'Saturday Night Live’s' Laraine Newman Admits John Belushi And The OG Cast Used To Tease Her For Coming Up In The Groundlings

As a longtime (but relatively young) "Saturday Night Live" fan, I’ve always wondered what the early days of the show must have been like. It seems I’m not alone, given a film about the first season, called "Saturday Night," is on our 2024 movie schedule and set for release in October. However, we don’t need to wait until then to get a taste of what it was like to be in iconic Studio 8H during that historic debut season. That's because original cast member Laraine Newman gave a glimpse into cast dynamics and some of the teasing comments she endured from John Belushi.

Newman, it seems, has always been in touch with the next big thing. She was one of the youngest original members of "SNL," and she was a cast regular for the first 5 seasons from 1975-1980, best known for playing Connie in the "Coneheads" sketches. But before that, she was one of the first members of the Groundlings, the now widely famous improv school based in L.A. whose alumni list is filled with countless comedians and actors who went on to be famous in their field.