Saturday Night Live Season 2 1976
Saturday Night Live aired its second season during the 1976–1977 television season on NBC. The second season started on September 18, 1976, and ended on May 21, 1977. This season saw the first of many SNL cast changes. Chevy Chase, who was pursuing a movie career in California, left the show after the October 30th episode hosted by Buck Henry with musical guest, The Band. Jane Curtin became the first female cast member to become a Weekend Update anchor following Chase's departure. On the January 15, 1977 episode, Bill Murray joined the cast to fill the void left by Chase's departure. This season also saw another change in the show: its name. Following the cancellation of ABC's Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, NBC changed the name of the show from NBC's Saturday Night to its current title, Saturday Night Live in the episode hosted by Jack Burns in 1977. It was the last time that the Muppet sketches would appear on the show. In a 1977 interview with Playboy, O'Donoghue who was head writer/performer, referred to the Muppets as "those fucking Muppets, those little hairy facecloths" and were "made from the refuse after they cleaned up after Woodstock". He also refused to write for them, saying "I don’t write for felt". O'Donoghue also had a lynched Big Bird hanging in the writer's office.
- Released: 1976-09-18
- Runtime: 67 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, News
- Stars: Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes
- Director: Lorne Michaels
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1. Lily Tomlin/James Taylor 1976-09-18
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2. Norman Lear/Boz Scaggs 1976-09-25
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3. Eric Idle/Joe Cocker and Stuff 1976-10-02
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4. Karen Black/John Prine 1976-10-16
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5. Steve Martin/Kinky Friedman 1976-10-23
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6. Buck Henry/The Band 1976-10-30
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7. Dick Cavett/Ry Cooder 1976-11-13
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8. Paul Simon/Paul Simon, George Harrison 1976-11-20
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9. Jodie Foster/Brian Wilson 1976-11-27
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10. Candice Bergen/Frank Zappa 1976-12-11
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11. Ralph Nader/George Benson 1977-01-15
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12. Ruth Gordon/Chuck Berry 1977-01-22
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13. Fran Tarkenton/Leo Sayer 1977-01-29
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14. Steve Martin/The Kinks 1977-02-26
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15. Sissy Spacek/Richard Baskin 1977-03-12
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16. Broderick Crawford/Dr. John, The Meters 1977-03-19
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17. Jack Burns/Santana 1977-03-26
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18. Julian Bond/Brick 1977-04-09
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19. Elliott Gould/McGarrigle Sisters 1977-04-16
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20. Eric Idle/Neil Innes 1977-04-23
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21. Shelley Duvall/Joan Armatrading 1977-05-14
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22. Buck Henry/Kenny Vance, Jennifer Warnes 1977-05-21
