Entertainment
Square Pegs creator and Saturday Night Live writer Anne Beatts dies aged 74
Square Pegs creator Anne Beatts had died aged 74.
The former Saturday Night Live writer, who famously created some of the show’s earlier breakthrough characters, died on Wednesday as confirmed by her longtime friend Rona Edwards.
The news was also announced in a tweet by original SNL cast member Laraine Newman, who wrote: ‘Our Anne- an OG SNL writer passed away yesterday.’
Beatts began her career in comedy writing with a stint at National Lampoon magazine, becoming the Harvard Lampoon spin-off’s first female editor.
It was there she met and befriended Michael O’Donoghue and they soon joined the team that developed Lorne Michaels’ Saturday Night Live.
When it debuted in 1975, herself and then-writing partner Rosie Shuster were among the very few women to work on the sketch show.
She created beloved SNL characters such as nerdy high schoolers Todd and Lisa Lupner, Laraine Newman’s Child Psychiatrist, and Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute.
In 1982, she created CBS sitcom Square Pegs, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, which revolved around a group of awkward high school students.
It was embraced by critics as a breath of fresh air for TV at the time, reflecting the burgeoning youth culture of the 1980s.
However, the show was canceled due to low ratings after a one-season run.
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