Lorne Michaels eyeing retirement from SNL at show's 50th anniversary — in 3 years
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Lorne Michaels has been bravely stewarding the S.S. Saturday Night Live since its inception in 1975 and it's hard to imagine the iconic show without him, but Michaels may be getting ready to jump ship sooner than later.
Michaels, who was among the honorees at this year's Kennedy Center Honors, sat down with CBS Mornings' Gayle King to discuss both his and the show's legacy, and his plans, if any, to retire.
Spawning countless careers, from Bill Murray to Eddie Murphy to Joe Piscopo and that gal your mom always liked — Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Ana Gastayer, Maya Rudolph, just to name a few — and snatching 65 Emmys over its now six-decade run, Saturday Night Live is a cultural institution. And Michaels has been integral to that, yet he insists that there can be — and there will be — an SNL without Lorne Michaels.
"I think I'm committed to doing the show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years," Michaels tells King. "I'd like to see that through and I have a feeling that would be a really good time to leave."
Michaels has obviously been giving the idea some serious thought, as he already has in mind who would replace him when he eventually bids his final farewell to Studio 8H.
When King tries to get him to say who that person might be, however, Michaels channels early-90s Dana Carvey ... y'know, 'cause he's "not gon' do it."
"I have a sense of where we're heading with that," he allows, refusing to name names.
"Go ahead," King, not missing her own comedic beat, presses, but she can't even get some initials thrown her way.
Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
What Lorne Michaels did make clear is that he wants to make sure whoever takes over for him is set up to succeed. After all, SNL is his baby. His precious, half-century-old baby.
"I don't want the show ever to be bad," Michaels says. "I care too deeply about it. It's been my life's work so I'm going to do everything I can to see it carry on and carry on well."
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