Saturday Night Live — Season 7
Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!
About this season
Saturday Night Live aired its seventh season during the 1981–1982 television season on NBC. The seventh season started on October 3, 1981 and ended on May 22, 1982. A total of 20 episodes were broadcast. Following the dismissal of producer Jean Doumanian and most of her cast members, the show was shut down due to the commencement of the 1981 WGA strike. Dick Ebersol, the program's developer, was hired as Doumanian's replacement. The new cast of Saturday Night Live for this season were the same ones from the episode Ebersol produced on the April 11, 1981 episode: Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosato along with the Doumanian era's sole survivors Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. Denny Dillon and Gail Matthius were fired following the April 1981 episode while Laurie Metcalf and unseen castmember Emily Prager weren't asked back to be cast members on the show. Ebersol then hired two new cast members: Mary Gross and Christine Ebersole. Both were hired to fill the gap left by Metcalf and Prager. Wanting to distance the show from its first five seasons, Ebersol cut the popular opening line Live from New York, It's Saturday Night! from the cold openings. In fact, sometimes cold openings weren't even shown and the monologues were skipped over almost entirely. These changes were not permanent, as Ebersol decided to reverse them for the eighth season.
Episodes (20)
1. (no host)/Rod Stewart
4.0Aired 3 October 1981 • 67 min
Sketches include ""Our Age is Showing,"" ""The Little Richard Simmons Show,"" ""The Clams"" (film), ""Nuns on the Beach,"" ""A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney,"" ""Prose and Cons"" (film), ""The Khaddaffi Look,"" ""Ruth Deals With Rod,"" ""Andy Warhol,"" Juggling with Michael Davis, and ""Season of Glass"" (film).
2. Susan Saint James/The Kinks
4.0Aired 10 October 1981 • 67 min
Sketches include ""McDonald & Wife,"" ""The Bizarro World,"" ""Buckwheat Sings,"" ""Skanky Fiancee,"" ""Cheap Laffs,"" and ""The Alan Alda Guide to Sensitivity."" The Kinks performed ""Destroyer"" and Christine Ebersole performed ""Single Bars and Single Women."" Also featured is an Anwar Sadat tribute film.
3. George Kennedy/Miles Davis
5.0Aired 17 October 1981 • 67 min
Sketches include ""To Tell the Truth Gone Awry,"" ""Mister Robinson's Neighborhood #2,"" ""Velvet Jones #1,"" and ""Harry Anderson's Grappler Tricks.""
4. Donald Pleasence/Fear
7.0Aired 31 October 1981 • 67 min
Sketches include ""Vomiting for Luck,"" ""Jogger Motel,"" ""Profiles in British Courage,"" ""Last Night I Killed My Husband"" (musical number), ""Sugar Breakfast"" and ""Andy Warhol's TV."" Fear performed ""I Don't Care About You"" and medley of ""Beef Bologna,"" ""New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones,"" and ""Let's Have A War.""
5. Lauren Hutton/Rick James
6.0Aired 7 November 1981 • 67 min
Sketches Include: "Here's 'Cos", "Dressing Room", "Hail To The Chief", "Transeastern", "Whisper", "Cheap Laffs", "Harlequin Romances", "Reach Out", "Velvet Jones School of Technology", "Big Baser", "William Burroughs", "Bitter People"
6. Bernadette Peters/The Go-Go's, Billy Joel
7.0Aired 14 November 1981 • 67 min
7. Tim Curry/Meat Loaf
7.0Aired 5 December 1981 • 67 min
8. Bill Murray/The Spinners, Yale Whiffenpoofs
6.0Aired 12 December 1981 • 67 min
Sketches include ""The Phone Company,"" ""Tales of the Unlikely,"" ""Washed-Up Tom Snyder,"" ""MX-5 Tampons,"" and ""The Economics of Christmas."" The Spinners perform ""I'll Be Around.""
9. Robert Conrad/The Allman Brothers Band
5.0Aired 23 January 1982 • 67 min
10. John Madden/Jennifer Holliday
6.0Aired 30 January 1982 • 67 min
11. James Coburn/Lindsey Buckingham
6.0Aired 6 February 1982 • 67 min
12. Bruce Dern/Luther Vandross
5.0Aired 20 February 1982 • 67 min
13. Elizabeth Ashley/Hall and Oates
5.0Aired 27 February 1982 • 67 min
14. Robert Urich/Mink DeVille
5.0Aired 20 March 1982 • 67 min
Sketches include ""He's No Burt Reynolds,"" ""Paul Harvey Radio News,"" ""Golden Age Obedience School,"" and ""Koala Bear Embryo."" Mink De Ville performed ""Maybe Tomorrow.""
15. Blythe Danner/Rickie Lee Jones
5.0Aired 27 March 1982 • 67 min
Sketches include ""Lorne Greene,"" ""The New Celibacy,"" ""20/20,"" ""The Uncle Tom Show,"" ""Senior Spring Fling '82,"" ""Meet the People,"" and ""Help Out Blythe Danner."" Rickie Lee Jones performed ""Pirates"" and ""Lush Life.""
16. Daniel J. Travanti/John Cougar
5.0Aired 10 April 1982 • 67 min
Sketches include ""Save Larry the Lobster,"" ""Whiners' Anniversary,"" ""Hill Street Blues,"" ""Too Many Ethel Mermans,"" and ""Career Corner."" John Cougar Mellencamp performed ""Hurts So Good.""
17. Johnny Cash/Elton John
9.0Aired 17 April 1982 • 67 min
Elton John performs the John Lennon tribute ""Empty Garden."" Sketches include ""Velvet Jones"" and ""Shadows.""
18. Robert Culp/The Charlie Daniels Band
5.0Aired 24 April 1982 • 67 min
19. Danny DeVito/Sparks
7.0Aired 15 May 1982 • 67 min
Sketches include ""Louis DePalma's Revenge,"" ""The Executive Test,"" ""The Whiners on an Airplane,"" ""Solomon and Pudge,"" ""Enzo,"" and ""Looks at Books."" Sparks performs ""Mickey Mouse."" Also, Brian Doyle-Murray interviews recently humbled actor-wrestler Andy Kaufman.
20. Olivia Newton-John
6.5Aired 22 May 1982 • 67 min
Sketches include ""Ebony & Ivory,"" ""I Married a Monkey,"" Grease, ""Hitler In Heaven,"" and ""Ballpark Organ Favorites."" ONJ performs the hit ""Physical"" in lieu of the opening monologue.