Saturday Night Live season 7
Saturday Night Live | |
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Season 7 | |
No. of episodes | 20 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | October 3, 1981 May 22, 1982 | –
Season chronology | |
The seventh season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 3, 1981, and May 22, 1982. It was the first full season produced by Dick Ebersol.
Cast
After the end of the previous season, which was cut short because of the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike, Ebersol dismissed two more of Jean Doumanian's hires, repertory players Denny Dillon and Gail Matthius.[1] Featured players Laurie Metcalf and Emily Prager, who only appeared in the previous season's final episode, were not asked back as cast members.
The new cast of Saturday Night Live for season 7 included returning veterans Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky, Tony Rosato, Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo.[2] Two new cast members were added: Second City alum Mary Gross[3] and Broadway actress Christine Ebersole.[2] Writer Brian Doyle-Murray joined as a featured player. Doyle-Murray became the new Weekend Update (then called SNL Newsbreak) host, and was teamed first with Mary Gross before anchoring solo for three months, then back again with Gross for one more month.[4] For the remainder of the season, Doyle-Murray was paired with Christine Ebersole.
Murphy, who had already emerged as a cast breakout last season, continued to rise in popularity in season 7, and Dick Ebersol heavily featured both Murphy and Piscopo in the show.[5][6]
Cast roster
Repertory players |
Featured players
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bold denotes Weekend Update anchor
Writers
This season's writers were Barry W. Blaustein, Joe Bodolai, Brian Doyle-Murray, Nate Herman, Tim Kazurinsky, Nelson Lyon, Maryilyn Suzanne Miller, Pamela Norris, Mark O'Donnell, Michael O'Donoghue, Margaret Olberman, Tony Rosato, David Sheffield, Rosie Shuster, Andrew Smith, Terry Southern, Bob Tischler and Eliot Wald. The head writers were Michael O'Donoghue (episodes 1–8) and Bob Tischler (episodes 9-20).[2][7]
Michael O'Donoghue, whom Ebersol brought back to the show in March, remained as head writer for the first half of season 7. Some sketches, as well as the appearances of artists like Fear and William S. Burroughs, reflected the increasingly bizarre ideas O'Donoghue had for the show.[5] However, after developing a tense relationship with Ebersol and berating the cast in a meeting following the December 12 episode, O'Donoghue was fired, with Bob Tischler taking the role of head writer.[8]
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | Host(s) | Musical guest(s) | Original air date | |
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120 | 1 | None | Rod Stewart | October 3, 1981 | |
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121 | 2 | Susan Saint James | The Kinks | October 10, 1981 | |
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122 | 3 | George Kennedy | Miles Davis | October 17, 1981 | |
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123 | 4 | Donald Pleasence | Fear | October 31, 1981 | |
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124 | 5 | Lauren Hutton | Rick James | November 7, 1981 | |
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125 | 6 | Bernadette Peters | The Go-Go's Billy Joel | November 14, 1981 | |
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126 | 7 | Tim Curry | Meat Loaf | December 5, 1981 | |
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127 | 8 | Bill Murray | The Spinners The Whiffenpoofs | December 12, 1981 | |
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128 | 9 | Robert Conrad | The Allman Brothers Band | January 23, 1982 | |
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129 | 10 | John Madden | Jennifer Holliday | January 30, 1982 | |
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130 | 11 | James Coburn | Lindsey Buckingham | February 6, 1982 | |
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131 | 12 | Bruce Dern | Luther Vandross | February 20, 1982 | |
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132 | 13 | Elizabeth Ashley | Hall & Oates | February 27, 1982 | |
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133 | 14 | Robert Urich | Mink DeVille | March 20, 1982 | |
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134 | 15 | Blythe Danner | Rickie Lee Jones | March 27, 1982 | |
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135 | 16 | Daniel J. Travanti | John Cougar Mellencamp | April 10, 1982 | |
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136 | 17 | Johnny Cash | Elton John | April 17, 1982 | |
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137 | 18 | Robert Culp | The Charlie Daniels Band | April 24, 1982 | |
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138 | 19 | Danny DeVito | Sparks | May 15, 1982 | |
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139 | 20 | Olivia Newton-John | Olivia Newton-John | May 22, 1982 | |
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References
- ^ Deeb, Gary (July 26, 1981). "'Saturday Night's' doctor has some new prescriptions". Pensacola News Journal. p. 106. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ a b c Schwartz, Tony (October 3, 1981). "'Saturday Night Live' is Back in Third Incarnation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ "Mary not cut out to be cut up". St. Joseph News-Press. November 6, 1982. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ Shales, Tom (October 4, 1981). "'Saturday Night' Lives". Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Director, Roger (November 23, 1981). "Fear and Laughing at 'Saturday Night Live'". New York. pp. 62–68. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 232–233.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. (October 11, 1981). "TV View; Salvaging 'Saturday Night Live'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ Hill & Weingrad, pp. 453-457.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
- ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 138–140. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
- ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 141–143. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
- ^ Hill & Weingrad 1986, p. 454.
- ^ @ThatWeekInSNL (December 12, 2023). "42 years ago, on Dec. 12, 1981, the show was interrupted on the East Coast by sudden breaking news about Poland declaring a State Of Emergency..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 144–146. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
- ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 147. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
- ^ Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0-395-70895-8.
Works cited
- Hill, Doug; Weingrad, Jeff (1986). Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live. Beech Tree Books. ISBN 978-0688050993.
- Shales, Tom; Miller, James Andrew (2002). Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316781466.