It’s hard to believe that Saturday Night Live almost got the ax in the 1980s, but it’s true. In 1980, after the fifth season, Lorne Michaels took a hiatus from running the show. Most of the ...

After “SNL” mastermind Lorne Michaels created the show in 1975, he left in 1980 to pursue other opportunities – before returning five years later. Season 11 was his “clean slate,” when ...

Don Novello wrote for "SNL" for years before appearing in the 1979-1980 season. He left alongside almost the entire cast when creator Lorne Michaels left in the '80s. He returned briefly for the ...

In fact, Robert Downey Jr. became the first SNL alum to win an Oscar last year, despite only appearing on the show for a single season in the 1980s. There is a whole slew of similar cases (with or ...

Jean Smart will host to open the season, with Jelly Roll as musical ... where he has 1.2 million followers. She left “SNL” in 1980 after portraying Connie Conehead, Valley Girl stewardess ...

In 1974 he was asked to write and produce SNL. In the first season, Michaels appeared on camera ... Michaels left the show in 1980 but returned in 1985. In 1974, NBC aired “The Weekend Tonight ...