTENCE IS PARTLY DUE TO JOHNNY CARSON’S DESIRE FOR MORE VACATION DAYS.
In 1974, Johnny Carson requested that NBC stop airing The Tonight Show reruns on the weekend. He wanted to save those reruns for the extra vacation days he was planning to take during weekdays. NBC wanted to fill those weekend slots, so they hired Lorne Michaels to develop a show.