Original ‘SNL’ cast member thought anyone watching show ‘must be really stupid’ during show’s debut

Original “SNL” cast member Jane Curtin wasn’t confident in the show’s chances early in its run.

In a New York Times interview ahead of the show’s 50th season premiere this weekend, Curtin recalled the first broadcast being a blur.

“I never really paid much attention to the audience,” Curtin said.

She continued: “I thought, well, anybody that’s watching this must be really stupid. It gave me a lot of angst. So the way I dealt with it was, I was in this bubble, and we had a job to do within the bubble.”

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Outside “the bubble” though, Curtin noticed a shift.

“You’d pass by people and they would shake,” she told the outlet. “They had a physical reaction to you, because they could feel the energy behind what was happening at 30 Rock. And it was very, very exciting.”

 “I thought, well, anybody that’s watching this must be really stupid. It gave me a lot of angst.”

— Jane Curtin

Curtin was one of the original performers when the show debuted in 1975, along with Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Michael O’Donoghue and George Coe.

She also recalled her audition, when she was put on the spot to be funny by the show’s producers.

Curtin, center, with the original “SNL” lineup: Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Michael O’Donoghue, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris, circa 1975. (NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

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“I walked in the door,” the 77-year-old said, “and they said, ‘OK, what have you prepared?’ The classic anxiety dream.”

Luckily, she had some old material on hand in her purse, and her previous experience in theater, commercials and a Boston-area improv group called the Proposition.

She also admitted she struggled to fit in on the show.

“I was quiet and nobody paid any attention to me,” she said. “I didn’t know how to pitch. I had never had to do that in my life.” 

Dan Aykroyd with Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman as The Coneheads, in a sketch from “Saturday Night Live,” circa 1977. (Edie Baskin/Warner Bros./Archive Photos/Getty Images)

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However, Curtin added she wasn’t afraid of not being featured in some way, saying, “I figured, well, they hired me. They’re paying me. So it would be foolish of them not to use me.”

Curtin stayed with the show until 1980, before going on to appear on series like “Kate & Allie,” which earned her two Emmy awards for best lead actress in a comedy series, as well as “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “The Librarians.”

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In the upcoming film “Saturday Night,” which chronicles the 90 minutes leading up to “SNL’s” debut broadcast, Curtin will be played by actress Kim Matula. The cast is rounded out by Gabriel La Belle as Lorne Michaels, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Matt Wood as John Belushi, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, and recent Emmy-winner Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris (no relation).