Jane Curtin During Her Saturday Night Live Years
She’s the “Queen of Deadpan,” and the first woman to helm the Weekend Update desk. Saturday Night Live original cast member Jane Curtin was a sharp performer on the show, presaging what would be an Emmy-winning TV career on shows like Kate & Allie and Third Rock from the Sun.
Curtin told the New York Times in September 2024 that she could feel the overwhelming response to the trailblazing show just walking around New York City. “You’d pass by people and they would shake,” Curtin said. “They had a physical reaction to you, because they could feel the energy behind what was happening at 30 Rock. And it was very, very exciting.”
Take a look back at Jane Curtin on Saturday Night Live.
When was Jane Curtin on SNL?
Curtin was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1975 to 1980.
Curtin joined the cast for the very first episode on October 11, 1975, and left in 1980 after the fifth season, along with most of the original performers.
Prior to joining SNL, Curtin had been in commercials and was a member of a Boston-area improv troupe called The Proposition. After leaving the improv group and touring with a Neil Simon play, “I came back to the city and was auditioning and somebody said, ‘There’s a show that’s going to happen — we’re not really sure what it is, but we think you’d be right for it.'” After auditioning alongside two of her improv friends, Curtin got the job.
Jane Curtin was the first woman to anchor “Weekend Update”
During Season 2 in 1976, Curtin took over “Weekend Update” duties following Chevy Chase’s departure from the show. She co-anchored first alongside Dan Aykroyd, and then with Bill Murray.
While Curtin has never hosted Saturday Night Live, she returned for the SNL 40 special for a special “Weekend Update” alongside Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Emma Stone as Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Roseannadanna character.
Who did Jane Curtin play on SNL?
Unlike most of the rest of the cast, who specialized in larger-than-life characters and impressions (or spoofs) of real-life celebrities, Curtin’s most frequent performances were a version of herself.
In a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Curtin opened up about playing the reasonable “straight woman” that performers like Gilda Radner and John Belushi would bounce off of.
“I could do the comedy, but they needed a straight person. And I knew I could do that, too,” she said. “I was comfortable doing that because I had done so many commercials. So I could look into a camera and not feel threatened. I learned my strengths in those years.”
Curtin said she wasn’t even after the character roles. “I didn’t have any ambition other than to have at least one thing on every show. That’s all I wanted. Don’t make me fight for material, just let me earn my keep,” she added. “That’s why ‘Update’ was so important. Once I got it, I didn’t have to fight for material. And it kept me happy for the rest of the time because I just didn’t want to have to compete.”
Curtin was also a performer in the recurring “Coneheads” sketch with Dan Aykroyd, which got spun off into a feature film.