'%3E%3Cpath id='Pfad_1771' class='st0_account' d='M576.8,529.4c-2.9,0-5.3,2.4-5.3,5.3c0,2.9,2.4,5.3,5.3,5.3c2.9,0,5.3-2.4,5.3-5.3l0,0C582.1,531.8,579.8,529.4,576.8,529.4z M576.8,538c-1.8,0-3.3-1.5-3.3-3.3c0-1.8,1.5-3.3,3.3-3.3c1.8,0,3.3,1.5,3.3,3.3l0,0C580.1,536.5,578.7,538,576.8,538L576.8,538z'/%3E%3Cpath id='Pfad_1772' class='st0_account' d='M578.5,542.4h-3.8c-3.5,0-6.3,3.6-6.3,8h16.4C584.8,546,581.9,542.4,578.5,542.4z M571.8,546c0.7-0.9,1.7-1.5,2.9-1.6h3.8c1.2,0,2.2,0.6,2.9,1.6c0.6,0.7,0.9,1.5,1.2,2.4h-11.9C570.8,547.5,571.2,546.7,571.8,546z'/%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)
'%3E%3Cpath id='Pfad_1770' class='st0_searchicon_mobile' d='M-120.8,7.4c2.9-3.3,2.6-8.4-0.7-11.4c-3.3-2.9-8.4-2.6-11.4,0.7c-2.9,3.3-2.6,8.4,0.7,11.4c2.8,2.4,6.8,2.7,9.9,0.6l6.1,6.5l1.5-1.4L-120.8,7.4z M-126.9,8.1c-3.4,0-6.1-2.7-6.1-6.1s2.7-6.1,6.1-6.1s6.1,2.7,6.1,6.1c0,0,0,0,0,0C-120.7,5.3-123.5,8.1-126.9,8.1z'/%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)
As Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th season, alumni look back on the people, moments, and humor that shaped their time at an American institution
OPENER
1970s
GARRETT MORRIS
At SNL from 1975–1980
I HAD BEEN IN SHOW BUSINESS FOR about 17 years before Saturday Night Live came along. I was an actor on and off Broadway. I wrote a couple plays, and I did a lot of musicals. SNL was my first television job—a job paying me more than I had ever been paid before, and I was finally paying my rent.
I’m an introvert, so I would usually just do the show and go back to my apartment. This was a mistake, because what you’re supposed to do is go to the bar, hang out with the group, and develop relationships. There were some drugs—I was a cocaine fiend, but a teetotaler when it came to alcohol. But back on set, being the one Black guy, I was just concerned about whether I’d be used at all. It was not an unusual ...
