The Peculiar Truth about the Other SNL

• September 20, 1975: Saturday Night Live premiered. The first episode aired at 8 pm. In primetime. On ABC. No, not that Saturday Night Live. The first one.

• That’s right. Three weeks before the original episode of Saturday Night Live on NBC (October 11, 1975), there was a show on the rival network that aired much earlier in the evening and had already claimed that same name.

• The SNL that has lasted for over 50 years was originally called NBC’s Saturday Night - hence the famous intro “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.” That show featured unknown comic actors called the Not Ready for Prime Time Players and had different hosts each episode just like it does today.

• The ABC version was also a live program, but it ran in primetime, had mostly famous well-established guests, and had only one recurring host. A man who the general public didn’t really like.

• The variety show was called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.

• The series was the brainchild of ABC-TV’s sports director Roone Arledge. He brought Cosell aboard with the belief that the glib sportscaster would be as quick on his feet in a variety show format as he was during Monday Night Football broadcasts. He also believed American audiences loved Howard Cosell.

• Arledge bet wrong.

• The show was shot live from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York years before it was renovated for The Late Show with David Letterman.

• The first episode had a cornucopia of mid-Seventies stars: Frank Sinatra, John Denver, Shirley Bassey (best known for singing two James Bond theme songs), Paul Anka, tennis star Jimmy Connors, and a number from the Broadway show The Wiz performed by the original cast.

• Cosell was nervous. He was out of his element. Although the 57-year-old veteran broadcaster could ad lib during football games and other sporting events, he asked for cue cards during the variety show. His stilted interviews with celebrities and sports figures were cringeworthy.

• In the months that followed, big name stars appeared including John Wayne, Bill Cosby, Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, Bob Hope, Rodney Dangerfield, and George Burns. Sports celebrities included Muhammed Ali, Yogi Berra, Olympic gymnast Olga Korbut, and (ahem) OJ Simpson. Musicians included Barry Manilow, Kate Smith, Andy Williams, Melissa Manchester, and the Bay City Rollers (twice).

• Critics panned the show from the very beginning. Cosell gradually eased into the hosting role, but by then the damage was done. Audiences tuned out. If the variety format wasn't already dead, that show helped kill it.

• Much-coveted younger viewers stayed up late to watch the NBC comedy show instead. It appealed more to their generation.

• Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell aired fifteen episodes (plus 3 reruns during Christmas & New Year), which was longer than many people predicted it would last.

• The final broadcast was on January 17, 1976. The lineup consisted of three standup comedians - Billy Crystal (again), Elayne Boosler, and Ed Bluestone - as well as the Bay City Rollers (again). They couldn’t book any bigger celebrities.

• With the show’s demise, the name Saturday Night Live became available. One of the producers of the ABC series, Rupert Hertzig, had already trademarked the name, so he sold it to NBC. They’ve used it ever since.

• The Cosell show wasn’t a total washout, however. It featured sketch comedy by then-unknowns Bill Murray, his brother Brian Doyle-Murray, Christopher Guest, and Billy Crystal.

• All four eventually became regulars on NBC’s SNL.

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• April 11, 1980: ABC premiered a SNL knockoff called Fridays, which introduced Larry David, Michael Richards, and other comic actors. Comedian Jack Burns (of Burns and Schrieber) directed. Andy Kaufman made a few memorable appearances. Fridays was canceled after two years.