Under the leadership of former SNL associate producer and talent booker Jean Doumanian, Saturday Night Live ’80 may have been doomed before it started - but the show fulfilled that destiny almost immediately. In Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad’s seminal book on the early days of Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night, the authors describe how, even then, people were concerned that Gottfried’s inimitable style might not mesh with the utility player needs of a live sketch show.Īs they put it, “ auditioned with a manic stand-up routine that had him bouncing around the set, ranting and raving like a madman.” And while the resulting season (unnecessarily rechristened Saturday Night Live ’80) could only have benefitted from some unexpected and unpredictable energy as it turned out, Gottfried was hardly ever called upon to be his unique self. Hired on as part of the cast replacing the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players after the mass exodus of performers, writers and show creator Lorne Michaels in 1980, Gottfried seemed an odd fit -and he was.
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