Season 5 is the fifth season of Saturday Night Live premiered on October 13, 1979 on NBC, hosted by the comic actor Steve Martin, with musical guests Blondie and ended on May 24, 1980, hosted by actor Buck Henry with musical guests Andrew Gold and Andrae Crouch and the Voices of Unity. The fifth season also reached the show's 100th episode on March 15, 1980, had no host with musical guests Paul Simon, James Taylor and David Sanborn.
Cast Changes[]
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi left the show at the end of the fourth season, leaving a void in the cast that most fans thought would be the beginning of the end of the late-night sketch comedy show.
To keep the show going, Lorne Michaels upgraded many of the show's writers to featured cast member status: Peter Aykroyd (Dan's brother), Jim Downey, Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill's brother), Don Novello (unless appearing exclusively as Father Guido Sarducci), Tom Schiller and Alan Zweibel. Band leader Paul Shaffer also joined the cast, becoming the first person from the SNL band to become a cast member. Harry Shearer joined the show as a featured cast member and was promoted to repertory status during the season. At the end of the season, Jane Curtin left Saturday Night Live to pursue a film career, and went on to star in "Kate & Allie" and "3rd Rock from the Sun".
This season was also the first to have two members of the same family as cast members (Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray).
This would be the final season for everyone in the cast. Tom Davis and Downey would return to the show in future seasons as writers. Al Franken, Doyle-Murray, Novello, and Shearer would rejoin the cast in future seasons (Franken would also return as a writer).
No one carried over to Season 6, including producer Lorne Michaels, who would eventually return for Season 11. For Season 6, Jean Doumanian took over and constructed an entirely new cast, only to be replaced by Dick Ebersol for Season 7.
Cast[]
Not Returning:
Repertory Players[]
 Jane Curtin |
 Garrett Morris |
 Bill Murray |
 Laraine Newman |
 Gilda Radner |
 Harry Shearer |
Featured Players[]
 Peter Aykroyd |
 Tom Davis |
 Jim Downey |
 Brian Doyle-Murray |
 Al Franken |
 Don Novello |
 Tom Schiller |
 Paul Shaffer |
 Alan Zweibel |
Changes[]
- Harry Shearer: First October 20 (hired as featured player) (upgraded to repertory status: February 9)
- Paul Shaffer: First November 17
- Tom Davis: First November 17
- Don Novello: First December 8 (Last May 17)
- Al Franken: First December 15
- Peter Aykroyd: First January 26
- Jim Downey: First January 26
- Brian Doyle-Murray: First January 26
- Tom Schiller: Only April 19
- Alan Zweibel: Only April 19
Episodes[]
| Episode No |
Season Episode |
Date | Host | Musical guest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | 1 | October 13, 1979 | Steve Martin | Blondie |
| 88 | 2 | October 20, 1979 | Eric Idle | Bob Dylan |
| 89 | 3 | November 3, 1979 | Bill Russel | Chicago |
| 90 | 4 | November 10, 1979 | Buck Henry | Tom Petty |
| 91 | 5 | November 17, 1979 | Bea Arthur | The Roaches |
| 92 | 6 | December 8, 1979 | Howard Hesseman | Randy Newman |
| 93 | 7 | December 15, 1979 | Martin Sheen | David Bowie |
| 94 | 8 | December 22, 1979 | Ted Knight | Desmond Child, Rogue |
| 95 | 9 | January 26, 1980 | Teri Garr | The B-52's |
| 96 | 10 | February 9, 1980 | Chevy Chase | Marianne Faithful |
| 97 | 11 | February 16, 1980 | Elliot Gould | Garry Numan |
| 98 | 12 | February 23, 1980 | Kirk Douglas | Sam & Dave |
| 99 | 13 | March 8, 1980 | Rodney Dangerfield | The J. Geils Band |
| 100 | 14 | March 15, 1980 | James Taylor Paul Simon |
David Sanborn |
| 101 | 15 | April 5, 1980 | Richard Benjamin Paul Prentiss |
The Greatful Dead |
| 102 | 16 | April 12, 1980 | Burt Reynolds | Anne Murray |
| 103 | 17 | April 19, 1980 | Strother Martin | The Specials |
| 104 | 18 | May 10, 1980 | Bob Newhart | Amazing Rhythm Aces with Bill Murray Bruce Cockburn |
| 105 | 19 | May 17, 1980 | Steve Martin | 3-D Paul McCartney Linda McCartney |
| 106 | 20 | May 24, 1980 | Buck Henry | Andrew Gold Andrea Crouch Voices of Unity |
Births[]
- Mikey Day (March 20, 1980)
- Casey Wilson (October 24, 1980)
Opening montage[]
S5
This intro was first used on February 9, 1980, and was used for the rest of the season. This episode is from the season finale that aired on May 24, 1980.
Gallery[]
Featured player photos for the first-half of season 5 (overall span: October 20, 1979 - January 26, 1980)
| Preceded by: Season 4 |
Season 5 (1979— 1980) |
Followed by: Season 6 |
[]
| Seasons | |
|---|---|