October 11, 1975: "Saturday Night Live" Premieres

Back row, left to right: Laraine Newman, John Belushi,

Jane Curtin, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd.

Bottom row, left to right: Garrett Morris and Gilda Radner.

October 11, 1975: Saturday Night premieres on NBC, taping from the network's studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. After this 1st season, it was renamed Saturday Night Live. The original cast, known as "the Not Ready for Prime Time Players," includes John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris -- but not, as is commonly believed, Bill Murray, who replaced Chase after the 1st season.

The 1st guest host is George Carlin, who begins his monologue with a whacked-out version of the Lord's Prayer, and goes on to do "Baseball and Football," a routine he will expand on a few times. (This version is from 1990, from the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey.)

Not long before Carlin died, someone took a poll to determine the greatest standup comedians of all time. Carlin came in 2nd. Coming in 1st was Richard Pryor, who, like Carlin, was at the peak of his powers in the mid-Seventies.

A month into SNL's run, Pryor was asked to host the show. But, nervous that he would issue some four-letter words -- they didn't seem as nervous about such language coming from Carlin, creator of the 1972 bit "Seven Words You Can Never Use On Television," none of which he used when he hosted -- they used a 7-second delay, in case they had to bleep anything out. They did have to. Ever since, even SNL hasn't been totally live.

In addition to the preceding, SNL would make stars of Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon, Norm McDonald, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Rob Schneider, Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Keenan Thompson, and Kate McKinnon.

Billy Crystal was already a star when he signed on for the 1984-85 season. The next season would be the one and only on the show for Robert Downey Jr., whose true fame was yet to come.

*

October 11, 1975 was, clearly, a Saturday. Earlier that day, Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton were married in their living room in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Despite all odds -- including "self-inflicted wounds," and rooting for rival teams, as Hillary grew up in the Chicago suburbs as a Cubs fan, Bill in Arkansas as a St. Louis Cardinals fan -- they are still together, dividing their time between Washington, D.C. and Westchester County, New York, and now have 3 grandchildren.

Game 1 of the World Series was played at Fenway Park in Boston, with the Boston Red Sox hosting the Cincinnati Reds. Luis Tiant shut down the Big Red Machine, and drove in the 1st run, despite the designated hitter rule preventing him from coming to bat all season long, as the Red Sox won, 6-0. The Sox scored all their runs in the 7th inning. One of the most talked-about World Series was underway with a surprising flourish.

There was college football on this day, including the following games:

* Number 1 Ohio State beat Iowa, 49-0 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten title, but lost the National Championship when they lost the Rose Bowl to UCLA.

* Number 2 Oklahoma beat Number 5 Texas, 24-17 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners won the Big Eight title, then beat Michigan in the Orange Bowl, and won the National Championship.

* Number 3 Southern California beat Washington State, 28-10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans were still Number 3 on November 1, but began a 4-game losing streak that day, losing away to California, home to Stanford on the 8th, away to Washington on the 15th. On the 28th, Thanksgiving Day, USC lost to UCLA at the Coliseum. They did rebound to beat Texas A&M in the Liberty Bowl.

* Number 4 Nebraska beat Kansas, 16-0 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers lost to Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Weekend, costing them the Big Eight title, a trip to the Orange Bowl, and a shot at the National Championship. Instead, they went to the Fiesta Bowl, where they had to play Arizona State on their home field, and lost.

* Number 6 Texas A&M beat Texas Tech, 38-9 at Jones Stadium in Lubbock. They beat Texas on Thanksgiving, rose to Number 2 in the rankings, looked headed for the Cotton Bowl and a shot at the National Championship, but a loss to Arkansas cost them, and they ended up playing USC in the Liberty Bowl, and losing. In contrast, Arkansas were unranked on October 11, beating Baylor, 41-3 at Baylor Stadium (later Floyd Casey Stadium) in Waco, Texas. They won the Southwest Conference title, earning them the Cotton Bowl berth, and they beat Georgia.

* Number 7 Alabama beat the University of Washington, 52-0 at Denny Stadium (later Bryant-Denny Stadium) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Crimson Tide would win the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 8 Michigan beat in-State rivals, Number 15 Michigan State, 16-6 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

* Number 9 Penn State beat Number 10 West Virginia, 39-0 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State went on to be invited to the Sugar Bowl, but lost to Alabama.

* Number 12 Missouri beat Number 14 Oklahoma State, 41-14 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

* Number 15 Notre Dame beat North Carolina, 21-14 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Navy beat Syracuse, 10-6 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. But Army lost to Duke, 21-10 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

* Rutgers lost to Lehigh, 34-20 at Taylor Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Scarlet Knights did not lose again for nearly 2 years, until September 2, 1977, when Penn State beat them at the Meadowlands. Also among New Jersey teams, Princeton beat Cornell, 16-8 at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York.

The NBA season started 12 days later; the ABA season, the day after that. There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Los Angeles Kings, 7-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the St. Louis Blues, 7-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 7-5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The California Golden Seals beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Making his NHL debut, with the Wings, was Mike Wong, a 20-year-old center from Minneapolis. This was only the 2nd NHL game played by a player of Asian descent, after Chinese-Canadian Larry Kwong played 1 game for the 1948 New York Rangers. Wong would last 4 seasons in the NHL.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 9-5 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Kansas City Scouts beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-2 at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.

* And the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, the Buffalo Sabres and the Atlanta Flames were not scheduled.

And there were 4 games in the World Hockey Association:

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Toronto Toros, 7-3 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Houston Aeros beat the New England Whalers, 5-0 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Cincinnati Stingers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Crusaders, 1-0 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* And the Phoenix Roadrunners beat the San Diego Mariners, 4-2 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena.)

In New Jersey high school football, East Brunswick, which would later be my Alma Mater, lost 13-14 to Colonia of Woodbridge, at home at Jay Doyle Field.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Midlands team Coventry City, 5-0 at Highbury in North London.

June 20, 1980: “The Blues Brothers” Premieres

Dan Aykroyd (left) as Elwood, and John Belushi as Jake

June 20, 1980: The Blues Brothers premieres, one of the few Saturday Night Live flicks that was turned into a good movie.

SNL castmembers Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi had previously appeared as the Killer Bees, singing blues songs. Belushi, from Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and Aykroyd, from Ottawa, both loved the blues, but Belushi told show creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, "I hate the fucking Bees!" So the sketch was reworked into The Blues Brothers, who debuted on April 22, 1978.

Belushi was Joliet Jake, so named because he'd done time at Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago. (One of the most famous prisons in America, it closed in 2002 and is now open to tours.) Aykroyd was his brother Elwood. While Jake sang lead, Elwood could also play a mean harmonica.

While "Blues" was technically their surname, they sang mainly rhythm & blues (R&B) and soul music. They were backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn," keyboard player Booker T. Jones, and Willie "Too Big" Hall, who became the group's drummer after the original, Al Jackson Jr., was murdered in 1975.

They were also backed by The Memphis Horns, who had worked with the M.G.'s on several hits by performers' on Stax Records in Memphis: "Blue" Lou Marini and Tom "Triple Scale" Scott on saxophone, Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin on trumpet, and Tom "Bones" Malone on trombone.

Those Stax hits included the original 1967 version of "Soul Man," by Sam & Dave. The Blues Brothers made it a hit all over again, wearing black suits, sunglasses and fedoras. Both Jake and Elwood, despite their respective sizes, were fantastic dancers. Having Cropper allowed Jake to yell out what Sam Moore yelled out midway through the original version: "Play it, Steve!"

The act would be extended to a 1980 film, which is still regarded as the best film ever to be made from an SNL sketch. Jake gets out of prison, and is picked up by Elwood, who tells him that the orphanage where they grew up will be closed by the church that runs it unless $5,000 in property taxes are paid to the Cook County Assessor's office, at the Richard J. Daley Center, downtown.

So, Cliché Alert: They get the band back together. Along the way, they meet characters played by music legends Cab Calloway, who sings "Minnie the Moocher"; Ray Charles, who sings "Shake a Tail Feather"; James Brown, who plays a minister and sings "The Old Landmark"; Chaka Khan, who plays Brown's choir leader and sings backup on the song; and Aretha Franklin, who sings "Think."

They manage to put on a show 106 miles from the Daley Center, and get $10,000. On the way back, they are pursued by the Illinois State Police, seeking Elwood for driving with a suspended license, 116 parking tickets, and 56 moving violations; neo-Nazis, whom Jake had dispersed with his wild driving of the Bluesmobile; the Good Ole Boys, a country band whose gig they inadvertently stole; and Jake's ex-fiancée, played by Carrie Fisher, who apparently went nuts and swore revenge after he broke it off.

They manage to get the money delivered with seconds to spare, and are arrested on the spot. The movie ends with the Brothers back in prison, but with the band, Cab, Ray, James, Chaka and Aretha accompanying them as they play "Jailhouse Rock."

Director John Landis got 12 1974 Dodge Monacos to serve as the Bluesmobile. By the time filming was done, exactly none of them were still driveable.

The Dixie Square Mall, south of Chicago in Harvey, Illinois, had already closed by the time the movie came out, so there was no worry about damage. It sat abandoned until finally being demolished in 2012. I wonder if the guy operating the wrecking ball was told to "Hit it!"

For the record: I also hate Illinois Nazis. I also hate Nazis from the other 49 States. And so should you.

Belushi's death in 1982 seemed to kill the act, but Aykroyd later revived it with John's brother Jim Belushi, who became an SNL castmember, and actor John Goodman, a frequent SNL host. Together, the 3 of them played as The Blues Brothers in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans in 1997.

In 1998, Blues Brothers 2000, a very weak sequel, was released. Aykroyd again played Elwood, and Goodman again played Mighty Mack McTeer (not related to the brothers), but Jim Belushi was tied to a TV contract, and could not appear again as Zee Blues, leaving it unclear as to why Elwood never previously mentioned this brother.

*

June 20, 1980 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 15-7 at Yankee Stadium. Luis Tiant, a Yankee in 1979 and 1980, outpitched Steve McCatty. Reggie Jackson, Jim Spencer and Johnny Oates hit home runs for the Yankees. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base for the A's.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets led, 3-2 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, but Pat Zachry allowed singles to Jay Johnstone and Steve Garvey. Jeff Reardon was brought in, and gave up a double to Dusty Baker to lose the game.

* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 20-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Despite being the shortest player in baseball at the time, Angel shortstop Freddie Patek went 4-for-6 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski did not play for the Red Sox.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. John Wockenfuss doubled Lance Parrish home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. A leadoff walk to Gary Alexander and a double by Toby Harrah drove in the winning run in the top of the 15th inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. The Brewers won without either Robin Yount or Paul Molitor playing. Nor did George Brett play for the Royals.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Stargell did not play.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Dave Winfield went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4. Pete Rose went 2-for-4.

June 8, 1983: "Trading Places" Premieres

Left to right: Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd

June 8, 1983: Trading Places premieres, directed by John Landis. Why would a movie clearly filmed at Christmastime be released in June, instead of waiting until the following Christmas season? Probably to take advantage of the fact that Eddie Murphy had become, along with Michael Jackson, the biggest thing in show business that year. And there are some great shots of Philadelphia landmarks, including the spectacular main room of 30th Street Station.

Murphy plays Billy Ray Valentine, a street-level con artist. Dan Aykroyd plays Louis Winthorpe III, a different kind of con artist: A commodities broker with Duke & Duke. Specifically, Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer Duke (Don Ameche), 2 very elderly, very conservative, and very bigoted brothers -- who, apparently, have neither wives to complain to nor children to leave the very lucrative business to, so they're still at it. (Landis originally wanted Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, who previously co-starred in Silver Streak and Stir Crazy, for Trading Places, but neither was available.)

One thing leads to another, and Billy Ray ends up being arrested inside Duke & Duke headquarters. Randolph believes that "nurture" is more important than "nature." Mortimer is sure that people don't really change. So they make a bet: Randolph can make an executive out of Billy Ray, and a criminal out of Louis. To make a long story short, with the assistance of security expert Clarence Beeks (Paul Gleeson), and Lewis' far less willing butler Coleman (Denholm Elliott), they pull off the switcheroo to a T.

But, during the office Christmas party Billy Ray overhears the brothers settling the bet, and talking about their plan, after the New Year, to corner the market on frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ), with help from Beeks' chicanery. He also overhears that they're going to dump him, without restoring Louis.

On Christmas Eve, with no hope left, Louis overdoses on sleeping pills at the apartment of Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), a prostitute who has been helping him get by as he tries in vain to restore his place. Billy Ray had followed him, to tell him what the Dukes had done. Billy Ray calls Coleman, who calls a doctor. When Louis recovers on Christmas morning, Coleman and Billy Ray tell him the whole thing.

Louis swears revenge, and he knows how to get it. He and Billy Ray stop Beeks, get the fake crop report, and replace it with an expert forgery saying the opposite. Coleman gives them his life savings, and Ophelia gives them the money she's saved up from hooking, to stake them for their plan.

On the 1st trading day of the New Year, at the New York Commodities Exchange, part of the World Trade Center complex -- making this movie a little harder to watch after 2001 -- Louis announces a sale of shares of FCOJ that he doesn't actually have. This sends the price back down after the Dukes had driven it up.

When the crop report is announced -- Florida had a good orange crop, meaning fresh oranges will be plentiful, meaning FCOJ will have less demand -- the price of FCOJ crashes, and Louis and Billy Ray buy everybody's shares cheaply, enough to not only cover the sales of what they didn't have, but enough to make themselves fabulously wealthy, and to cost the Dukes $394 million -- about $1.15 billion in 2022 money. They don't have the cash on hand, their assets are (ironically) frozen, and they are ruined. (Note: Louis' scheme is now illegal, although it's known as the Eddie Murphy Rule, not the Dan Aykroyd Rule.)

The movie ends with Louis and Ophelia on a yacht, just off a Caribbean island, where Billy Ray has a new girlfriend, and Coleman has his own butler.

Bellamy died in 1991, Elliott in 1992, Ameche in 1993. As of June 8, 2022, Landis, Aykroyd, Murphy and Curtis are still alive.

*

June 8, 1983 was a Wednesday. Tennis star Kim Clijsters was born.

The USFL season was in progress, but was in midweek. The NBA title was decided 8 days earlier, when the Philadelphia 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers. The Stanley Cup was decided 22 days earlier, when the New York Islanders swept the Edmonton Oilers.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees led 5-2 after 7 innings, but Rudy May blew a nice start by usually-a-reliever Jay Howell, and the Indians tied it in the top of the 9th. In the bottom of the 9th, Dave Winfield doubled, and Lou Piniella singled him home with the winning run, to make a winning pitcher out of Goose Gossage.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mookie Wilson broke up a scoreless duel between Mike Torrez and Steve Trout with an RBI double in the top of the 8th. But Ryne Sandberg tied it in the bottom of the 9th, Leon Durham drew a walk, Torrez threw a wild pitch, and Keith Moreland singled Durham home with the winning run, to make a winning pitcher out of Lee Smith.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski, in his final season, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pete Rose got a hit as a pinch-hitter. Tony Pérez went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and 4 RBIs. Garry Maddox also hit a home run.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The O's scored 5 runs in the 8th to win it. Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 1-for4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 3-for-5.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-5 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench, in his last season, went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett did not play.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Joe Niekro pitched 10 shutout innings, allowing 10 hits, before Bill Dawley became the winning pitcher. Andy McGaffigan pitched 9 shutout innings, allowed 4 hits, before Gary Lavelle gave up a single to Phil Garner, scoring Omar Moreno with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-4 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3 with 2 walks. Rod Carew went 1-for-5.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-3.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 1-0 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Mike Smithson allowed 9 hits, and needed Odell Jones to get the last out to finish the shutout.

April 22, 1978: King Tut and the Blues Brothers On "Saturday Night Live"

April 22, 1978: The NBC variety show Saturday Night Live has one of its most memorable episodes. Steve Martin was the guest host, and he and Dan Aykroyd played the Festrunk Brothers for the 3rd time. These were "two wild and crazy guys" who had emigrated from then-Communist Czechoslovakia in search of easy women. Along the same lines, Gilda Radner did a parody commercial, for "Hey You," the perfume for women who wanted to have one-night stands.

Martin also debuted the character of "Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber." In the Middle Ages, barbers were also surgeons, because, you know, knives. The sketch was as disgusting as it sounds, and was only used once more, as "Theodoric of York, Medieval Judge."

Aykroyd and John Belushi had previously appeared as the Killer Bees, singing blues songs. Belushi, from Wheaton, Illinois, outside Chicago, and Aykroyd, from Ottawa, both loved the blues, but Belushi told show creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels, "I hate the fucking Bees!" So the sketch was reworked into The Blues Brothers, who debuted on this night.

Dan Aykroyd (left) as Elwood, and John Belushi as Jake

Belushi was Joliet Jake, so named because he'd done time at Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center outside Chicago. (One of the most famous prisons in America, it closed in 2002 and is now open to tours.) Aykroyd was his brother Elwood. While Jake sang lead, Elwood could also play a mean harmonica.

While "Blues" was technically their surname, they sang mainly rhythm & blues (R&B) and soul music. They were backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass guitarist Donald "Duck" Dunn," keyboard player Booker T. Jones, and Willie Hall, who became the group's drummer after the original, Al Jackson Jr., was murdered in 1975. They were also backed by The Memphis Horns, who had worked with the M.G.'s on several hits by performers' on Stax Records in Memphis.

These included the original 1967 version of "Soul Man," by Sam & Dave. The Blues Brothers made it a hit all over again, wearing black suits, sunglasses and fedoras. Both Jake and Elwood, despite their respective sizes, were fantastic dancers. Having Cropper allowed Jake to yell out what Sam Moore yelled out midway through the original version: "Play it, Steve!"

The act would be extended to a 1980 film, which is still regarded as the best film ever to be made from an SNL sketch. Belushi's death in 1982 seemed to kill the act, but Aykroyd later revived it with John's brother Jim Belushi, who became an SNL castmember, and actor John Goodman, a frequent SNL host. Together, the 3 of them played as The Blues Brothers in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.

In 1998, Blues Brothers 2000, a very weak sequel, was released. Aykroyd again played Elwood, and Goodman again played Mighty Mack McTeer (not related to the brothers), but Jim Belushi was tied to a TV contract, and could not appear again as Zee Blues, leaving it unclear as to why Elwood never previously mentioned this brother.

This episode of SNL also tapped into a big pop-culture phenomenon of the moment: The traveling exhibition of The Treasures of Tutankhaumen, the "Boy Pharoah" who reigned over Egypt from 1341 to 1323 BC, dying at the age of 19.

The tour came to America, and its artifacts were showcased at the Smithsonian Institution's National Gallery of Art in Washington from November 17, 1976 to March 15, 1977; the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago from April 14 to August 15, 1977; the New Orleans Museum of Art from September 15, 1977 to January 15, 1978; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from February 15 to June 15, 1978, including during the episode in question; the Seattle Art Museum from July 15 to November 15, 1978; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from December 15, 1978 to April 15, 1979; and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco from June 11 to September 30, 1979. And people couldn't get enough of it.

Steve Martin, like most people trying to make a living in show business in the late 1970s, was living in Los Angeles, and saw the fanatical tourists lining up to see "King Tut." So he decided to have some fun with it. With a band he named the Toot Uncommons, he wrote and recorded a comedy song, which, like most songs about historical figures, got the facts wrong. But, since it was a comedy, he didn't care. He just wanted to make people laugh, with lines like "Buried with a donkey/He's my favorite honky!" and "He coulda won a Grammy/Buried in his jammies!" and "He gave his life for tourism."

It was a moment in time, one that won't be repeated. The artifacts had previously toured America in the early 1960s, including as part of the World's Fairs in Seattle in 1962 and New York in 1964-65; and did so again from 2005 to 2009, and 2018 to 2021. But on none of those occasions was there as much fuss as in 1977, '78 and '79.

As of April 22, 2022, Alec Baldwin has hosted SNL the most times, 17, followed by Martin with 15 and Goodman with 13. (UPDATE: On December 10, 2022, Martin hosted for a 16th time, bringing him to within 1 of Baldwin's lead.)

*

April 22, 1978 was a Saturday. Actor Manu Intiraymi, who played the ex-Borg teenager Icheb on Star Trek: Voyager, was born.

These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. It was an NBC Game of the Week. Singles by Fred Stanley, Mickey Rivers and Roy White won the game in the bottom of the 12th inning. Sparky Lyle was the winning pitcher, in relief of Dick Tidrow. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-6. Rookie Paul Molitor hit a home run for the Brewers, playing shortstop while Robin Yount got a day off.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Montreal Expos swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 and 5-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Wayne Twitchell outpitched Steve Carlton in the opener. Over the 2 games, Mike Schmidt went 3-for-7 with a home run, 2 walks and an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 13-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Andre Thoronton went 4-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4. The winning pitcher was Rick Wise, whom the Sox had traded to the Tribe as part of the package to get Dennis Eckersley, who was, at the time, a slight upgrade.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. George Brett went 1-for-5. Eddie Murray went 1-for-4.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Cards led 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th, but Duffy Dyer doubled home the winning runs. Willie Stargell hit a home run. Lou Brock went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 7-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Tim Corcoran singled home Steve Dillard with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Dillard had pinch-run for Rusty Staub. Jack Morris and Doyle Alexander started, while the winning pitcher was John Hiller and the losing pitcher was Fergie Jenkins.

* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rod Carew went 1-for-4.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Bob Owchinko (the 1st 6 1/3rd innings) and Rollie Fingers combined on a 6-hit shutout. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Singles by Ken Griffey Sr. and George Foster, and a groundout by Johnny Bench, scored the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. Pete Rose went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at the Kingdome in Seattle. It took the A's 3 pitchers to finish the shutout: Alan Wirth, 3 hits over 7 2/3rds innings; Bob Lacey, 2 hits over 1; and Elias Sosa to get the last out.

It was an off-day in the NBA Playoffs, and in the Playoffs of the World Hockey Association. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. That would be the only game the Sabres would win in the series.