Keith Ian Raywood is an American

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

best known as ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' (SNL) Art Director since 1985 and its Production Designer since 1990. He has designed music videos and live performances for major recording artists, international and national commercial spots, for MSG & MSG+ networks, and theatre productions both regional and in New York.

Early life and education

Raywood was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and lived between there and

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which s ...

throughout his childhood. He attended The

Dwight School Dwight School is an independent college preparatory school located on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Dwight offers the International Baccalaureate curriculum to students ages two through grade twelve. History Founded in 1872 by Julius Sachs as ...

, and studied painting at The

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stud ...

with Issac Soyer. In 1975, while enrolled at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

for painting, he switched to architecture at the end of his freshman year, and then left for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to study at The

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

. While there, he joined the unit that was tutored by renowned architects

Bernard Tschumi Bernard Tschumi (born 25 January 1944 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Son of the well-known Swiss architect Jean Tschumi and a French mother, Tschumi is a dual French- ...

and Nigel Coates. In the spring of 1978, he traveled with a group of students led by

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a r ...

to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Raywood credits his time at ''The AA'' as most inspiring and influential in his work, and it would later greatly inform his process, aesthetic, and "architectural" style as a production designer. In 1979, he returned to Cornell's College of Architecture. While there, he formed the band Symbols, which released two EPs, and regularly performed in New York City clubs like

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', K ...

Tramps A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''tr ...

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from 1979 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous locati ...

, and

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decemb ...

Career

Shortly after moving back to New York City in 1982, Raywood became the assistant to Eugene Lee on the film ''

Easy Money A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return (finance), return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impr ...

''. He worked as Lee's assistant and art director for the next three years on Lee's film, television, and theatre projects, eventually designing his own sets for music videos, commercials, television, and theatre. In 1985, he co-designed, with Lee, the original production of ''

The Normal Heart ''The Normal Heart'' is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a p ...

'' at

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American L ...

. Raywood became the art director of ''

'' in 1985, and has been credited as one of its production designers since 1990. As of 2022, he has been with show for more than thirty-seven seasons. That same year, he co-designed the ''

Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special "''Saturday Night Live'' 40th Anniversary Special" (also billed as "SNL40") is a three-and-a-half-hour prime-time special that aired on February 15, 2015, on NBC, celebrating ''Saturday Night Live''s 40th year on the air, having premiered on Oc ...

''. He has collaborated many times with current and former SNL performers and writers on a variety of projects, including ''

Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', ta ...

'', ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musi ...

'', and '' Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue''. He has designed numerous music specials and television series for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, BET,

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to prote ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...

, and

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

. His credits include ''The

66th Primetime Emmy Awards The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2013 until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Nok ...

''; the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

, and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

''; the

2016 MTV Movie Awards The 2016 MTV Movie Awards were held on April 9, 2016, from Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California, as the first such event in 21 years, as well as being the first Movie Awards to be held outdoors. In addition, this year's awards also beca ...

; "The Eagles:

Hell Freezes Over ''Hell Freezes Over'' is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year-long break up. The band's lineup was that of the ''Long Run'' era: Glen ...

"; '' The American Comedy Awards'' in 2011,2012 & 2014; VH1's ''

Hip Hop Honors The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event that airs on VH1. The television special honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. It features live pe ...

''; ''

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...

: One Night Only''; ''

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nich ...

: One Night Only''; '' Divas Live'' for VH1; the 2007 ''

Spike TV Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 to 2013 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by '' ...

''; and ''

VH1 Rock Honors The VH1 Rock Honors were an annual ceremony paying homage to bands who influenced the sound of rock music. The events began in 2006, and the final event took place in 2008. The general format of each show is for modern bands to "pay tribute" to clas ...

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

'', as well as several of the combined

upfront ''UpFront'' is a current affairs discussion, debate and analysis programme on Al Jazeera English. The show premiered on 4 September 2015 shortly after Al Jazeera moved into their new Washington D.C. hub. The show has a politics focus although oth ...

for

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

. He has designed the ''

Spike Guys' Choice Awards The Guys Choice (formerly known as Spike Guys Choice Awards) is an awards show produced by the Viacom cable channel Spike from 2007 to 2016. The winners were originally chosen based on voting by fans and viewers of the channel until 2015, when the ...

'' five times. Other television credits include '' The Marriage Ref'', ''

Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry ''Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry'', better known as simply ''Def Poetry Jam'' or ''Def Poetry'', is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by establ ...

'' & ''

Def Comedy Jam ''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons. The series had its original run from March 7, 1992 to May 2, 1997. Simmons was inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and Jerry L ...

'', and ''

The Concert For New York City The Concert for New York City was a benefit concert, featuring many famous musicians, that took place on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden in New York City in response to the September 11 attacks. Aside from performing for charity, the co ...

'' which broadcast live from

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

one month after the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, for which he received an Emmy nomination. In 2007, Raywood created several architectural designs for

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...

installations in collaboration with artist-director-photographer

Michael Somoroff Michael Somoroff is a conceptual artist, director, and photographer. Somoroff has directed and created work for advertising agencies, publications and cultural institutions. He is also a teacher and cultural commentator who has worked for Stony Br ...

. Their first installation, ''Illumination'', opened at the BravinLee gallery. He designed the studios for the ''

'' and ''

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with ...

'' networks at 11 Penn Plaza in 2010."MSG Network moves studios to state-of-the-art facilities at 11 Penn Plaza, gets better Garden view"
nydailynews.com, December 7, 2010. Accessed August 31, 2022.

Awards

Raywood has received 7 Primetime

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in the Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety, Music, or Non-fiction Programming category. The first in 2009 for his work on the ''

2008 MTV Video Music Awards The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were ...

'', and the second as part of the art department at ''Saturday Night Live'' in 2013, the first time in 38 seasons that SNL had received an Emmy in an Art Direction category. In 2012, he also received an Emmy nomination for ''30 Rock''. In 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, he received another four Emmy nominations for ''Saturday Night Live'', totaling seven nominations as part of the show's art department. In 2002, he was nominated in the same category for ''The Concert for New York City''. Raywood has received two first place Promax Broadcast Design Awards for his work on 2008's and 2012's ''

''. In 2009, Raywood was nominated for three

Art Directors Guild The Art Directors Guild (ADG; IATSE Local 800) is a trade union, labor union and local of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) representing 2,979 motion pic ...

Awards for his 2008 designs of ''

'', ''

'', and the ''

''. He was again nominated by the Guild for ''30 Rock'' and ''SNL'' in 2010 and 2011, and received an Award for the

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment indus ...

/ Jay-Z episode (2010) of SNL in 2011. Considering its longevity and influence, this was the first time ''Saturday Night Live'' had received a design award of any kind in its then 36 seasons on NBC. In 2012 and 2013, Raywood again won the ADG as part of the SNL team, respectively, for a 2011 episode with Justin Timberlake /

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, and the 2012 Season Finale with host and musical guest

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

. In total, Raywood has received 5 ADG awards and 22 nominations.

Partial Credit List

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raywood, Keith American production designers Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni Primetime Emmy Award winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people)