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Saturday Night Live Season 6
Series	Saturday Night Live
Country of origin	United States
Network	NBC
Original run	November 15, 1980 – April 11, 1981
No. of episodes	13
Previous season	5
Next season	7

Saturday Night Live aired its sixth season during the 1980–1981 television season on NBC. This season became notorious as it was considered by many to be one of the worst seasons ever. Lorne Michaels, executive producer, had left after the previous season, along with the entire cast, and all but one writer (Brian Doyle-Murray). The sixth season began with a completely new cast, new writers, and a new producer, Jean Doumanian.

Through all of this, the quick standouts were Eddie Murphy (who appeared in a non-speaking role in the second episode; a featured player in episode 4; and finally a repertory player in episode 8) and Joe Piscopo, who were the only cast members to return for the seventh season. Despite the criticisms of the comedy (or lack thereof), many famous musicians were booked to be musical guests, such as Funky Four Plus One (the first rap group to appear on SNL, an honor erroneously credited to Run-DMC), James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Cheap Trick, Linda Ronstadt, and Prince.

On the February 21, 1981 episode, during the goodnights, host Charlene Tilton asks Charles Rocket (in a wheelchair after being shot by a sniper during the final sketch, as part of a running gag parodying the "Who Shot J.R.?" plot from Dallas) what's it like to be shot. In response, Charles Rocket said, "Oh, man, it's the first time I've ever been shot in my life. I'd like to know who the fuck did it." The on-air curse was met with gasps of shock and laughter.

After the Bill Murray/Delbert McClinton episode, Jean Doumanian, all of her cast members and featured players (save Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy) were fired, though Denny Dillon and Gail Matthius would appear in Dick Ebersol's first produced episode at the end of the season. After Ebersol's first episode, the 1981 WGA strike began, and Ebersol officially put the show on hiatus for retooling.

Season six started on November 15, 1980 and ended on April 11, 1981, with only 13 episodes (caused by the show being put on stasis for retooling and a writers' strike).

1 Cast
- 1.1 Jean Doumanian's Cast:
  - 1.1.1 Repertory
  - 1.1.2 Feature Players
- 1.2 Dick Ebersol's April 11th Cast
  - 1.2.1 Repertory
  - 1.2.2 Feature Players
2 Episodes

Cast

Jean Doumanian's Cast:

Repertory

Denny Dillon
Gilbert Gottfried
Gail Matthius
Eddie Murphy (made debut as uncredited featured player on November 22, 1980; promoted to regular in January, 1981)
Joe Piscopo
Ann Risley
Charles Rocket†

Feature Players

Yvonne Hudson (First Episode: December 20, 1980)
Patrick Weathers
Matthew Laurance (First Episode: December 20, 1980)

Dick Ebersol's April 11th Cast

Repertory

Feature Players

Laurie Metcalf
Emily Prager (Prager was credited for appearing in the live show version of the April 11, 1981 episode, but only appeared in the dress rehearsal version of the episode, making her the only credited cast member to never appear on SNL).

Episodes

Episode Number	Date	Host(s)	Musical Guest(s)	Remarks
107	November 15, 1980	Elliott Gould	Kid Creole & the Coconuts	Gilbert Gottfried, Gail Matthius, Joe Piscopo, Ann Risley, Charles Rocket, and Patrick Weathers' first episode as cast members. This is Denny Dillon's first episode as a cast member. She had appeared as a special guest in the third episode of the first season.
108	November 22, 1980	Malcolm McDowell	Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band	Charles Rocket interviews John Lennon (played by Malcolm McDowell) during Weekend Update. The sketch aired two weeks before Lennon was murdered. Eddie Murphy makes his first appearance in this episode in an uncredited cameo.
109	December 6, 1980	Ellen Burstyn	Aretha Franklin Keith Sykes	A snippet of the "Fish Heads" short film from this episode was shown on the prime-time special "SNL: Just Shorts."
110	December 13, 1980	Jamie Lee Curtis	James Brown Ellen Shipley	Eddie Murphy's first episode as a cast member
111	December 20, 1980	David Carradine†	Linda Ronstadt The Cast of The Pirates of Penzance	This is Matthew Laurance and Yvonne Hudson's first episode as cast members. Yvonne had appeared as an uncredited background player since Season 4.
112	January 10, 1981	Ray Sharkey†	Jack Bruce & Friends
113	January 17, 1981	Karen Black	Cheap Trick Stanley Clarke Trio
114	January 24, 1981	Robert Hays	Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns 14 Karat Soul	With this episode Eddie Murphy is upgraded from feature player to repertory player
115	February 7, 1981	Sally Kellerman	Jimmy Cliff	In the original airing of this episode, there was a sketch called "Lean Acres" about a sadistic fat camp counselor (Sally Kellerman) who punishes two women (Denny Dillon and Ann Risley) for cheating on their diets that got interrupted by an audience member (portrayed by an unnamed writer) who hated the sketch and vocally spoke out against the sketch's cruel take on plus-sized women. The protester was then seen to be forcibly removed from the studio after the commercial break. When NBC reran this episode during the summer of 1981, the post-break continuation was cut.
116	February 14, 1981	Deborah Harry	Funky Four Plus One	With this appearance, Funky Four Plus One were the first hip-hop artist to perform on a nationally-televised program. Harry was a fan of the group and brought them on the show. Patrick Weathers' final episode as a cast member.
117	February 21, 1981	Charlene Tilton	Todd Rundgren Prince	The word "fuck" was said twice in this episode: once by Prince during his song "Partyup" (though nothing was made of it since no one knew if Prince actually said it) and (more infamously) during the goodnights when Charles Rocket (in a wheelchair after getting shot during the last sketch) grumbles, "I'd like to know who the fuck did it" in response to Tilton's query on how Rocket felt after being gunned down.
118	March 7, 1981	Bill Murray	Delbert McClinton	This is the last episode for producer Jean Doumanian. Ann Risley, Gilbert Gottfried, Charles Rocket, and Matthew Laurance's final episode as cast members. Paul Shaffer's final appearance on the show. This episode was last seen in December of 2003. It was shown during Comedy Central's "50 Greatest SNL Episodes" marathon.
119	April 11, 1981		Jr. Walker & the All-Stars	Dick Ebersol begins producing the show. Robin Duke, Tim Kazurinsky and Tony Rosatos' first episode as cast members. This episode has no fixed host (though Chevy Chase, Christopher Reeve, and Robin Williams made appearances throughout this episode, and Chevy Chase returned to Weekend Update). It is the second regular episode of the show to be hostless. Denny Dillon, Gail Matthius, and Yvonne Hudson's final episode as cast members. Hudson would continue to appear occasionally as an uncredited extra until the tenth season. Only episode for Laurie Metcalf and Emily Prager as cast members. Metcalf would later make a guest appearance in the October 15, 1988 episode. Prager only appeared in the dress rehearsal version of this episode making her the only cast member to never appear on screen. In the green room at dress rehearsal, John Belushi watched the show with Brandon Tartikoff. Belushi said, 'I should have never left the show. I'm gonna do the show next week, I don't care what my agent says.' Al Franken appears on Weekend Update to announce he and partner Tom Davis are hosting next week but it never happened due to the strike. Jr. Walker & the All-Stars performed "(I'm a) Road Runner," "Shotgun," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," and "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)."

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Related lists	Episodes (Five-Timers) • Compilation albums and videos • Commercials • Cast members • Writers • Hosts • Cast member hosts • Simultaneous host/performer guests

Recurring characters and sketches	Alphabetical • Chronological • By cast member • List of recurring musical sketches • Weekend Update characters • Short-lived recurring characters

Sketch lists	TV shows (1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s) • Animal • SNL Digital Shorts • TV Funhouse episodes

Sketches	Barry Gibb Talk Show • Bill Swerski's Superfans • The Blues Brothers • Celebrity Jeopardy! • The Chris Farley Show • Coffee Talk • The Coneheads • The Continental • Decabet • Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey • Delicious Dish • Dick in a Box • Focus on Beauty II • Goth Talk • Happy Fun Ball • Hollywood Minute • Jeffrey's • Jizz in My Pants • Landshark • Larry the Lobster • Lazy Sunday • MacGruber • More cowbell • The Needlers • Olympia Cafe • Rialto Grande • Sarah Palin • The Schoeners • Sprockets • Surprise • Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber • TV Funhouse • Vinny Vedecci • Wake Up and Smile • Wayne's World • Weekend Update • Z105 with Joey Mack

Films based on sketches	The Blues Brothers (1980) • Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (1980) • Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures (1986) • Bob Roberts (1992) • Mr. Saturday Night (1992) • Wayne's World (1992) • Wayne's World 2 (1993) • Coneheads (1993) • It's Pat! (1994) • Stuart Saves His Family (1995) • A Night at the Roxbury (1998) • Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) • Office Space (1999) • Superstar (1999) • The Ladies Man (2000) • Harold (2008) • MacGruber (2010) • Key Party (TBD)

Characters	Adult Students • Bill Brasky • The Bloder Brothers • The Boston Teens • Canteen Boy • The Church Lady • Debbie Downer • Ed Grimley • Emily Litella • Father Guido Sarducci • Hanukkah Harry • Hans and Franz • Judy Grimes • Lisa Loopner • Lovers • Mango • Mary Katherine Gallagher • Master Thespian • Matt Foley • Merv the Perv • Nick The Lounge Singer • Pat • Roseanne Roseannadanna • Samurai Futaba • The Spartan Cheerleaders • Stuart Smalley • Toonces the Driving Cat • Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer • Velvet Jones • The Whiners

Related topics	Lorne Michaels • "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" • Dick Ebersol • Don Pardo • Frank Oz • "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead" • Incredibad • Jean Doumanian • Jim Henson • Mel Brandt • Bill Hanrahan • Saturday Night Live Band • Strategery • Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

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Saturday Night Live

Contents

Cast

Jean Doumanian's Cast:

Repertory

Feature Players

Dick Ebersol's April 11th Cast

Repertory

Feature Players

Episodes