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SNL 1980s. Jean Doumanian took over the show for Season 6, hiring a completely new cast and new writers. It was shown to be a diasppointment by both critics and ratings Jean Doumanian was one of the only staff members of SNL who remained after season 5
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SNL 1980s Jean Doumanian took over the show for Season 6, hiring a completely new cast and new writers
It was shown to be a diasppointment by both critics and ratings • Jean Doumanian was one of the only staff members of SNL who remained after season 5 • There were huge budget cuts and she only had 2 months to find a new cast and crew for the show • She had barely any of the help and support that was promised to her when she accepted the job
New Cast for Season 6 • 19 yrold Eddie Murphy (after begging for a shot to audition for SNL) • Charles Rocket (said to be the new break-out star for the show) • Denny Dillon • Gilbert Gottfried • Gail Matthius • Joe Piscopo • Ann Risley • Yvonne Hudson (SNL’s first Black female cast member)
ABC’s Fridays overtook Saturday Night in Ratings in 1981 • Gave the impression that NBC might cancel the show • SNL was given one more chance—Dick Ebersol replaced Jean Doumanian • By the end of the season he fired the entire 1980’s cast except Murphy and Piscopo
The shows ratings improved in Season 7 due greatly to Eddie Murphy • Dick Ebersol said that no sketch should be over 5 minutes so that they wouldn’t lost the attention of teenagers • Cast and writers often wondered if Ebersol actually knew which sketched were funny and which were not
From 1981 to 1984, SNL was basically a 2-man show with Murphy and Piscopo playing a majority of the lead characters • In 1984 Eddie Murphy left the show, as well as Piscopo, leaving Ebersol to rebuild his cast for season 10 • Ebersol added new cast members, such as Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer • It was the first time in the show’s history that big, well-known names were added to the cast
The 1984-1985 season had more pre-taped segments than any other SNL era ever • Larry David was hired as a writer this season, but only one of his sketches made it to the air • The cast and writing staff, along with Dick Ebersol and Bob Tischler left at the end of this season
A completely new cast was hired for the 1985-1986 season including: • Joan Cusack • Robert Downey, Jr. • Nora Dunn • Jon Lovitz • Dennis Miller • Danitra Vance • Terry Sweeney • Randy Quaid
A huge development to the show came in the middle of the 1988-1989 season when Mike Myers joined the show • Also during this season, the circular Saturday Night Live logo was shown for the first time