Mary Ellen Matthews

Last updated

Mary Ellen Matthews
NationalityAmerican
Known forPhotography

Mary Ellen Matthews is a photographer based in New York City and East Hampton, New York. [1] She is best known for her photographs featured on the television sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL); [1] [2] her portraits of the celebrities who appear as guest-hosts and musical guests of SNL are displayed as the show returns from commercial breaks. [3] [4] Since 2010 she has also directed videos for SNL. [2]

Contents

Career

A native of New Jersey, and currently living in East Hampton, New York, [5] Matthews began her career in film production and music publicity. [1] [4] She moved into the field of entertainment photography when she joined the staff of SNL in 1993 as an assistant to photographer Edie Baskin. In 1999 she took over from Baskin, becoming responsible for the celebrity portraits used as commercial bumpers on the show. [1] [4] [5]

Matthews' SNL photographs are taken at NBC headquarters in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center. [2] Matthews uses Studio 8H as her shooting space—the very same studio from which SNL is broadcast; she often photographs the week's guest-host as the week's musical guest practices their musical set in the same studio. [2] In the summer of 2010 a retrospective of Matthew's photographs from SNL titled "Live from New York: A Decade of Portraits" was exhibited at the John Varvatos boutique at 315 Bowery in New York City—formerly the site of seminal music club CBGB. [3] [6] She also began directing video clips for SNL in 2010, such as the show's opening title sequence. [2]

In addition to her work on SNL, Matthews works in the realms of promotional, editorial and commercial photography for a variety of clients. [1] [2] Matthews is represented by the New York arm of the talent agency Jed Root Inc and her work has appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone , Marie Claire and the Spanish edition of Harper's Bazaar . She took promotional photographs of the 2009 fall/winter collection by Theory, a New York-based sportswear label, as well as photos for the movies What Happens in Vegas and Baby Mama . She has worked as a wedding photographer for such celebrities as Liv Tyler, Kate Hudson and Tina Fey and has also toured with Aerosmith. [1] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church Lady</span> Fictional character

Enid Strict, better known as The Church Lady, is a fictional character portrayed by Dana Carvey on American sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live. The character appeared on the show from 1986 to 1990, and again in 1996, 2000, 2011, and 2016. She also appeared on The Dana Carvey Show in March 1996, reading a Top Ten List, "New Titles for Princess Diana."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Kattan</span> American actor and comedian

Christopher Lee Kattan is an American actor and comedian. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Kattan found wider success during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003. He also played Doug Butabi in A Night at the Roxbury, Bob on the first five seasons of The Middle, and Bunnicula in Bunnicula. He's also known for playing the main antagonist Mr. Feather in Undercover Brother (2002).

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> American late-night live TV sketch comedy and variety show

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American late-night live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and streams on Peacock. Michaels currently serves as the program's showrunner. The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The show's comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary American culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that was usually based on political events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Hooks</span> American actress and comedian (1957–2014)

Janet Vivian Hooks was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her tenure on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where she was a repertory player from 1986 to 1991. After leaving SNL, she continued to make cameo appearances until 1994. Her subsequent work included a regular role on the last two seasons of Designing Women, a recurring role on 3rd Rock from the Sun, and a number of other film and television roles, including on 30 Rock and The Simpsons.

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Cleghorne</span> American actress and comedian

Dr. Ellen Leslye Cleghorne is an American actress and comedian. Cleghorne is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1991 to 1995. She was the sketch comedy show's second African-American female repertory cast member, succeeding Danitra Vance in its eleventh season, and the first African-American female cast member to stay for more than one season. She returned for its 40th anniversary special on February 15, 2015. Cleghorne was ranked the 69th greatest Saturday Night Live cast member by Rolling Stone magazine.

Denise Dillon is an American actress and comedian best known for starring as Toby Pedalbee on the HBO comedy Dream On from 1990 to 1996. Dillon was first known for her stage work and was nominated for a Tony Award on Broadway. Other television credits include spending one season as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1981 and co-starring on the Fox sitcom Women in Prison. She subsequently continued to act in theater and both teaches and performs improv comedy.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> season 33 Season of television series

The thirty-third season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between September 29, 2007, and May 17, 2008. Due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, there were only 12 episodes produced in this season instead of the usual 20, making this the shortest season in the series run and beating out both the sixth (1980–1981) season and the thirteenth (1987–1988) season, which had thirteen episodes each and were also cut short due to WGA strikes. This is also the only season in SNL history not to have a new Christmas episode, since the WGA strike spanned from November 2007 to February 2008.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> season 9 Season of television series

The ninth season of Saturday Night Live, an American sketch comedy series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between October 8, 1983, and May 12, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate McKinnon</span> American actress and comedian (born 1984)

Kate McKinnon Berthold is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity impressions. For her work on the series, she was nominated for ten Primetime Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and nine for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2016 and 2017.

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975.

<i>Saturday Night Live</i> season 40 Season 40 of the television series

Saturday Night Live premiered its fortieth season during the 2014–15 television season on NBC. The season premiered on September 27, 2014, with host Chris Pratt and musical guest Ariana Grande and came to a conclusion on May 16, 2015, with host Louis C.K. and musical guest Rihanna. Former cast member Darrell Hammond succeeded Don Pardo, who had died in August, as the show's new announcer. The premiere included an interstitial photograph of Pardo – SNL's announcer since it premiered in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasheer Zamata</span> American actress and comedian (born 1986)

Sasheer Zamata Moore is an American actress and stand-up comedian. She is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2017. Since her departure from SNL, she has garnered wider attention for her leading roles in the TV series Woke (2020–2022) and Home Economics (2021–2023). Zamata is starring in the upcoming Disney+ Marvel show Agatha All Along. She has also served as a celebrity ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloe Fineman</span> American actress and comedian (born 1988)

Chloe Fineman is an American actress and comedian. She became a featured player on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live starting in its 45th season in September 2019, and was promoted to repertory status in 2021 at the beginning of season 47.

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy series created and produced by Lorne Michaels for most of the show's run. The show has aired on NBC since 1975.

The forty-seventh season of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live premiered on October 2, 2021, during the 2021–22 television season with host Owen Wilson and musical guest Kacey Musgraves, and concluded on May 21, 2022 with host Natasha Lyonne and musical guest Japanese Breakfast. For the first time, the season's first five episodes and the remainder from episode ten onward were live-streamed on the streaming service Peacock in addition to its coast-to-coast live television broadcast.

Lists of <i>Saturday Night Live</i> episodes

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a late-night sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. It premiered on the NBC Television Network on October 11, 1975, under the title NBC's Saturday Night. The show often satirizes contemporary American popular culture and politics. Saturday Night Live features a two-tiered cast: the repertory members, also known as the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players," and newer cast members, known as "Featured Players." Each week, the show features a host, often a well-known celebrity, who delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast. A musical guest is also invited to perform several sets. Every so often a host or musical guest fills both roles. With the exception of season 7 and several other rare cases, the show begins with a cold open that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mary Ellen Matthews' bio on Jed Root Inc.'s website
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sawalich, William. "Mary Ellen Matthews: It's Saturday Night!", Digital Photo Pro, Feb 23, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Delahoyde, Steve. "Retrospective of SNL Photographer Mary Ellen Matthews Launches at John Varvatos", Mediabistro's UnBeige, May 12, 2010". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "PhotoSynthesis With 'SNL' Photographer Mary Ellen Matthews", Spinner, Apr 2, 2009
  5. 1 2 3 Sancton, Julian. "Live From NY...Mary Ellen Matthews Shoots 'Saturday Night Live'", BlackBook, Oct 1, 2007
  6. ↑ O'Reilly, Kelly. "Live from New York: It's SNL Portraits at John Varvatos", NBC New York, May 5, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.