From L-R: Susan Morrison, photo by Taylor Jewell; Mary Ellen Matthews, photo courtesy the artist, Jim Downey, photo courtesy the artist, Comic Strip by Tom Gammill about Sarah Paley, courtesy the artist; Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live; The Art of the SNL Portrait
Tickets
General Ticket: $15
Member Ticket: $10
What are the secrets of Lorne Michaels’ and SNL’s phenomenal success? Find out from those who lived it!
New York Times bestselling author SUSAN MORRISON, author of Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live will be joined in conversation with the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Art of the SNL Portrait, MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS, former SNL writer, actor, and producer JIM DOWNEY, and former SNL writer SARAH PALEY. Join us for an evening of laughter, insider stories, and a celebratory look at an elusive figure at the helm of one of the century’s most impactful comedy empires.
Copies of Morrison’s Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live and Matthew’s The Art of the SNL Portrait will be available for purchase and signed after the event.
A special thank you to our collaborating community book sellers, Book Hampton, for joining us on this program.
ABOUT SUSAN MORRISON
SUSAN MORRISON is the author of the New York Times bestselling biography Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live and the Articles Editor of The New Yorker. Formerly, she was the editor-in-chief of the New York Observer and an original editor of SPY magazine.
Photo by Taylor Jewell
ABOUT MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS
MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS is a photographer based in New York City and East Hampton. She is best known for her photographs featured on SNL; her portraits of the celebrities who appear as guest-hosts and musical guests of SNL are displayed as the show returns from commercial breaks. Since 2010, she has also directed videos for SNL.
ABOUT JIM DOWNEY
JIM DOWNEY wrote, acted, and produced for more than 30 seasons at SNL, including many as the head writer and as the writer/editor of “Weekend Update.” SNL creator Lorne Michaels has called Jim “the best political humorist alive.” Jim was also the head writer for Late Night with David Letterman. Former SNL Weekend Update anchor Dennis Miller has called him “the second most important person in the history of Saturday Night Live, behind only creator Lorne Michaels.”
ABOUT SARAH PALEY
SARAH PALEY wrote for SNL in 1979 and 1980 when she was six years old, for which she won an Emmy. She went on to write for other television shows, including The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and sold scripts to many Hollywood studios. Her prose and poetry have been published in The New Yorker, Vogue, Raritan, and other magazines and journals