Live from New York, Saturday Night Live redefined the live sketch comedy variety show format since it’s debut on October 11, 1975.

At the time, variety on television - primetime, in particular - was nothing new. Legendary The Ed Sullivan Show was a really big “shew” from 1948 to 1971. Milton Berle (aka “Uncle Miltie") was a vaudeville comic instrumental in defining the category. Your Show of Shows in the 1950s, headlined by Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, boasted a staff of writers that included a young Mel Brooks and Neil Simon. Garry Moore introduced the masses to a young comedienne named Carol Burnett. Jackie Gleason was the “Great One.”

And the “beat went on” in those earlier decades thanks to Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Hee Haw and names in the caliber of Red Skelton, Dean Martin and Sonny and Cher. SNL, however, was completely unique.

The secret sauce was the “Not Ready for Primetime” players - Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris. They were young. They were rebellious. They were cutting-edge. It was cool to watch them. And their brand of sketch comedy satire is now one of the most familiar and popular formats on television.

At the time of SNL’s arrival, NBC already cornered the market in weeknight thanks to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Prior to the debut of Saturday Night Live, NBC filled the Saturday 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. EST block with The Best of Carson – meaning it was encore telecasts with a large concentration of older viewers. Then came Saturday Night Live, which was as an edgy sketch comedy series complete with musical performances designed to appeal to viewers ages 18 to 34. It defined the term “watercooler.”

Five decades later, new viewers in the demographic group are discovering SNL. Legions of fans, now out of the demo, continue to tune in. Imitators like Fridays on ABC and Mad TV on Fox have come and gone. And, as an early career boost for so much of the SNL talent, their transition to the big screen, primetime television, and now, the streaming services makes up for a great deal of the mass entertainment today. Imagine what the landscape would be without them.

Fun factoid: Saturday Night Live was originally called NBC’s Saturday Nightbecause the Saturday Night Live title was in used in primetime by ABC’s variety hour Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. After the cancellation of Cosell’s show in 1976, NBC purchased the rights to the name and officially changed the show’s title to Saturday Night Live at the start of season three in fall 1977.

Those memorable early characters and skits on SNL were an endless well. Think "The Coneheads" and Dan Aykroyd and frequent host Steve Martin as those “Wild and Crazy Guys.” There was Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, Bobbi Farber and Baba Wawa, and Garrett Morris as Chico Escuela. The sketches included the “Saturday Night Live Samurai," “The Killer Bees” and “Cheeseberger, Cheeseberger.” There was Radner and Bill Murray as nerds Lisa Loopner and Todd DiLaMuc, and Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child and Tom Snyder. Who could forget Mr. Bill the clay figurine? Oh…no!!!’"

And, of course, there was “Weekend Update,” first with Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin (with Dan Aykroyd stepping in after Chase’s early departure in pursuit of a career in films).

Then, as the seasons progressed, it was an escalating bandwagon of sketches and characters. There was Eddie Murphy in “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” and Gumby, Mike Myers as the Barbra Streisand-obsessed Linda Richman in “Coffee Talk,” Myers and Dana Carvey in “Wayne’s World," Carvey as “Church Lady,” Rachel Dratch as Debbie Downer, Chris Farley as Matt Foley, Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah song, Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer in “Schweddy Balls,” Will Ferrell in “More Cowbell,” “Celebrity Jeopardy!,” Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton, and those other political parodies.

"I’m verklempt, talk amongst yourselves!"

Fifty years later and NBC is celebrating Saturday Night Live with a three-hour special this Sunday. From those original “Not Ready For Primetime Players” to Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Dana Carey, Chris Farley and Phil Hartman to Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson and so many more.

The talent is endless. The skits are timely. The musical interludes fit right in. And the audience is a melting pot of all age groups - from the original fans in 1975 to the youth of today.

Live from New York…it’s Saturday Night Live! Happy 50 years!