Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!
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Live from New York, It's Saturday Night! is the famous line featured on the American comedy skit show, Saturday Night Live which runs on the NBC broadcast network. The line is always used as a way to end a cold opening sketch and lead into the opening titles/montage and cast introductions.
The line has been used in every season but one (the 1981-1982 season, the first full season with Dick Ebersol as producer.) The line has also been said in spanish three times (by Gilda Radner, Chris Farley, and the tandem of Will Ferrell and Julia Stiles).
The line was first said by Chevy Chase on SNL's first show on October 11, 1975. For all but two of the first season's 24 episodes, Chase would say the line (which was typically preceded by a pratfall of some kind.)
During the history of the show the line was typically spoken by a host, castmeber(s), and/or musical guest, however in recent years the line has occasionally been given to a non-host/non-castmember for cameo purposes, such as for stars like Brad Pitt or more unusual celebrities like Monica Lewinsky and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire winner John Carpenter.
There have also been a few variations on the line, such as the time when Dana Carvey (imitating John McLaughlin) in a McLaughlin Group parody asked his panelists how the show starts, and after shouting down their recitation of the opening line with a loud "WRONG!!" opened the show with, "Show, show, show. Here we go!"
Another notable variation is when Jennifer López hosted her first time; after a cold opening sketch where producer Lorne Michaels and various male castmembers obsess over López's posterior, Tracy Morgan shouted, "Live from New York, it's Jennifer López's booty!"
The convention of opening the show with the line has itself been the subject of some of the cold openings. An early case of this was a March 1977 episode where castmember John Belushi refused to say the line until a list of his demands were met. (His plan was foiled when he was tricked into saying the line while reading a note that had been handed to him.)
But perhaps the most unusual recitation of the line was by the puppet Toonces the Driving Cat who meowed the line, complete with english subtitles.
References
[List of who said "Live from New York..." up to 2001-02 season]
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