Saturday Night Live may have gone all out earlier this year celebrating its big 5-0 with a prime-time anniversary special, but that didn’t stop Amy Poehler from sneaking in some fun tributes to the show’s premiere on Oct. 11, 1975, while hosting an episode that landed on its official 50th anniversary.
The Parks and Recreation star began her monologue by addressing the landmark occasion.
“Tonight is actually a very special night for the show. Not just because I’m here, but because 50 years ago today, on October 11, 1975, the very first episode of SNL aired,” she said. “And it was awesome. And that episode was hosted by George Carlin. And just like George Carlin, I am extremely high.”
She continued, “It’s always a dream come true to be here. I remember watching the show in the ’70s, sitting in my house in Burlington, Massachusetts, thinking, ‘I want to be an actress someday. At least until they invent an AI actress who’s funnier and willing to do full frontal.’ But 50 years? Wow. You know what’s nice about turning 50? You start to not care about what people think. And that’s what’s so great about SNL. She’s obviously stopped caring. But no matter the age, it’s never too late to make new friends.”
She then briefly introduced the show’s five new cast members, featured players Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.
But her monologue wasn’t Poehler’s only nod to SNL‘s origins. While introducing musical guest Role Model for his first performance on the show, the Good Hang podcast host wore a vintage SNL cast T-shirt. Notably, the photo on the shirt included Bill Murray, who joined halfway through season 2.
NBC
Saturday Night Live‘s original season 1 main cast, then known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, consisted of Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and the late John Belushi and Gilda Radner. The late Michael O’Donoghue and George Coe also briefly appeared as cast members.
Finally, just before the show paid an onscreen tribute to late actress Diane Keaton before returning for goodnights, it displayed a bumper of Poehler sitting in an NYC yellow cab eating a giant slice of pizza. The text displayed on the photo read “NBC’s Saturday Night,” which was SNL‘s original title when it launched.
The shot is reminiscent of an image in the sketch show’s very first opening credits, which featured a man sitting in the front seat of a taxi eating a giant slice of watermelon. The premiere episode, with Carlin and musical guests Janis Ian and Billy Preston, also contained a short film by Albert Brooks called “The Impossible Truth,” which included a vignette about a temporarily blinded cab driver who still picks up a passenger.
NBC
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Saturday’s episode was light on anniversary tributes since the comedy juggernaut went all out celebrating earlier this year, including with an Emmy-winning 50th anniversary special, a star-studded Radio City Music Hall concert, and a four-part documentary.
Director Jason Reitman also released Saturday Night, a feature film about the show’s beginnings. The biopic (now on Netflix) is set in the 90 minutes leading up to SNL‘s first-ever broadcast, as creator Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) scrambles to get his live comedy show on the air. The movie ends just as the real show begins, with Chase (Cory Michael Smith) ending the Cold Open by declaring, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
SNL‘s season 1 premiere is available to stream on Peacock.
SNL continues its 51st season on Oct. 18 with Sabrina Carpenter doing double duty as host and musical guest. Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.
