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Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels

Overview
Lorne Michaels, CM
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...

 (born November 17, 1944) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 television
Television
Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...

 producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues. See also associate producer, co-producer, line producer...

, writer
Writer
A writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...

 and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...

and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.

Michaels was born Lorne David Lipowitz in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...

, Canada, the son of Florence (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....

 Becker) and Henry Abraham Lipowitz, who was a furrier. He was the eldest of the Lipowitz children.
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Encyclopedia
Lorne Michaels, CM
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...

 (born November 17, 1944) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 television
Television
Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...

 producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues. See also associate producer, co-producer, line producer...

, writer
Writer
A writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...

 and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...

and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.

Early life


Michaels was born Lorne David Lipowitz in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...

, Canada, the son of Florence (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....

 Becker) and Henry Abraham Lipowitz, who was a furrier. He was the eldest of the Lipowitz children. He has a sister, Barbara Lipowitz, who currently resides in Toronto and a brother, Mark Lipowitz, who died from a brain tumor. Michaels attended the Forest Hill Collegiate Institute
Forest Hill Collegiate Institute
Forest Hill Collegiate Institute is a semestered public high school of about 900 students and 55 teachers located in Toronto, Ontario. It is part of the Toronto District School Board.-History and Overview:...

 in Toronto and graduated from University College
University College, University of Toronto
University College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Toronto. UC was founded in 1853 as The Provincial College to provide higher education in Ontario without regard to religious affiliation. Currently, 4,100 students and 100 faculty make their academic home at University...

, University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated north of the city's Financial District on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. The university was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the...

, where he majored in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...

, in 1966 . Michaels began his career as a writer and broadcaster for CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the radio division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The division operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language networks....

. He moved to Los Angeles from Toronto in 1968 to work as a writer for Laugh-In and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress and comedienne, considered one of the pioneers of female stand-up comedy. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically-dressed housewife who makes jokes about a fictional husband named "Fang" while smoking from a long...

. During the late 1960s, Michaels married Rosie Shuster, who later worked with him on Saturday Night Live as a writer. She was the daughter of Frank Shuster
Frank Shuster
Frank Shuster, OC was a Canadian comedian best known as a member of the comedy duo Wayne and Shuster ....

, one half of the famous comedy team, Wayne and Shuster
Wayne and Shuster
Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster which was active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s....

. Michaels and Shuster were divorced in 1980.

Saturday Night Live


In 1975, Michaels co-created (with fellow NBC employee Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American radio and TV executive. He was protégé of ABC Sports czar Roone Arledge and was a key NBC executive in the launching of Saturday Night Live in 1975 and which he produced from April 1981 to May 1985. He became president of NBC Sports in April 1989...

 and president of the network Herb Schlosser) the TV show NBC's Saturday Night, which in 1977 changed its name to Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...

. The show, which is performed live in front of a studio audience, immediately established a reputation for being cutting edge and unpredictable. It became a vehicle for launching the careers of some of the most successful comedians in the world.

Originally the producer of the show, Michaels was also a writer and later became executive producer. He occasionally appears on-screen as well, where he's known for being deadpan
Deadpan
Deadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or facial expression, usually speaking in a monotonous manner.-Etymology:...

. Throughout the show's history, SNL has been nominated for more than 80 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
The Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...

s and has won 18. It has consistently been one of the highest-rated late-night television programs. Michaels has been with SNL for all seasons except for his hiatus in the early 1980s (seasons 6–10).

His daughter Sophie once appeared in an episode, during the show's 30th season hosted by Johnny Knoxville
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp , known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian and daredevil. He has been featured in a number of films, but is best known as the co-creator and principal star of the MTV series Jackass and its subsequent films.-Career:Knoxville credits a copy of Jack...

 during the monologue where Lorne introduces Johnny Knoxville to his daughter and Sophie shocks Knoxville with a taser.

Perhaps Michaels' best known appearance occurred in the first season when he offered the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...

 $3000.00 - a deliberately paltry sum - to reunite on the show. He later upped his promise to $3200, but the money was never claimed. According to an interview in Playboy magazine, former Beatles John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...

 and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...

 happened to be in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...

 that night and saw the show. They very nearly went, but changed their minds as it was getting too late to get to the show on time, and they were both tired by that point.

He has had combative relationships with several cast members, and is generally portrayed by media onlookers as a harsh but effective boss. An example of the harshness is his rather active disdain of improvisation during the performances of SNL, although many performers on SNL over the years have had extensive background and training in improvisational comedy.

Other work


Michaels started Broadway Video
Broadway Video
Broadway Video is an American independent entertainment company started by Lorne Michaels. Based in New York and Los Angeles, it produces the NBC television shows Saturday Night Live , Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and 30 Rock....

 in 1979, producing such shows as The Kids in the Hall.

During his SNL hiatus, Michaels created another sketch show entitled The New Show
The New Show
The New Show was an NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984...

, which debuted on Friday nights in prime time on NBC in January 1984.

In the 1980s, Michaels appeared in an HBO mockumentary
Mockumentary
Mockumentary or mock documentary is a genre of film and television, or a single work of the genre. Although a mockumentary may be one of the comedy genres, serious mockumentaries also exist. The mockumentary is presented as a documentary recording real life, but is actually fictional. It is a...

 titled The Canadian Conspiracy
The Canadian Conspiracy
The Canadian Conspiracy is an HBO/CBC mockumentary from 1985 about the way the Canadian government is subverting the United States by taking over its media.-Plot:...

about the supposed subversion of the United States by Canadian-born media personalities, with Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green O.C., LL.D., a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the long-running western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the original science fiction TV Series Battlestar Galactica...

 as the leader of the conspiracy. Michaels was identified as the anointed successor to Greene.

Michaels is also an Executive Producer of "Late Night
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....

" on NBC and also works as executive producer of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...

 show "30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that currently airs on NBC on Thursday nights. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of the GE Building where NBC...

".

Honors


In 1999, Michaels was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. In 2002, Michaels was made a member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...

for lifetime achievement, and awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment museum...

.

In 2003, he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

In 2004, he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor has been awarded by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts annually since 1998. It is named after the 19th century novelist, essayist and humorist Mark Twain...

 by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...

. Speaking at the awards ceremony, original Saturday Night Live cast member Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist...

 described Michaels as "the primary satirical voice of the country."

In Canada, Michaels also received a 2006 Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic and artistic fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by John Buchan, Baron Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the...

 for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

In 2008, Michaels was awarded the Webby for Film & Video Lifetime Achievement. With the allotted 5-words allowed to each recipient, his five word acceptance speech was "Five words is not enough."

Michaels in popular culture


Dr. Evil, a character in Mike Myers' Austin Powers
Austin Powers
Sir Austin Danger Powers, KBE, is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films. He first appeared in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and is portrayed by Mike Myers.-Personality:...

 films, has been rumored to be partly based on Michaels. Myers has denied the rumors, saying that the two share only a voice.

Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney
Mark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the long-running sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...

 of the comedy team, The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...

has stated that his character, Don Roritor, the president of Roritor Pharmaceuticals in the film Brain Candy
Brain Candy
Brain Candy is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.The five man team plays all...

, is based on Lorne Michaels.

Michaels was played by Ari Cohen in the 2002 TV movie Gilda Radner: It's Always Something.

Michaels has been featured on two episodes of The Simpsons:
  • In season four's "Homer the Heretic
    Homer the Heretic
    "Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of The Simpsons' fourth season, which originally aired on FOX in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going to church and has an excellent time staying home. His behavior quickly attracts the wrath of...

    ", Homer initially drools over the prospect of an interview with Michaels in Playdude magazine, then exclaims "wait, that's no good!" and flips the page.
  • In the season ten episode, "Homer to the Max
    Homer to the Max
    "Homer to the Max" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season, which originally broadcast on February 7, 1999. Homer discovers that a television show broadcasting in Springfield, Police Cops, has a hero also named Homer Simpson. He is delighted with the positive...

    ", when Homer and Marge go to a garden party, they see Lorne Michaels (voiced by Harry Shearer
    Harry Shearer
    Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author and radio host. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...

    , a former SNL castmember) and Homer says "uh-oh, here comes Lorne Michaels. Pretend you don't see him". When Michaels introduces himself, Homer loudly exclaims: "Anyway Marge, how do you feel about the economy?" And Michaels walks off sadly.


In the 2007 episode of The Office
The Office
The Office is the title of several television situation comedy shows. It takes the form of a mockumentary.The original version of The Office was aired in the United Kingdom, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It starred Gervais as the boss and main character...

, The Job, Jim Halpert
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...

, played by John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director and writer. He has acted in several films, including Shrek the Third, Leatherheads, License to Wed and Away We Go, but is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office.-Early life:Krasinski was born in the Brighton...

, swears he saw Lorne Michaels at a bar in New York while out on the town with his then-girlfriend, Karen Fillipelli. Michaels then walks out of a store behind Jim.

In a 2008 interview with Playboy Magazine, Tina Fey admitted that Alec Baldwin's character on 30 Rock is inspired by Michaels.

Personal life


Michaels became a U.S. citizen in 1987. He has two sons, Henry and Edward, and a daughter, Sophie. He has been married three times, first to SNL writer Rosie Shuster (1967; div. 1980), then to model Susan Forristal (1984; div. 1987), and currently to his former assistant Alice Barry (1991 to present). Lorne has given money to the campaigns of Senators Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...

, Chris Dodd and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 over the years.

Filmography


As producer, except as noted
  • Gilda Live
    Gilda Live
    Gilda Live is an American film released in 1980 starring Gilda Radner. It was directed by Mike Nichols and was produced by Lorne Michaels. Radner and Michaels and all of the writers involved with the production were alumni from the television program Saturday Night Live.-Summary:Gilda Live is a...

    (1980) (writer and producer)
  • Nothing Lasts Forever
    Nothing Lasts Forever (film)
    Nothing Lasts Forever is a 1984movie starring a number of high profile Hollywoodactors. It was directed by Tom Schiller, who hadpreviously worked on Saturday Night Live.Although widely regarded as a classic, and...

    (1984)
  • ¡Three Amigos!
    ¡Three Amigos!
    ¡Three Amigos! is a 1986 comedy western film, produced by George Folsey, Jr. and Lorne Michaels. John Landis directed. Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short star.The movie was written by Martin, Michaels, and Randy Newman...

    (1986)
  • Wayne's World
    Wayne's World (film)
    Wayne's World is a 1992 comedy film starring Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora, Illinois-based cable access television show Wayne's World...

    (1992)
  • Coneheads
    Coneheads
    The Coneheads was originally a sketch on Saturday Night Live which originated on the January 15, 1977 episode, and starred Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter Connie....

    (1993)
  • Wayne's World 2
    Wayne's World 2
    Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a cable access television show from Aurora, Illinois. The movie was adapted from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the sequel to Wayne's World....

    (1993)
  • Lassie
    Lassie (1994 film)
    Lassie is a 1994 adventure family film directed by Daniel Petrie and featuring the fictional collie Lassie.-Plot:The Turner family moves from the big city to the rural countryside in Virginia, hoping to start a new life. The move creates problems for everyone, especially 13-year old Matt, who...

    (1994)
  • Tommy Boy
    Tommy Boy
    Tommy Boy is a 1995 comedy film starring Saturday Night Live alumni Chris Farley and David Spade. The film tells the story of the title character, a socially and emotionally immature man who learns lessons about friendship, trust and self-worth following the sudden death of his industrialist father...

    (1995)
  • Stuart Saves His Family
    Stuart Saves His Family
    Stuart Saves His Family is a 1995 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, and based on a series of Saturday Night Live sketches from the early-to-mid 1990s. The movie tracks the adventures of would-be self-help guru Stuart Smalley, a creation of writer/comedian/politician Al Franken, as he attempts...

    (1995)
  • Black Sheep (1996)
  • Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy
    Brain Candy
    Brain Candy is a feature film by The Kids in the Hall, a Canadian comedy troupe. Directed by Kelly Makin, filmed in Toronto, and released in 1996, it followed the five season run of their television series, which had been successful in both Canada and the United States.The five man team plays all...

    (1996)
  • A Night at the Roxbury
    A Night at the Roxbury
    A Night at the Roxbury is a 1998 comedy film based on a recurring skit on television's long-running Saturday Night Live called The Roxbury Guys. Saturday Night Live regulars Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, and Colin Quinn star....

    (1998)
  • Superstar (1999)
  • Man on the Moon (1999) (appearing as self, uncredited)
  • The Ladies Man
    The Ladies Man (2000 film)
    The Ladies Man is a comedy film released in 2000 that stars actor, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Tim Meadows. It was directed by Reginald Hudlin...

    (2000)
  • Enigma
    Enigma (2001 film)
    Enigma is a 2001 British film about the Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park in World War II. The film, directed by Michael Apted, stars Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet...

    (2001)
  • Mean Girls
    Mean Girls
    Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film, directed by Mark Waters and starring Lindsay Lohan. Written by Tina Fey, the film features a supporting cast of Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, and Lizzy Caplan. The film also features several Saturday Night Live cast members,...

    (2004)
  • Hot Rod
    Hot Rod (film)
    Hot Rod is a 2007 American comedy film written by Pam Brady and directed by Akiva Schaffer; starring Andy Samberg, Sissy Spacek, Jorma Taccone, Will Arnett, Danny R. McBride, Ian McShane, Isla Fisher, and Bill Hader. It was originally written with Will Ferrell in mind . The film was released in...

    (2007)
  • Baby Mama
    Baby Mama (film)
    Baby Mama is a comedy film from Universal Pictures written and directed by Michael McCullers and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Romany Malco and Dax Shepard.-Plot:...

    (2008)


Selected television credits

  • The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour
    The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour
    The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour was a Canadian television variety show, which aired on CBC Television in 1970 and 1971.The show starred Lorne Michaels and Hart Pomerantz. The cast also included Dan Aykroyd and Victor Garber. The show mixed comedy sketches with musical guests, in a manner similar...

    (1970–71) (costar, writer, producer)
  • Saturday Night Live
    Saturday Night Live
    Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...

    (1975–1980; 1985–present) (executive producer, creator)
  • All You Need Is Cash
    All You Need Is Cash
    All You Need Is Cash is a 1978 television film that traces the career of a fictitious British rock group called The Rutles...

    (aka "The Rutles") (1978) (executive producer)
  • Mr. Mike's Mondo Video
    Mr. Mike's Mondo Video
    Mr. Mike's Mondo Video was a 1979 movie conceived by Saturday Night Live writer/featured player Michael O'Donoghue.-Plot:Mondo Video was a spoof of the controversial 1962 documentary Mondo Cane, showing people doing weird stunts. The logo for this film copies the original Mondo Cane logo...

    (1979) (executive producer)
  • The New Show
    The New Show
    The New Show was an NBC sketch comedy show produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, which ran for only one season from January 6 to March 23, 1984...

    (1984) (producer)
  • Sunday Night
    Sunday Night
    Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was a late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. It was hosted by Jools Holland and David Sanborn, and featured Marcus Miller as musical director...

    (1988–1990) (executive producer)
  • The Kids in the Hall
    The Kids in the Hall
    The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...

    (1989) (executive producer)
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien
    Late Night with Conan O'Brien
    Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC from 1993 to 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and stand-up comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 a.m....

    (1993-2009) (executive producer)
  • Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002) (executive producer)
  • The Colin Quinn Show (2002) (executive producer)
  • Sons and Daughters
    Sons and Daughters
    Sons and Daughters or Sons & Daughters may refer to:In television:* Sons and Daughters , an Australian soap opera running from 1982 until 1987 and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation...

    (2006) (producer)
  • 30 Rock
    30 Rock
    30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that currently airs on NBC on Thursday nights. The series takes place behind the scenes of a fictional live sketch comedy series depicted as airing on NBC; the name "30 Rock" refers to the address of the GE Building where NBC...

     (2006-) (executive producer)
  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
    Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
    Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....

     (2009) (executive producer)


External links