Laraine Newman’s casting on Saturday Night Live was a happy accident.
On October 11, 1975, the comedian made her debut as an original member of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC’s late-night sketch comedy series, alongside John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase.
In a new interview with Latenighter, Newman, 73, admitted she didn’t have a lot to say about her audition for SNL because she had no idea she was doing one at the time. Turns out, showrunner Lorne Michaels came to one of her improv troupe’s comedy shows more than 50 years ago, and she caught his eye.
“I didn’t know I was auditioning,” Newman said of the SNL casting process. “Lorne was producing a Lily Tomlin special in 1974, and he and Lily came to see our Groundlings show. I didn’t know they were there. Had I known, I think my life would have been completely different. Nevertheless, I was cast in her special.”
She continued, “Then, unbeknownst to me, Lorne came back when I was doing new characters and new material. Afterwards, he asked me to meet him at the Chateau Marmont to discuss a new project. It was SNL. It was really a matter of Lorne asking me if I was willing to do a show in New York for 13 weeks, and I thought, ‘Why not?’”
Newman previously told the Daily Blast Live, that after seeing her perform with the Groundlings twice, Michaels suggested she do a show for the writers so they could see her work, but she had an unexpected setback.
“I had all my written material and costumes in my car, and the car was stolen,” she recalled.
Newman still got the job, and Michaels’ “13 weeks” turned into years.
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Newman, who was just 23 at the time, appeared on the first five seasons of SNL, from October 1975 to May 1980. She became known for characters such as OG Valley Girl Sherry, and Connie Conehead, and for her impressions of everyone from Barbra Streisand to then-First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
In a February 2025 interview on the Today show, Newman admitted she “had no idea” Saturday Night Live would be a hit. “[It was] just the redheaded stepchild of NBC,’ she recalled. “Our wardrobe was one room with a bedsheet that separated the women from the men, and with a sign just for Danny that said, ‘Must wear underwear.’”
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