NBC To Begin Airing Classic SNL To Commemorate 40th

To commemorate the show’s 40th anniversary, NBC will begin airing vintage SNL episodes, beginning on September 27th with a 1975 episode featuring comic, Richard Pryor. Jazz great, Gil Scott-Heron, was the musical guest.

The episode features a controversial skit that had Chevy Chase, as a straight-laced manager interviewing Pryor for a job. He plays a “word association” game with Pryor that escalates racial epitaphs until Chase finally uses the “N” word. It’s a skit that probably wouldn’t fly today.

A 2000 installment starring Christopher Walken and singer, Christina Aguilera, will air the following week. Not only does it feature a couple of NBC stars, but is the show that introduced MORE COWBELL into the universe. Hooray.

Vintage SNL coincides with the premiere of the 40th season, on September 27. Chris Pratt hosts, Ariana Grande is the musical guest.

NBC PRESENTS ‘SNL VINTAGE’ BEGINNING SATURDAY, SEPT. 27 AT 10 P.M.

One Classic Show From Each of the Last 40 Years to Air Saturdays to Commemorate Anniversary

NEW YORK — September 24, 2014 — “Saturday Night Live” celebrates its 40th season with “SNL Vintage,” a weekly look back at iconic episodes throughout its storied history.

Airing on Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, the first classic episode will be telecast Sept. 27 and return audiences to “SNL’s” debut season in 1975 with an episode hosted by Richard Pryor and musical guest Gil Scott-Heron. Then on Oct. 4, an episode from the 25th season with host Christopher Walken and musical guest Christina Aguilera will be shown.

Since its inception in 1975, “SNL” has launched the careers of many of the brightest comedy performers of their generation. The program has won 45 Emmy Awards and now holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 187. “SNL” has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as “truly a national institution.”

“Saturday Night Live,” which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, is broadcast live from NBC’s famed Studio 8H in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the creator and executive producer.

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Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!