Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a late-night sketch comedy series which premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, and introduced a number of new comics and distinctive, recurring characters -- much like Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In years earlier, but with an edgier, late-night sensibility. The Muppets were regular performers in the first season of Saturday Night Live (1975-76).

The Land of Gorch

 * For more information see The Land of Gorch

Jim Henson's Muppets were regular performers in the first season of Saturday Night Live (1975-76). The characters, which were specifically created for the show, appeared in The Land of Gorch segments. Fifteen sketches were produced, featuring performances by Muppeteers Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Alice Tweedie, Fran Brill, and Richard Hunt.

The series of sketches lasted from SNL's first episode to April of 1976 (and became a recurring joke in the show's second season). The book Live From New York by TV critic Tom Shales details the backstage conflict between the writers of the show, who resisted integrating the Muppets into the show during the first year, and the Muppet performers.

Guest Appearances
December 18, 2004 (Robert De Niro / Destiny's Child) - Kermit the Frog sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with Robert De Niro during the opening monologue. Later in the show, Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie and Animal sing the annual SNL Christmas song, "Christmas is Number One," with Horatio Sanz. All four Muppets (and their performers) are also present at the close of the show when De Niro thanked them for being there. The Muppeteers were Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, David Rudman, and Matt Vogel. Kermit and Robert's duet was later included in the show's 2009 Christmas compilation special, "A Very Gilly Christmas," and the 2012 SNL Christmas Special on NBC. (transcript) (Video on Hulu)

December 18, 2010 (Jeff Bridges / Eminem) - Cookie Monster sings "Silver Bells" with Jeff Bridges during the opening monologue. The appearance references Sesame Workshop's Cookie Monster should host Saturday Night Live! campaign. Cookie Monster, his performer David Rudman and assistant puppeteer Matt Vogel were also present at the close of the show when Bridges thanked Cookie Monster for being there. (transcript) When Rudman arrived at the studios, he's wasn't sure exactly what Cookie would be doing; it wasn't until 11 pm to 1 am that Bridges and Rudman rehearsed. Lorne Michael commented: "That's early for us." The appearance was liked by the pre-broadcast audience, but the jokes were tweaked and the song shortened. The broken cookie was unintentional, and Rudman/Cookie's line about it being "twice as good" improvised. Their scene was later included in the 2013 Christmas compilation special.

November 19, 2011 (Jason Segel / Florence + the Machine) - In promotion of the new Muppets movie, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Rowlf, Scooter, Gonzo, Camilla, Statler and Waldorf appeared in the opening monologue with Segel. Later on, Kermit also did the popular "REALLY?!?!" segment on Weekend Update with Seth Meyers, and Rowlf and Gonzo were seen dancing in the "Massachusetts Afternoon" sketch. Muppeteers included Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz. An image of Scred and Gilda Radner from The Land of Gorch appeared when the Muppets explained that they had appeared on SNL since the beginning. The Jason Segel Muppet is seen during one of the bumper stills. Paul Rudd, Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Florence Welch (from Florence + The Machine) also made several cameo appearances during the show and closed the show in the goodnights, where some of the puppeteers were exposed.

October 6, 2012 (Daniel Craig / Muse) - Big Bird (Caroll Spinney) briefly appeared on Weekend Update with Seth Meyers in response to Mitt Romney's controversial comment made in the presidential debate. (Video on Hulu)

Connections
"Motherlover", a song by Justin Timberlake performed on SNL, was nominated at the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, versus "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus", from A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa. Both lost to Hugh Jackman's opening number at the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Cast & Crew

 * Don Pardo, announcer (1975-1981, 1982-current)
 * Dan Aykroyd, cast member (1975-1979)
 * John Belushi, cast member (1975–1979)
 * Chevy Chase, cast member (1975–1976)
 * Jane Curtin, cast member (1975–1980)
 * Laraine Newman, cast member (1975–1980)
 * Gilda Radner, cast member (1975–1980)
 * Albert Brooks, filmmaker (1975)
 * Richard Belzer, extra (1975-1980)
 * Brian Doyle-Murray, cast member and writer (1979-1982)
 * Mitchell Kriegman, writer (c. 1980)
 * Gilbert Gottfried, cast member (1980–1981)
 * Eddie Murphy, cast member (1980–1984)
 * Julia Louis-Dreyfus, cast member (1982–1985)
 * Billy Crystal, cast member (1984–1985)
 * Martin Short, cast member (1984–1985)
 * Joan Cusack, cast member (1985–1986)
 * Robert Downey, Jr., cast member (1985–1986)
 * Robert Smigel, writer and featured performer (1985–present)
 * Kevin Nealon, cast member (1986–1995)
 * Conan O'Brien, writer (1987-1991)
 * Ben Stiller, featured performer (1989)
 * Mike Myers, cast member (1989-1995)
 * Chris Rock, cast member (1990–1993)
 * Rob Schneider, cast member (1990–1994)
 * Adam Sandler, cast member (1991-1995)
 * Sarah Silverman, featured performer (1993–1994)
 * Michael McKean, cast member (1993–1995)
 * Jay Mohr (1993-1995)
 * Molly Shannon, cast member (early 1995–2001)
 * Hugh Fink writer (1995-2002)
 * Stephen Colbert, voice of Ace in "The Ambiguously Gay Duo" (1996–present)
 * Tina Fey, writer and cast member (1997-2006)
 * Jimmy Fallon, cast member (1998-2004)
 * Horatio Sanz, cast member (1998–2006)
 * Maya Rudolph, cast member (2000-2007)
 * Amy Poehler, cast member (2001-2008)
 * Seth Meyers, writer and cast member (2001-current)
 * Fred Armisen, cast member (2002-2013)
 * Bill Hader, cast member (2005-2013)
 * Andy Samberg, cast member (2005-2012)
 * Fátima Ptacek, extra cast member, two episodes (2009)
 * Bobby Moynihan, cast member (2008-present)
 * Nasim Pedrad, cast member (2009-present)
 * Vanessa Bayer, cast member (2010-present)
 * Taran Killam, cast member (2010-present)
 * Cheryl E. Hardwick, composer