Saturday Night Live (season 9)

Saturday Night Live Season 9
The Saturday Night Live title card as seen in the opening credits of the 9th season.
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	19
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	October 8, 1983 – May 12, 1984
Season chronology
← Previous 8 Next → 10
List of Saturday Night Live episodes

Saturday Night Live aired its ninth season during the 1983–1984 television season on NBC. The ninth season started on October 8, 1983 and ended on May 12, 1984.

Before the start of the season the entire cast returned for another season. The only change was the hiring (and firing, then rehiring) of Jim Belushi (brother of late SNL cast member John Belushi).

The notable moment of season was when Eddie Murphy left the show mid-season. After 48 Hours, Murphy's star began to eclipse that of Joe Piscopo's. From the start of season 7, Dick Ebersol made it clear that his strategy was to showcase Murphy and Piscopo as much as possible while all the other cast members would play mainly supporting roles and were treated with very little patience by the producers.

When Murphy's 48 Hours co-star Nick Nolte dropped out of hosting at the last minute, Ebersol offered Murphy the chance to host — a move that Piscopo would perceive as a major slight. Piscopo would later claim Ebersol used Murphy's success to divide the two erstwhile friends and play them against one another. Others countered that Piscopo was simply being a prima donna; said one writer, "Eddie Murphy's fame went to Joe Piscopo's head."

When the season ended Piscopo left with no intention of returning. Robin Duke, Brad Hall and Tim Kazurinsky were all fired from the show.

Ebersol had taken Hall off Weekend Update (known as Saturday Night News during this time) mid-season. The segment then had a revolving door of other anchors mostly involving the episode's host and, in one case, Joe Piscopo (although Piscopo only introduced a commentary and didn't tell any actual jokes).

Future cast member Billy Crystal hosted twice this season: once with musical guest Al Jarreau and again on the season finale with Ed Koch, Edwin Newman, Betty Thomas, and former castmember Don Novello.

Cast

Repertory cast members

• Jim Belushi (first episode: October 22, 1983)
• Robin Duke
• Mary Gross
• Brad Hall
• Tim Kazurinsky
• Gary Kroeger
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Eddie Murphy (final episode: February 25, 1984)
• Joe Piscopo

bold denotes Weekend Update anchor

Writers

Main article: List of Saturday Night Live writers#Season 9

Episodes

See also: List of Saturday Night Live episodes

Saturday Night Live season 9 episodes

No.	#	Host(s)	Musical guest(s)	Original airdate
160	1	Brandon Tartikoff	John Cougar Mellencamp	October 8, 1983
John Cougar performs "Pink Houses" and "Crumblin' Down." Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert make cameo appearances in which they critique the episode's sketches.
161	2	Danny DeVito & Rhea Perlman	Eddy Grant	October 15, 1983
Eddy Grant performs "I Don't Wanna Dance", "Electric Avenue", and "Living on the Front Line." Dick Cavett makes a cameo appearance in the Autograph Hounds sketch.
162	3	John Candy	Men at Work	October 22, 1983
Men at Work performs "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" and "It's a Mistake." Jim Belushi's first episode as a cast member.
163	4	Betty Thomas	Stray Cats	November 5, 1983
Stray Cats performs "(She's) Sexy + 17" and "I Won't Stand in Your Way", the latter of which featured a cameo appearance by 14 Karat Soul.
164	5	Teri Garr	Mick Fleetwood's Zoo Lindsey Buckingham	November 12, 1983
Mick Fleetwood's Zoo performs "Tonight" and "Way Down." Magician Joel Hodgson makes a guest appearance.
165	6	Jerry Lewis	Loverboy	November 19, 1983
Loverboy performs "Working for the Weekend." Florence Henderson makes a cameo appearance during the "What Famous Person Do You Look Like?" short film.
166	7	The Smothers Brothers	Big Country	December 3, 1983
Big Country performs "In a Big Country" and "Fields of Fire." Larry Holmes makes a cameo appearance during Saturday Night News. Tom Seaver and Ron Luciano make cameo appearances in the cold open and Luciano also appears in the autograph sketch.
167	8	Flip Wilson	Stevie Nicks	December 10, 1983
Stevie Nicks performs "Stand Back" and "Nightbird." Joel Hodgson makes a guest appearance. Brad Hall's last episode anchoring Saturday Night News.
168	9	Don Novello	Huey Lewis and the News	January 14, 1984
Huey Lewis and the News performs "Heart and Soul" and "I Want a New Drug." Stand-up comedian Steven Wright makes a guest appearance.
169	10	Michael Palin	The Motels	January 21, 1984
The Motels performs "Suddenly Last Summer" and "Remember the Nights." Michael Palin's mother Mary appears during his monologue.
170	11	Don Rickles	Billy Idol	January 28, 1984
An off-screen Dave Wilson talks to Don Rickles during the monologue. Billy Idol performs "White Wedding" and "Rebel Yell." Brandon Tartikoff and John Madden make cameo appearances during the monologue as members of the audience. Dr. Joyce Brothers appears in the "Fascinating People and Their Friends" sketch. Don Rickles repeatedly ad-libs extra lines and gestures throughout his sketches (mostly with Joe Piscopo), causing other cast members to break character, and a few sketches even include improvised face-slapping competitions.
171	12	Robin Williams	Adam Ant	February 11, 1984
Adam Ant performs "Strip" and "Goody Two Shoes." Stand-up comedienne Paula Poundstone makes a guest appearance.
172	13	Jamie Lee Curtis	The Fixx	February 18, 1984
The Fixx performs "One Thing Leads to Another" and "Red Skies." Joel Hodgson makes a guest appearance.
173	14	Edwin Newman	Kool & the Gang	February 25, 1984
Kool & the Gang performs "Joanna" and "Celebration." Magician Harry Anderson makes a guest appearance. Robin Williams makes a cameo appearance in the "Buddweiser Light" commercial parody.
174	15	Billy Crystal	Al Jarreau	March 17, 1984
Al Jarreau performs "Mornin'" and "Trouble in Paradise." New York City mayor Ed Koch makes a cameo appearance during the cold open. Billy Crystal debuts his Fernando character.
175	16	Michael Douglas	Deniece Williams	April 7, 1984
Deniece Williams performs "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Wrapped Up."
176	17	George McGovern	Madness	April 14, 1984
Madness performs "Our House" and "Keep Moving." Frankie Pace makes a cameo appearance to perform his stand-up set. Clara Peller (from the "Where's the Beef?" commercial) makes a cameo appearance in the "White House Foods" commercial parody to say her catchphrase. Eddie Murphy's final episode as a cast member.
177	18	Barry Bostwick	Spinal Tap	May 5, 1984
Spinal Tap performs "Christmas with the Devil" and "Big Bottom" and appears in a filmed interview with Bostwick. Billy Crystal makes a cameo appearance during Saturday Night News as Fernando Lamas. A. Whitney Brown makes a cameo appearance to perform his stand-up set. Soupy Sales makes a cameo appearance during the Turkey Lady sketch.
178	19	Billy Crystal Ed Koch Edwin Newman Don Novello Betty Thomas	The Cars	May 12, 1984
The Cars performs "Magic" and "Drive." Joel Hodgson makes a guest appearance. Robin Duke, Brad Hall, Tim Kazurinsky and Joe Piscopo's final episode as cast members.