Saturday Night Live aired its third season during the 1977–1978 television season on NBC. The season began on September 24, 1977 and ended on May 20, 1978. The DVD for the entire season was released on May 13, 2008. The entire cast from the previous season returned for season three. The show also introduced the concept of the "featured player." Writers Tom Davis and Al Franken became cast members. The season is also notable for the contest, Anyone Can Host. During the start of the season the show advertised the contest for a non-celebrity to host the show. The winner was 80 year-old grandmother Miskel Spillman, the only non-celebrity to host an SNL episode. During Spillman's show the musical guest, Elvis Costello, halted his band, the Attractions, seven seconds into the song "Less Than Zero", launching into "Radio Radio", an as-yet unreleased song critical of mainstream broadcasting. The change angered Lorne Michaels, who banned future appearances on the show for a while. Chevy Chase's hosted during the season, making him the first cast member to host after leaving the show. Backstage during the show Chase and Bill Murray engaged in a physical altercation that was broken up by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Chase later accused Murray of trying to upstage him on set and for making explicit remarks about Chase's wife. Chase would host the show several times throughout the show's history, though he was unpopular with the cast and crew.
Release Date
PremieredSaturday Night Live Season 3 released on September 24, 1977.
Your Progress
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Sign In to Track ProgressSeasons
Steve Martin/Jackson Browne
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include--"Bert Lance National Express Card", "Kromega III", "Wild & Crazy Guys", "Mike McMack, Defense Lawyer", "Trinity 3000 Computer", "Great Moments In Rock & Roll", "Mr. U.S.A. Pageant", "Royal Deluxe II"
Madeline Kahn/Taj Mahal
Live From New York, It's...Bill Murray Sketches include--"Lee Harry Oswald", "Swill", "Bad Opera", "The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest", "Bianca Jagger Talks with Close Personal Friends", "The Acid Generation - Where Are They Now?", "Blind African-American", "Autumn In New York", "Ultra-Personal Feminine Product", "Dubbing Hercules", "Dame Edna Everage", "Pocket Pal", "Phone Secrets""
Hugh Hefner/Libby Titus
Live From New York, It's...Laraine Newman Sketches include--"Playboy Bunny", "Angora Bouquet", "Planet Of The Men Vs. Planet Of The Women", "The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest", "The X-Police", "Circular Bed Sex Research", "Listening To Great Music", "Sex In Cinema", "3 R's", "The Story Of H", "Funeral Magician", "The Farbers at the Playboy Club"
Charles Grodin/Paul Simon
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include--"Grodin Misses Dress Rehearsal", "Weekend Update Ad", "The Coneheads", "Long-Winded Set-Up", "Consumer Probe", "The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest", "Samurai Dry Cleaners", "Trick-or-Treating Killer Bees", "Judy Miller"", "The Professional School of Football", "Incompetents"
Ray Charles/Franklyn Ajaye
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include-- "Don Corleone", "A Message From the President of the United States", "Mamorex", "Howdy Doody's Widow", "Tomorrow", "The Young Caucasians", "Ray Charles Medley", "Franklyn Ajaye", "Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course", "Blackout Burglary", "Buck Henry Announcement".
Buck Henry/Leon Redbone
Live From New York, It's...Anyone Can Host Contest Finalists Sketches include--"The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest Finalists", "Little Chocolate Donuts", "Samurai Psychiatrist", "Stunt Babies", "Motel Sanitation Items", "Tomorrow", "Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow", "The Rickey Rat Club", "The History of Franken & Davis", "Jackie Onassis", "'Anyone Can Host' Contest Film ", "Life After Death"
Mary Kay Place/Willie Nelson
Live From New York, It's...Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Mary Kay Place, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, & Jane Curtin Sketches include--"Peppiest Show Ever", "Hey, You!", "More Insects To Worry About", "Total Womanhood", "Married In A Minute!", "Bad Musical", "Hanukkah Explanation".
Miskel Spillman/Elvis Costello
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include ""America's Oldest Living Doper," "Meat Wagon Toy Ambulance," "Dating the Self-Conscious & Extremely Obnoxious," "Gift of the Magi," "Starsky and Hutch," "The Al Franken and Tom Davis Show," "E. Buzz Miller's Art Classics," "College Students Home For Christmas," "Drunken Santa," "Madame Butterfly"
Steve Martin/The Nitty Gritty Dirty Band
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include--"State of the Union Address", "Swill", "Searching For Bigfoot", "Wild & Crazy Guys", "Body Floss", "The Coneheads On 'Family Feud'", "'Close Personal Friends' Film", "What If?"
Robert Klein/Bonnie Raitt
Live From New York, It's...Paul Shaffer Sketches include--"Mr. Mike & Tina Turner Review", "Olympia Cafe", "The X-Police", "Nick Winters", "Nerds Album", "Frogs Look At Film ", "Giant Lobster Attack Warning", "Rhonda Weiss", "Attack Of The Giant Lobsters", "Lobsters Wreck The Studio""
Chevy Chase/Billy Joel
Live From New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--"A Former President Speaks to the Nation", "The Moth Masher", "Post-Sex Discussion", "King", "Customs Trainee", "Bad Day Soundtrack Film", "Sermonette", "World War II GI Quiz", "Sketch With No Ending"
O.J. Simpson/Ashford and Simpson
Live From New York, It's...Gilda Radner Sketches include--"Gilda Answers Audience Questions", "Samurai Night Fever", "Great Moments In Sports", "The Mohawk Master", "The Raid On Nicosia", "Voodoo", "The Franken & Davis Show", "Mandingo II", "E. Buzz Miller's Animal Kingdom", "Hertz Ad", "Celebrity Battle of the Sexes"
Art Garfunkel/Stephen Bishop
Live From New York, It's...Gilda Radner Sketches include--"Modern Crimes", "Kromega III", "Tomorrow", "Miracle In Chicago", "Stage Door Guard", "Looks At Books", "Don't Look Back In Anger", "Looking For Mr. Goodbar Playset""
Jill Clayburgh/Eddie Money
Live From New York, It's...Garrett Morris Sketches include--"Garrett Morris sings 'Danny Boy'", "Royal Deluxe II", "Olympia Cafe", "Sybil III", "Bad One-Man Theater", "Nutrifix", "Myopia", "Shower Mike", "The Coneheads On Earth", "Celebrity Crack-Up"
Christopher Lee/Meat Loaf
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include--"Kevin Scott", "Movie Trailers", "My Fair Lady", "Mr. Death", "Anwar Sadat", "Cold As Ice", "Dell Stator's Rabbit Hut", "Vampire Hunters", "Richard Belzer", "Mr. Bill Goes To The Circus""
Michael Palin/Eugene Record
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include--"Oscar Awards", "Little Chocolate Donuts", "Tax Deductions", "H&L Brock", "Great Escape", "Nerds Piano Lesson", "The Case of the Scarlet Membrane", "Good Time At Party", "Mr. Bill Pays His Taxes", "Danger Probe"
Michael Sarrazin/Keith Jarrett
Live From New York, It's...Laraine Newman Sketches include--"A Message From the President of the United States", "Angora Bouquet", "Judy Miller", "E. Buzz Miller's Exercise World", "La Dolce Gilda", "Abraham Lincoln in the Audience", "Archaeologicus"
Steve Martin/The Blues Brothers
*Nominated for an Emmy Award* Live From New York, It's...Paul Shaffer Sketches include--"Don Kirshner's Rock Concert", "Hey You!", "Wild & Crazy Guys", "Theodoric of York", "Dancing In The Dark", "Extramarital Foreplay", "Swan Lake", "Troff 'n' Brew", "Nerds Science Fair", "Next Week In Review".
Richard Dreyfuss/Jimmy Buffett
Live From New York, It's...Bill Murray Sketches include--"Paraquat", "Cone Encounters of the Third Kind", "Sex Test", "Nick 'Springs'", "Annoying Lovers' Traits", "The David Susskind Show", "Father Guido Sarducci",
Buck Henry/Sun Ra
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include-- "Nixon Kicks His Book Around", "Nerds Go To The Prom", "Samurai TV Repairman", "Sodom Chamber of Commerce", "Olympia Cafe", "Mr. Mike's Least Loved Music", "More Insects To Worry About", "Stunt Puppy", "Bad Conceptual Art", "The Franken & Davis Show".
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Saturday Night Live
Season 3
Saturday Night Live aired its third season during the 1977–1978 television season on NBC. The season began on September 24, 1977 and ended on May 20, 1978. The DVD for the entire season was released on May 13, 2008. The entire cast from the previous season returned for season three. The show also introduced the concept of the "featured player." Writers Tom Davis and Al Franken became cast members. The season is also notable for the contest, Anyone Can Host. During the start of the season the show advertised the contest for a non-celebrity to host the show. The winner was 80 year-old grandmother Miskel Spillman, the only non-celebrity to host an SNL episode. During Spillman's show the musical guest, Elvis Costello, halted his band, the Attractions, seven seconds into the song "Less Than Zero", launching into "Radio Radio", an as-yet unreleased song critical of mainstream broadcasting. The change angered Lorne Michaels, who banned future appearances on the show for a while. Chevy Chase's hosted during the season, making him the first cast member to host after leaving the show. Backstage during the show Chase and Bill Murray engaged in a physical altercation that was broken up by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Chase later accused Murray of trying to upstage him on set and for making explicit remarks about Chase's wife. Chase would host the show several times throughout the show's history, though he was unpopular with the cast and crew.
Release Date
PremieredSaturday Night Live Season 3 released on September 24, 1977.
Your Progress
Track your watching progress by signing in
Sign In to Track ProgressSteve Martin/Jackson Browne
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include--"Bert Lance National Express Card", "Kromega III", "Wild & Crazy Guys", "Mike McMack, Defense Lawyer", "Trinity 3000 Computer", "Great Moments In Rock & Roll", "Mr. U.S.A. Pageant", "Royal Deluxe II"
Madeline Kahn/Taj Mahal
Live From New York, It's...Bill Murray Sketches include--"Lee Harry Oswald", "Swill", "Bad Opera", "The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest", "Bianca Jagger Talks with Close Personal Friends", "The Acid Generation - Where Are They Now?", "Blind African-American", "Autumn In New York", "Ultra-Personal Feminine Product", "Dubbing Hercules", "Dame Edna Everage", "Pocket Pal", "Phone Secrets""
Hugh Hefner/Libby Titus
Live From New York, It's...Laraine Newman Sketches include--"Playboy Bunny", "Angora Bouquet", "Planet Of The Men Vs. Planet Of The Women", "The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest", "The X-Police", "Circular Bed Sex Research", "Listening To Great Music", "Sex In Cinema", "3 R's", "The Story Of H", "Funeral Magician", "The Farbers at the Playboy Club"
Charles Grodin/Paul Simon
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include--"Grodin Misses Dress Rehearsal", "Weekend Update Ad", "The Coneheads", "Long-Winded Set-Up", "Consumer Probe", "The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest", "Samurai Dry Cleaners", "Trick-or-Treating Killer Bees", "Judy Miller"", "The Professional School of Football", "Incompetents"
Ray Charles/Franklyn Ajaye
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include-- "Don Corleone", "A Message From the President of the United States", "Mamorex", "Howdy Doody's Widow", "Tomorrow", "The Young Caucasians", "Ray Charles Medley", "Franklyn Ajaye", "Evelyn Woodski Slow Reading Course", "Blackout Burglary", "Buck Henry Announcement".
Buck Henry/Leon Redbone
Live From New York, It's...Anyone Can Host Contest Finalists Sketches include--"The 'Anyone Can Host' Contest Finalists", "Little Chocolate Donuts", "Samurai Psychiatrist", "Stunt Babies", "Motel Sanitation Items", "Tomorrow", "Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow", "The Rickey Rat Club", "The History of Franken & Davis", "Jackie Onassis", "'Anyone Can Host' Contest Film ", "Life After Death"
Mary Kay Place/Willie Nelson
Live From New York, It's...Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Mary Kay Place, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, & Jane Curtin Sketches include--"Peppiest Show Ever", "Hey, You!", "More Insects To Worry About", "Total Womanhood", "Married In A Minute!", "Bad Musical", "Hanukkah Explanation".
Miskel Spillman/Elvis Costello
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include ""America's Oldest Living Doper," "Meat Wagon Toy Ambulance," "Dating the Self-Conscious & Extremely Obnoxious," "Gift of the Magi," "Starsky and Hutch," "The Al Franken and Tom Davis Show," "E. Buzz Miller's Art Classics," "College Students Home For Christmas," "Drunken Santa," "Madame Butterfly"
Steve Martin/The Nitty Gritty Dirty Band
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include--"State of the Union Address", "Swill", "Searching For Bigfoot", "Wild & Crazy Guys", "Body Floss", "The Coneheads On 'Family Feud'", "'Close Personal Friends' Film", "What If?"
Robert Klein/Bonnie Raitt
Live From New York, It's...Paul Shaffer Sketches include--"Mr. Mike & Tina Turner Review", "Olympia Cafe", "The X-Police", "Nick Winters", "Nerds Album", "Frogs Look At Film ", "Giant Lobster Attack Warning", "Rhonda Weiss", "Attack Of The Giant Lobsters", "Lobsters Wreck The Studio""
Chevy Chase/Billy Joel
Live From New York, It's...Chevy Chase Sketches include--"A Former President Speaks to the Nation", "The Moth Masher", "Post-Sex Discussion", "King", "Customs Trainee", "Bad Day Soundtrack Film", "Sermonette", "World War II GI Quiz", "Sketch With No Ending"
O.J. Simpson/Ashford and Simpson
Live From New York, It's...Gilda Radner Sketches include--"Gilda Answers Audience Questions", "Samurai Night Fever", "Great Moments In Sports", "The Mohawk Master", "The Raid On Nicosia", "Voodoo", "The Franken & Davis Show", "Mandingo II", "E. Buzz Miller's Animal Kingdom", "Hertz Ad", "Celebrity Battle of the Sexes"
Art Garfunkel/Stephen Bishop
Live From New York, It's...Gilda Radner Sketches include--"Modern Crimes", "Kromega III", "Tomorrow", "Miracle In Chicago", "Stage Door Guard", "Looks At Books", "Don't Look Back In Anger", "Looking For Mr. Goodbar Playset""
Jill Clayburgh/Eddie Money
Live From New York, It's...Garrett Morris Sketches include--"Garrett Morris sings 'Danny Boy'", "Royal Deluxe II", "Olympia Cafe", "Sybil III", "Bad One-Man Theater", "Nutrifix", "Myopia", "Shower Mike", "The Coneheads On Earth", "Celebrity Crack-Up"
Christopher Lee/Meat Loaf
Live From New York, It's...John Belushi Sketches include--"Kevin Scott", "Movie Trailers", "My Fair Lady", "Mr. Death", "Anwar Sadat", "Cold As Ice", "Dell Stator's Rabbit Hut", "Vampire Hunters", "Richard Belzer", "Mr. Bill Goes To The Circus""
Michael Palin/Eugene Record
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include--"Oscar Awards", "Little Chocolate Donuts", "Tax Deductions", "H&L Brock", "Great Escape", "Nerds Piano Lesson", "The Case of the Scarlet Membrane", "Good Time At Party", "Mr. Bill Pays His Taxes", "Danger Probe"
Michael Sarrazin/Keith Jarrett
Live From New York, It's...Laraine Newman Sketches include--"A Message From the President of the United States", "Angora Bouquet", "Judy Miller", "E. Buzz Miller's Exercise World", "La Dolce Gilda", "Abraham Lincoln in the Audience", "Archaeologicus"
Steve Martin/The Blues Brothers
*Nominated for an Emmy Award* Live From New York, It's...Paul Shaffer Sketches include--"Don Kirshner's Rock Concert", "Hey You!", "Wild & Crazy Guys", "Theodoric of York", "Dancing In The Dark", "Extramarital Foreplay", "Swan Lake", "Troff 'n' Brew", "Nerds Science Fair", "Next Week In Review".
Richard Dreyfuss/Jimmy Buffett
Live From New York, It's...Bill Murray Sketches include--"Paraquat", "Cone Encounters of the Third Kind", "Sex Test", "Nick 'Springs'", "Annoying Lovers' Traits", "The David Susskind Show", "Father Guido Sarducci",
Buck Henry/Sun Ra
Live From New York, It's...Dan Aykroyd Sketches include-- "Nixon Kicks His Book Around", "Nerds Go To The Prom", "Samurai TV Repairman", "Sodom Chamber of Commerce", "Olympia Cafe", "Mr. Mike's Least Loved Music", "More Insects To Worry About", "Stunt Puppy", "Bad Conceptual Art", "The Franken & Davis Show".