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Saturday Night Live (season 1)
The first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (then known as ''NBC's Saturday Night'' to avoid confusion with the similarly named variety show hosted by Howard Cosell), an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC from October 11, 1975, to July 31, 1976. The show served as a vehicle that launched to stardom the careers of a number of major comedians and actors, including Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd. History In 1974, NBC ''Tonight Show'' host Johnny Carson asked that the weekend broadcasts of "Best of Carson" (officially known as ''The Weekend Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'') come to an end (''The Tonight Show'' was a 90-minute program at the time), so he could take two weeknights off; NBC would thus air those repeats on those nights rather than feed them to affiliates for broadcast on either Saturdays or Sundays. Given Johnny Carson's undisputed status as the king of late-night television, NBC heard his request as an ultima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from its inception in 1975 until his departure in 1979. During his tenure on ''SNL'', he appeared in a recurring series of sketches, particularly featuring the Coneheads and the Blues Brothers. For his work on the show, he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1977. After his departure, he has since returned to guest roles. Aykroyd's most famous roles are as The Blues Brothers, Elwood J. Blues in ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers'' (1980) and ''Blues Brothers 2000'' (1998) and Ray Stantz, Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989) (he has reprise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Ebersol
Duncan Richard Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts. Early life Ebersol was born in Torrington, Connecticut, the son of Mary (née Duncan) and Charles Roberts Ebersol, a former chairman of the American Cancer Society. He and Josiah Bunting III are half-brothers. In 1967, aged 20, Ebersol began his long history with the Olympics when he temporarily dropped out of Yale University to join Roone Arledge and ABC Sports as television's first-ever Olympic researcher. Career Move to NBC In 1974, he joined NBC as Director of Weekend Late Night Programming. In 1975, at the suggestion of Paramount Pictures executive Barry Diller, Ebersol and NBC president Herbert Schlosser approached Lorne Michaels for help in creating a show to fill the Saturda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, the eponymous media franchise encompasses films, television, music, and other media associated with the characters. Owned by the Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the Muppets were acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2004. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series ''Sam and Friends'', which aired on WRC-TV and in syndication from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late-night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on ''Sesame Street'' (1969–present) during their formative years in the early-mid 1970s and attained Celebrity, celebrity status and international recognition through ''The Muppet Show'' (1976–1981), their flagship sketch comedy t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and as the director of ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Labyrinth (1986 film), Labyrinth'' (1986). Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland, Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created ''Sam and Friends'' (1955–1961), a short-form comedy television program on WRC-TV, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with fellow student Jane Henson, Jane Nebel. Henson and Nebel co-founded The Jim Henson Company, Muppets, Inc. – now The Jim Henson Company – in 1958, and married less than a year later in 1959. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics. In 1969, Henson join ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein; July 22, 1947) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1987 comedy-drama film '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance in the 2011 action drama film '' Drive''. Brooks has also acted in films such as ''Taxi Driver'' (1976), '' Private Benjamin'' (1980), '' Unfaithfully Yours'' (1984), '' Out of Sight'' (1998) and '' My First Mister'' (2001). He has written, directed, and starred in several comedy films, such as '' Modern Romance'' (1981), '' Lost in America'' (1985), and '' Defending Your Life'' (1991). He is also the author of '' 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America'' (2011). Brooks has also voiced several characters in animated films and television shows. His voice acting roles include Marlin in ''Finding Nemo'' (2003) and its sequel ''Finding Dory'' (2016), Tiberius in ''The Secret Life of Pets'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo Jr. (February 22, 1918 – August 18, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades. A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with NBC, working as the announcer for early incarnations of such notable shows as ''The Price Is Right'', '' Jackpot'', ''Jeopardy!'', '' Three on a Match'', '' Winning Streak'' and ''NBC Nightly News''. His longest, and best-known, announcing job was for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', a job he held for 38 seasons, from the show's debut in 1975 until the end of the 6th season in 1981 and again from the season 8 premiere in 1982 until his death in 2014. Early and personal life Pardo was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, to Dominick George Pardo Sr. and Valeria "Viola" Rominak-Pardo, who were Polish immigrants who owned a bakery. He spent his childhood in Norwich, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated from Emerson Coll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murray, several accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as a nomination for an Academy Award. Murray was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016. Murray became a national presence on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1977 to 1980, receiving a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He established his stardom by acting in a string of successful comedy films, including ''Meatballs (film), Meatballs'' (1979), ''Caddyshack'' (1980), ''Stripes (film), Stripes'' (1981), ''Scrooged'' (1988), ''What About Bob?'' (1991), and ''Groundhog Day (film), Groundhog Day'' (1993). He also had supporting roles in ''Tootsie (film), Tootsie'' (1982), ''Little Shop of Hor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Burns
John Francis Burns (November 15, 1933 – January 27, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. He is also known for his short stint as Warren Ferguson, Barney Fife's replacement on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' in 1965. By the 1970s, he had transitioned to working behind the camera as a writer and producer on such comedy series as ''The Muppet Show'' and '' Hee Haw''. Biography Burns enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1952 but soon realized that he did not want to be in the military: "the first week of boot camp changed my mind." He served in Korea, rose to the rank of sergeant and was discharged around 1954. Burns began his comedy career in 1959 when he partnered with George Carlin; both were working for radio station KXOL in Fort Worth, Texas. After successful performances at a Fort Worth beat coffeehouse, The Cellar, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of counterculture comedians". He was known for his black comedy, dark comedy and reflections on politics, the English language, psychology, religion and taboo subject matter. Carlin was a frequent performer and guest host on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show'' during the three-decade Johnny Carson era and notably hosted the first episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975. The first of Carlin's 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO was filmed in 1977, broadcast as ''George Carlin at USC''. From the late 1980s onward, his routines focused on Social criticism, sociocultural criticism of U.S. society. He often commented on political issues and satirized American culture. His "seven dirty words" routine was central to the 1978 United S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, the parent corporation of the National Broadcasting Company especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony Orchestra performed weekly radio broadcast concerts with Toscanini and other conductors and several of its players served in the house orchestra for the NBC Radio Network. NBC encouraged the public’s perception of the Orchestra as a full-time organization exclusively at Toscanini’s beck and call, but Fortune disclosed in 1938 that these instrumentalists played other radio—and, later, television—broadcasts: “the Toscanini concerts have been allocated only fifteen of the thirty hours a week each man works, including rehearsals.” The orchestra's first broadcast was on November 13, 1937, and it continued until disbanded in April 1954. A new ensemble, independent of the network, called the Symphony of the Air, followed. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his eidetic memory. He was at various times the music director of La Scala in Milan and the New York Philharmonic. Later in his career, he was appointed the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–1954), and this led to his becoming a household name, especially in the United States, through his radio and television broadcasts and many recordings of the operatic and symphonic repertoire. Biography Early years Toscanini was born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, His father was a tailor. He won a scholarship to the Parma Conservatory, where he studied the cello. Living conditions at the conservatory were harsh and strict. For example, the menu at the conservatory consisted almost entirely of fish; in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, split by a large sunken square and a private street called Rockefeller Plaza. Later additions include 75 Rockefeller Plaza across 51st Street at the north end of Rockefeller Plaza, and four International Style (architecture), International Style buildings on the west side of Sixth Avenue. In 1928, Columbia University, the owner of the site, leased the land to John D. Rockefeller Jr., who was the main person behind the complex's construction. Originally envisioned as the site for a new Metropolitan Opera building, the current Rockefeller Center came about after the Met could not afford to move to the proposed new building. Various plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
