Lorne Michaels Biography Home | add famous canadian | edit person

Lorne Michaels is a Writer-Producer and occasional actor. He is best known for being the creative force behind Saturday Night Live.

A graduate with a degree in English from the University of Toronto, where he wrote and directed the annual revue, UC Follies, he left Canada after graduation to sell Jeeps in England.

Who says Producers don't have a sense of humour? A large and early influence on Lorne was his first father-in-law, Frank Shuster of the comedy duo, Wayne and Shuster, Lorne started out in front of the cameras and microphones.

Returning to Canada in late 1966, he teamed with Hart Pomerantz and they worked as a comedy team appearing on CBC radio, and doing a little TV including a CBC political satire show, Five Nights a Week at This Time. They landed their own show, The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour. Next they headed to New York where they performed at the Improvisation on West 44th, and wrote for stand-up comics including a very encouraging Woody Allen, Dick Cavett, and Joan Rivers.

By the beginning of 1967, they were under contract to the William Morris Agency. A year later, they accepted an offer to to write for the summer replacement, The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, and so headed to Hollywood.