Entertainment
Saturday Night Live exec Herbert Schlosser dies aged 95
Herbert Schlosser, seen with wife Judith, has died aged 95 (Picture: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Herbert Schlosser, a veteran TV executive who helped to create Saturday Night Live, has died at the age of 95.
Schlosser’s wife, Judith, confirmed he died at his home in Manhattan, New York on Friday to the New York Post.
He began working for NBC Television Network in 1960, going on to become president and CEO of the company, but is best known for helping form the idea for SNL.
The show came about following a memo Schlosser wrote in 1975 in which he proposed a new variety show to take the place of re-runs of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.
The memo suggested the show should be called ‘Saturday Night’, air at 11.30pm and ‘if possible the show should be done live’ with ‘different hosts’.
Schlosser added: ‘It would be a variety show but it would have certain characteristics. It should be young and bright. It should have a distinctive look, a distinctive set and a distinctive sound … We should attempt to use the show to develop new television personalities.’
Schlosser was one of the key creators of Saturday Night Live (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Netflix)
Schlosser and NBC’s then-head of late-night entertainment, Dick Ebersol, recruited Lorne Michaels to create Saturday Night Live, which premiered later the same year.
NBC told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement: ‘We are deeply saddened by the passing of Herb Schlosser.
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‘His ingenuity, creativity and integrity as president and CEO of NBC during the ’70s made an indelible mark on the network and its legacy, including bringing Johnny Carson to The Tonight Show and helping to shape what ultimately became Saturday Night Live.’
Lorne Michaels also paid tribute, telling The New York Times: ‘We wouldn’t have been on the air without him. Live was his idea, not mine. He just believed in the show. He protected it.’
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