\n<\/p>\n
MICHAELS <\/strong>Because Chevy said his own name and because it was popular, he was the first person to emerge. Subsequently, it\u2019s where most people broke out: Gilda Radner<\/a>, John Belushi<\/a>, and to this day it continues. [When Chase left], I thought, You can\u2019t follow Chevy. Any other guy doing it would be seen as a reaction to him. Jane was my first choice.<\/p>\n JANE CURTIN (anchor, 1976-80) <\/strong>I\u2019m a good cold reader. It was easy for me to look into the camera<\/a> and spew things without going over the top because I had done commercials. At that time, there weren\u2019t many female anchors, and they were all very ambitious and driven. There was a brittleness to them because they had to compete with the men. So I thought, well, I\u2019ll do that.<\/p>\n Dan [Aykroyd] just appeared \u2014 I guess they thought we needed more people there \u2014 and I thought, Oh, great, company. I trusted Dan. The chemistry was there just from watching him work and being in sketches with him.<\/p>\n MICHAELS <\/strong>\u201cJane, you ignorant slut\u201d<\/a> was a parody of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d at the time.<\/p>\n CURTIN <\/strong>This was the \u201970s, and it was an interesting dynamic that men and women had. It was not unusual to have a response that pointed \u2014 but not exactly that direct. I never assumed anybody would use it that way without the other person thinking it was funny. If they\u2019re not using it in jest, then they\u2019re an idiot.<\/p>\n After five seasons of \u201cS.N.L.,\u201d there was plenty of cast turnover and creative burnout, and Michaels was contemplating his future. On the May 10, 1980, broadcast, Franken performed a satirical Weekend Update commentary, <\/em>\u201cA Limo for a Lame-O,\u201d<\/em><\/a> that mocked the NBC president, Fred Silverman, for the network\u2019s poor performance. The fallout from this segment <\/em>is sometimes cited<\/em><\/a> as a reason Michaels and Franken departed \u201cS.N.L.\u201d at the end of the season.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n