Lorne Michaels
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Lorne Michaels (born Lorne Michael Lipowitz on November 17, 1944) is an Emmy-winning Canadian-born television producer, writer and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.
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[edit] Early life and career
Born in Toronto, Michaels began his career as a writer and broadcaster for CBC Radio [1]. He moved to Los Angeles from Toronto in 1968 to work as a writer for Laugh-In and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show. During the late 1960s, Michaels married Rosie Shuster, who later worked with him on Saturday Night Live as a writer[2]. She was the daughter of Frank Shuster, one half of the famous comedy team, Wayne and Shuster. Michaels and Shuster were divorced in 1980.
[edit] Saturday Night Live
In 1975, Michaels created the TV show Saturday Night Live. The show, which is performed live in front of a studio audience, immediately established a reputation for being cutting edge and unpredictable. It became a vehicle for launching the careers of some of the best-known comedians in North America, including: Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Chris Rock, David Spade, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell. Originally the producer of the show, Michaels was also a writer and later became executive producer. He occasionally appears on-screen, as well. SNL has been nominated for more than 80 Emmy Awards and has won 18. It has consistently been one of the highest-rated late-night television programs. Michaels has been with SNL for all seasons except for his hiatus in the early 1980s (seasons 6-10). Despite the program's success, he has been known to have had combative relationships with several cast members, and is generally portrayed by media onlookers as a harsh but evidently effective boss.
[edit] Other work
Michaels started Broadway Video in 1979, producing such shows as The Kids in the Hall.
After temporarily leaving SNL in 1980, Michaels created another sketch show entiltled The New Show. It received good reviews but was a failure in the ratings and it was cancelled after 2 months.
In the 1980s, Lorne Michaels appeared in an HBO mockumentary titled The Canadian Conspiracy about the supposed subversion of the United States by Canadian-born media personalities, with Lorne Greene as the leader of the conspiracy. Michaels was identified as the anointed successor to Green.
[edit] Selected filmographyAs producer, except as noted
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[edit] Selected television credits
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[edit] Honors
In 1999, Michaels was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. In 2002, Michaels was made a member of the Order of Canada for lifetime achievement[3], and awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2003, he received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
In 2004, he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts[4], the first non-American to earn this honour.[citation needed] Speaking at the awards ceremony, original Saturday Night Live cast member Dan Aykroyd described Michaels as "the primary satirical voice of the country."
Michaels also received a 2006 Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- Dr. Evil, a character in Mike Myers' Austin Powers films, has been rumored to be partly based on Michaels.[5]. Myers has denied the rumors, saying that the two share only a voice.
- Mark McKinney of the comedy team, The Kids in the Hall has stated that his character, Don Roritor, the president of Roritor Pharmaceuticals in the film Brain Candy, is based on Lorne Michaels.
- Michaels occasionally appears on SNL, where he's known for being very deadpan and never breaking character. However, during the October 28, 2006 episode, Michaels laughed at himself after mispronouncing "Kazakhstan" while introducing Borat.
- Perhaps Michaels' best known appearance occurred in the first season when he offered the Beatles three thousand dollars - a deliberately paltry sum - to reunite on the show. He later upped his promise to $3200, but the money was never claimed. Former Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney happened to be in New York City that night and saw the show. They very nearly went, but changed their minds as it was getting too late to get to the show on time.
- Michaels has two sons, Henry and Edward, and a daughter, Sophie. He has been married three times, first to Rosie Shuster (1973; div. 1980), then to model Susan Forristal (1984; div. 1987), and currently to his former assistant Alice Barry (2004).
- Michaels was played by Ari Cohen in the 2002 TV movie Gilda Radner: It's Always Something.
- Michaels' daughter Sophie appeared on the season 30 episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Johnny Knoxville during the monologue where Lorne introduces Johnny Knoxville to his daughter and Sophie shocks Knoxville with a taser.
[edit] References
- ^ a b 2006 Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement
- ^ http://www.tv.com/rosie-shuster/person/13663/summary.html
- ^ Order of Canada Citation
- ^ SNL creator Michaels honored, an October 2004 AP story via MSNBC
- ^ Shales, Tom. Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay Books, 2003.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television "Saturday Night Live"
- Lorne Michaels at the Internet Movie Database
- Broadway Video productions from Internet Movie Database
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Canadian film producers | Canadian television producers | 1944 births | Living people | People from Toronto | University of Toronto alumni | Members of the Order of Canada | Canada's Walk of Fame | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Canadian Jews
