Saturday Night Live started airing in 1975 when I was a junior in high school. The show was groundbreaking for its humor and also for the women that starred on the show. Up till then, you had Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and some niche female comedians like Phyllis Diller and Moms Mabley but women weren’t really thought of as mainstream comedians and comedic actors until Saturday Night Live.
I remember going to parties in high school that revolved around watching Saturday Night Live and while I had seen women in sketch comedy on shows like Laugh-In, these three were different. They were hip, smart and incredibly funny! These groundbreaking and original comedic actors were Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner.
I started following Laraine Newman on Twitter and saw that she was doing Cameo videos. I ordered one and it was delivered Sunday afternoon to my delight. I’m thrilled to have even a tiny connection to Laraine Newman and I love the fact that she realized I live in the same town that Richard Pryor was born and raised in.
Below are some videos of Laraine Newman on Saturday Night Live, where she, Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin broke down the doors for female comic actors. And then there’s the Cameo Video that she made for me, too cool!
Here’s Laraine Newman’s Saturday Night Live screen test where she performs her Valley Girl/stewardess character that would inspire a Frank Zappa song featuring his daughter Moon Unit and for the film, Valley Girl that came out in 1983. She created the character as a member of The Groundlings improv troupe.
This is a great scene with her Valley Girl/stewardess character interacting with John Belushi and Elliot Gould.
Here she is in an Exorcist skit with Peoria’s own Richard Pryor!
She was Connie Conehead and this was a classic SNL character. I always loved the fact that she had a Grateful Dead t-shirt on!
Here’s all three of the original SNL women in concert with Bob & Ray! This is such a great and hilarious scene!
My Cameo Video From Laraine Newman!
Laraine Newman knows who I am! This is too cool! As I said, I love that she worked Peoria and Richard Pryor into it! If you’d like to order a video from her for yourself or a birthday present for someone, just click here.
Thanks Laraine for such a nice video to me! If you and your husband ever come to Peoria, I’ll take you to Agatucci’s for pizza! You’ll love it, Jay Leno got a pizza from there once!
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