Born in 1944, Lorne Michaels, the genius creator and executive producer behind the iconic Saturday Night Live comedy skits, is worth some serious bank.
While Michaels isn't often one to be in front of the camera, he did do an SNL skit where he offered the Beatles three thousand dollars to reunite for the show. His career began after finishing up his academic stint at the University of Toronto in 1966. Like most wealthy, self-made men, Michaels began his illustrious career far from the spotlight. Lorne started out small, working on small-time TV comedy productions, including Laugh-In and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show. He worked in LA, after moving there in 1968, until 1975 when he moved to New York to begin production on Saturday Night Live.
While there probably aren't many people born after 1980 who haven't seen at least one SNL skit, not everyone will know just how important this comedy goldmine is in starting the careers of some of the most famous names in comedy over the last three decades.
Names like Chevy Chase, Jim Belushi and his late brother John, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Billy Crystal; just to name a few. In total, the show has seen one hundred and fifty-three cast members to date with several coming back to host episodes for today's up and coming comedic talent.
Saturday Night Live isn't the only well-known show Michaels is responsible for, however. Since 1993, he's been making The Late Night series, including Conan O'Brien and Seth Myers individual shows. And in 2014 he took over The Tonight Show series as well.
Along with Late Night TV and their specials, Michaels has also been the producer on laugh-til-you-die movies such as, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep and A Night At the Roxberry. Names like Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks come to mind as notorious SNL and comedic talent that spans decades and generations.
For Millenials, SNL is synonymous with gut-wrenching laughter and it's beginning to spill over into generation Z with names like Pete Davidson, Amy Poehler, Kate McKinnon, and Andy Samberg; it seems Saturday Night Live will live on for generations to come. And even if it someday goes off-air, the comedians who have found a home there will continue to grace our TVs, phones, iPads and any available screen with their presence, ensuring that comedy lives on with every joke, one-liner and laugh inducing stunt.
With everything from animated comedy and real-life laughs to movies for every member of the family; Lorne Michaels will continue to influence the shows and movies that make us laugh and bring our families and friends together.
And even if you're not a night owl, you can always catch your favorite SNL comedians in a favorite movie or TV show. In our current world of instant access entertainment, a good laugh is just a click or two away. So many of SNL's cast have found fame after a stint on the comedy skit series that their movies are now being remade for a younger audience. Ghostbusters, for instance, which starred Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, both of SNL fame, had their movie remade featuring an all female main cast. Interestingly, all four of the 2016 version of Ghostbusters main cast were either cast members or guests on SNL. Melissa McCarthy was even inducted into the SNL 5-Timer's Club, a club for actors who have hosted five or more episodes of SNL that originally started out as an SNL sketch, in 2017.
Humor of course is a question of personal taste, but we're pretty sure that just about everyone has enjoyed at least one show or movie that Lorne Michaels has produced. Maybe you liked Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day, Chevy Chase in the National Lampoon's series, or perhaps Pete Davidson strikes a cord.
No matter the generation you belong to, the year you were born or the comedy you enjoy; Lorne Michaels and his iconic Saturday Night Live aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and we can all be thankful for that. And we can make an educated guess that he'll have more laughs up his sleeve for us all to enjoy. So the next time you're bored and flipping through the channels, and you hear someone say, "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night." you might want to stop and catch at least one of SNL's comedy sketches, because laughter is good for the soul.
Lorne Michaels' net worth is $500 million, he's earned every penny one laugh at a time with memorable movies and TV shows, and through the heart of his career: Saturday Night Live.
