Former “Saturday Night Live” star, Jane Curtin, was taken by surprise by the longstanding show’s humourless early episodes.
Curtin, who served as one of the original “SNL” cast members, recently rewatched the award-winning comedy show’s earliest sketches with her family and was shocked by the absent laughter.
“We were sent the five year compilation video of ‘Saturday Night Live”s first five years a few years ago, and I gave one to my daughter,” Curtin, 75, recalled to People. “We were out visiting her daughter one Christmas, and her husband said, ‘Have you ever watched any of these? And I said, ‘God, I haven’t seen them in a long time.’
“He said, ‘would you mind if we watch one?’ And I said, ‘No, great! Pick one!'” she continued, before sharing that things didn’t play out as she’d expected.
“I had that sort of anticipatory, open-mouth grin that people have when they’re waiting for something to happen, that they know is going to be really great,” she explained. “And… it never happened.
“It wasn’t funny. Not one thing was funny,” Curtin said of the compilation of sketches that played on the TV screen in front of her family. “There was not one utterance of a laugh or a giggle.”
During “SNL”‘s 1975 premiere, the actress debuted as one of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, starring alongside fellow comedians Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. The late-night comedy show quickly became popular and remains a hit to date, as it currently prepares to head into its 49th season this fall.
READ MORE: David Spade Declined David Bowie’s Proposal For Role Swap In ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketch
Despite the somber early episodes, Curtin — who returned to the “SNL” 40th anniversary special in 2015 for a weekend update segment alongside Tina Fey, Amy Peohler, Emma Stone, Melissa McCarthy and more — isn’t completely criticizing the variety show’s early years, clarifying that some sketches remain just as funny.
“See the Bassomatic, I still think it’s funny,” she said of one of Aykroyd’s most memorable moments. Curtin also commended three of “SNL”‘s early hosts — Steve Martin, Buck Henry, and Richard Benjamin — whom executed the gig so well that they were asked to host again.
“First of all, you had to be really smart to be a good host, and the ones who kept coming back got the idea of it and they got the fun of it,” the “Coneheads” star praised the repeat hosts. “There was a discipline to it — even though it looked like chaos!”
Curtain further clarified why some of the show’s elements haven’t aged so well.
“I think it was just one of those ‘you had to be there in the moment’ things,” she proposed. “That’s what happens with live TV, and with topical TV. It gets dated after a while. Remember, this was almost 50 years ago. But after we rewatched, I was like, ‘That really wasn’t a very good show. It was terrible!'”
“Saturday Night Live”, created by Lorne Michaels — who still serves as the show’s executive producer — premiered back on October 11, 1975.
