- “Saturday Night Live” premiered on October 11, 1975. The first host was George Carlin.
- A 50th anniversary special featuring many celebrity guests aired this weekend.
- The first cast, to many people, remains the best of all time.
“Saturday Night Live” remains one of the most iconic institutions in TV history. For decades, it has been the goal of many a comedian to grace the halls of Studio 8H and scream “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”
This all started 50 years ago with a group known as the “Not Ready for Primetime Players,” the first cast of “Saturday Night Live,” along with writers, creator Lorne Michaels, and early replacement Bill Murray.
Keep scrolling to see vintage photos of “SNL” in its earliest days — and what some would call its best days.