Saturday Night Live season 9

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Saturday Night Live
Season 9
SNL1980s.jpg
No. of episodes19
Release
Original network NBC
Original releaseOctober 8, 1983 (1983-10-08) 
May 12, 1984 (1984-05-12)
Season chronology
 Previous
season 8
Next 
season 10
List of episodes

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.

Hosts

Future cast member Billy Crystal hosted twice this season: once with musical guest Al Jarreau [1] and again on the season finale with Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Betty Thomas and former cast member Don Novello, with the Cars as musical guest. [2]

Cast

Jim Belushi was added to the cast, making his debut on the third episode of the season. [3] [4]

Midway through the season in February 1984, Eddie Murphy left the show. To keep viewers watching, SNL aired segments Murphy had pre-taped in September of 1983. [5]

Brad Hall, who had been anchoring Weekend Update (then called Saturday Night News) since the previous season, left the position in January of 1984. [6] For the rest of the season and into the next, both cast members and SNL guest-hosts would take turns at the anchor chair. Hall himself left SNL at the end of the season. [6]

Cast roster

Repertory players

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

This season's writers were Jim Belushi, Andy Breckman, Robin Duke, Adam Green, Mary Gross, Nate Herman, Tim Kazurinsky, Kevin Kelton, Andy Kurtzman, Michael McCarthy, Eddie Murphy, Pamela Norris, Margaret Oberman, Joe Piscopo, Andrew Smith, Bob Tischler, Eliot Wald and Herb Sargent (who returned for the last few episodes of the season). [7] The head writers were Bob Tischler and Andrew Smith.

Besides, Murphy, Piscopo, and Duke, this was also the final season for writer Pam Norris, who left the show after four seasons. [8] Not counting Murphy or Piscopo, Norris was the last writer from the Jean Doumanian-era season to leave the show.

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
Host(s)Musical guest(s)Original air date
1601 Brandon Tartikoff [9] John Cougar Mellencamp October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08)

1612 Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Eddy Grant October 15, 1983 (1983-10-15)

1623 John Candy Men at Work October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22)

1634 Betty Thomas Stray Cats November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)

1645 Teri Garr Mick Fleetwood's Zoo November 12, 1983 (1983-11-12)

  • Mick Fleetwood's Zoo performs "Tonight" [10] and "Way Down".
  • Magician and future creator/star of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Joel Hodgson made a guest appearance.
  • Jim Belushi was not present nor credited for this episode due to performing in a play, True West.
1656 Jerry Lewis Loverboy November 19, 1983 (1983-11-19)

1667 The Smothers Brothers Big Country December 3, 1983 (1983-12-03)

1678 Flip Wilson Stevie Nicks December 10, 1983 (1983-12-10)

1689 Father Guido Sarducci Huey Lewis and the News January 14, 1984 (1984-01-14)

16910 Michael and Mary Palin The Motels January 21, 1984 (1984-01-21)

17011 Don Rickles Billy Idol January 28, 1984 (1984-01-28)

17112 Robin Williams Adam Ant February 11, 1984 (1984-02-11)

17213 Jamie Lee Curtis The Fixx February 18, 1984 (1984-02-18)

17314 Edwin Newman Kool & the Gang February 25, 1984 (1984-02-25)

17415 Billy Crystal Al Jarreau March 17, 1984 (1984-03-17)

17516 Michael Douglas Deniece Williams April 7, 1984 (1984-04-07)

First episode where *Eddie Murphy is not credited as a cast member nor appears.

17617 George McGovern Madness April 14, 1984 (1984-04-14)

17718 Barry Bostwick Spinal Tap May 5, 1984 (1984-05-05)

17819 Billy Crystal, Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci, Betty Thomas The Cars May 12, 1984 (1984-05-12)

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References

  1. "SNL Transcripts: Billy Crystal: 03/17/84". SNL Transcripts. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  2. Douwsma, Bronwyn (August 28, 2016). "Classic SNL Review: May 12, 1984: Billy Crystal, Mayor Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) & Betty Thomas / The Cars (S09E19)". Bronwyn Douwsma. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  3. Hill & Weingrad 1986, pp. 461–462.
  4. Hoglund, Andy (July 14, 2021). "Jim Belushi Has Always Been an Outsider". Vulture. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  5. Hill & Weingrad 1986, p. 469.
  6. 1 2 Evans, Bradford (October 27, 2011). "The Lost Weekend Update Anchors". Vulture. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  7. "George McGovern/Madness". Saturday Night Live. Season 9. Episode 17. April 14, 1984. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
  8. "The Thompson Twins". Saturday Night Live. Season 10. Episode 1. October 6, 1984. Event occurs at Closing credits. NBC.
  9. Shales & Miller 2002, pp. 278–280.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. pp.  124–127. ISBN   0-395-70895-8.
  11. "Watch Saturday Night Live Highlight: James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party". NBC.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  12. "January 28, 1984". SNL Archives. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011.

Works cited