In her Emmy TV Legends interview, Charlotte Rae (1926-2018) [later Mrs. Edna Garrett on 'Facts of Life']stated that some years before she'd been in a TV commercial with Miss Lasser and Miss Lasser had made been so overwhelming re her own ideas about the commercial that not only did the commercial director get distraught and stressed but so did Miss Rae herself! How much? Well, when 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' was being put together, they offered Miss Rae the role of Mary Hartman's mother. However,in spite of being the newly divorced mother of two sons including an autistic son that Miss Rae was the sole support of, Miss Rae said she absolutely REFUSED to work with Miss Lasser again because even factoring how much she could have used the steady paycheck, Miss Rae didn't believe the resulting stress would have been worth said monies! Oh, and Miss Rae claimed that working with Miss Lasser proved stressful for Dody Goodman(1914-2008) -the performer ultimately cast as Mary's spacey mother Martha Shumway. Truly, I hope Miss Lasser has since found her peace since then! On a lighter note check out Carol Burnett's spoof called 'Mary, Mary Quite Contrary! Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary!' IMO, it was MUCH funnier than the original (and Miss Burnett didn't overlook the teeth rubbing).
I say this without exaggeration: I almost turned comments for this video off earlier this morning, after receiving a particularly rude (and crude) comment from an LL fan calling me a {redacted part of the female anatomy}. I'm really glad I didn't, because I would have missed what you had to say here. For whatever reason, LL fans seem to still be frothing at the mouth to defend her from any perceived slight, even fifty years later. It's become absurd to the point of humor to me, honestly, at least when it's not depressing. ;) It's always nice to hear from someone who isn't here to call me mean names and breathlessly defend the indefensible, so thanks again for chiming in!
@@latenightsaturday7142 Your welcome. Miss Rae had been a thorough professional performer for decades before/after her dealings with Miss Lasser -and, in her long career had worked with many different personalities. Yet, in her own words, she said she'd have rather scrubbed floors than work with Miss Lasser again (even factoring in the need to work that went beyond solely her own comfort). Hence, I don't think the SNL disaster was totally other folks' fault. As I said, I hope Miss Lasser has since found her peace (and is not without talent) but one can't pretend that she had been the easiest person to work with at the height of her fame. I'm sorry that you had had to experience nastiness.
It would be nice too see the full episode myself or at least some of the sketches without this narration so I could judge it on my own, but I can't find it anywhere online, does anyone know of a link to share?
I love how folks watch a clearly labeled commentary piece and then complain about how it is . . . full of commentary. It is so easy to keep on scrolling. It is also easy to share an opinion with a YT creator without being a jerk, but I guess that comes with the territory. Anywho, I appreciated the commentary. It is 12:37am as I fall down this rabbit hole, so thanks for your contribution. 😂 ✌️
I can't tell you how much I appreciate this comment. Whenever I open my e-mail and see new activity on this particular video, my stomach literally sinks as I prepare myself for the vitriol of Ms. Lasser's indefatigable defenders. This one video has been, for whatever reason, the single most contentious of the whole project; I truly appreciate the compliment and your support.
I'd hardly call my commentary "insulting", and I'm not going to apologize for my opinion. It's quite obvious that *some* of the events of the performance were staged (otherwise there'd have been no cameras setup to record LL's various "meltdowns"), but the fact remains she was a wreck during the making of the episode and the rehearsals leading up to it. THIS IS A KNOWN FACT COVERED IN AT LEAST 2 BOOKS ABOUT SNL. Go read the accounts of those who were there if you don't believe what I've said. We'll never know the extent to which the whole debacle was manufactured. End of story, and I'm tired of arguing about it. If you'd like to watch the episodes without commentary, try Peacock.
Well, the title *does* say that this is a history & commentary of the episode. Personally, I should've paid closer attention when clicking on it, as I too just wanted to see and hear the episode, not listen to someone's commentary about it. 😴 But that's on me; moving on to search for the actual episode.
It was her bizarre personality that made her so memorizing as an actress. To ask her to turn that off for a live show is very short-sighted or lacking in vision. If Lorne Michaels were as big and important as he was proclaimed to be, he should have known she would be very unpredictable, and either not invited her, or canceled her once he understood what she was really like. On the other hand he could have taken a big chance (that's what entertaining is supposed to do rather than stick with the boring and tired methods that turn viewers off) and let her run free and the show revolved around her, with all planning be damned. She might have produced a legendary show, but knowing jackass Lorne Michaels, he would not have it, because SNL was the comedy show, that wasn't and he was LARGE AND IN CHARGE. I stopped watching SNL in the late 80's and never looked back. It's all leftist garbage anyway.
You had to be living at that time to appreciate SNL's early days. They took risks and that's what made it interesting at the time, the unpredictability. The comedy was new, experimental, late night, stoned out and just different. A lot of the sketches did fall flat in this one (like a lot of SNL then and now) but Louise Lasser was still mesmerizing in those days. Watch some MHMH and you'll see this performance is on brand. The seeming train wreck was all acting on Lasser's part, unfortunately the poorly written skits and the improv sank this episode.
I appreciate your thoughtful comment. We can disagree on the "realness" of the whole thing, but I respect your opinion and the way you stated it. (For the record, I have only seen clips of MHMH; from everything I've heard LL was pretty darned mesmerizing in it!)
I've gotten that critique a lot. I'm working to reformat future videos to avoid copyright challenges, and I'll probably omit or curtail the music going forward... Thanks for the feedback!
Lasser has stated in an interview that her teeth rubbing habit (which she also often did when playing Mary Hartman) stems from obsessively keeping her lipstick from smudging her teeth.
That's interesting! (I've been around *plenty* of people on speed who do the same thing, though. It doesn't prove anything, certainly, but it's a well-known side effect of uppers...) ;)
Lasser's opening monologue was in my view clearly what is called a "work" in wrestling, an act. I am greatly enjoying these retrospective videos. I watched a majority of the first 5 season episodes live (I have almost never watched any of the later SNLs since then) and usually multiple times during the late 1970s in re-runs. Lasser's opening monologue was memorable to me in a good way as it mimicked her schtick in Mary Hartman Mary Hartman which I also regularly watched. If it made someone dozens of years later feel uncomfortable, then it did its job. The monologue isn't funny but it is in my view artistic and worth watching. Since there were cameras and cast ready to go backstage with her, that told me as a viewer that she wasn't really having a breakdown as it might have been too scary to watch had I thought it was real. I like that there can be significant differences of opinion on comedy/art/entertainment. As examples, I enjoyed Emily Litela every time she was on screen, even with some of the jokes being ugh, mostly because Gilda was a delight as a comedian, and I also enjoyed the Mr. Bill segments greatly and looked forward to them every week even though they weren't on every week. Now when I look back at Ms. Litela and Mr. Bill the skits aren't all that funny, so there is that.
Louise Lasser was playing..... Louise Lasser... hardly a surprise then. Either you were in on her improv style or not. Not saying it was good (I wasn't a fan) but this isn't the big deal that it's made out to be.
I've never understood the reasoning why people who are already nervous about a performance or in this case..Live TV. Decide literally, up until air time to just go balls to the wall coke binge. You think being a professional she'd know better, but then again...that's Drug Addiction
The person mumbling the commentary clearly has not heard louise laser on the Carson podcast. Everything was scripted, and she did not want to do the skit because it would upset her father. Gilda agreed with her. She was not using cocaine during the show and the amount of coke given to her in CA by a fan was minuscule. It’s just absurd that the person spewing her vile opinions just hates lasser.
I'm aware of Louise's various excuses and explanations for how this episode turned out; I (and the authors of several books about SNL) choose to believe her assertions are false, based on the preponderance of evidence from other sources (interviews, books, etc.). Lasser had every reason to minimize her role in the SNL debacle, and to claim that the CA cocaine was not hers - of course that's what she said on Carson! I'd hardly say it proves her innocence, any more than other people's assertions prove her guilt. I'm taking the evidence I have, all second-hand mind you, and making my own conclusion. I'm also undeterred by your criticism of my presentation style or my opinion. I do not mumble, and (for the record) I was born as and identify as male. You're as entitled to your opinions as I am, and *I* won't even deign to call yours vile - just uninformed. You can keep them to yourself from here on out, friend.
@@latenightsaturday7142 the fact that her SNL breakdown on air was planned and cameras were at the ready shows that it was scripted-and your saying that while it may have been scripted, she clearly was really having a breakdown beyond what was supposed to do shows your bias. You dismiss her explanations and yet you accept the smears against her, which were largely the result of Michael O’Donahugh’s dislike for her (and his dislike for just about everyone) is simply wrong. Moreover, she refused to do a sketch which would have offended her father. Today, an actress hosting SNL would be readily accommodated. She would be seen as sticking up for her values and showing that a woman today need not be forced into an embarrassing situation. But because lasser stood up for herself as a woman years before it was a acceptable, you deem this troublesome behavior and the actions of an unstable character. That is absurd. As is you claim her rubbing her teeth is a sign of cocaine use. She had been doing that for years, and she has said that was because of a fear of lipstick on her teeth. But no-you are sure its proof of cocaine addition. If she were so troublesome, why did Lorne Michaels try to get her to do the show again? I know you want clicks, but you really do slander her. Which is a shame as she is a wonderful person who is nothing like you described, now or then. To clarify, Lasser was interviewed on The Carson Podcast, not the Carson show. She addressed her appearance on SNL and how the musical guest and Bergman sketch were her ideas, and not an attempt to get Alene on the show. Back then, the hosts could pick their musical guest. Sorry about misgendering you. It was not on purpose.
@@kennethmargulies8663 My opinions are not based on any desire for clicks or views; they are simply based on the conclusions I reached after a week of research on the topic. While I've not heard the podcast to which you refer, I'm well aware that Lasser has repeatedly tried to redefine and reflect blame for the failure of this episode in interviews over the years. My honest belief is that she was a nice person who was going through a hard time, and that the stress of the week was too much for her after her recent legal run-in. O'Donoghue (in typical fashion) saw the state Lasser was in and decided to lean into it and poke fun at her rather than accommodate her, which I agree was a jerk move. I'll never understand why she chose to go along with those jokes, but she did... ...none of which excuses her behavior the week of the show, or the fact that she (based on interviews with several people *who were there* such as writer Neil Levy) "locked herself in her dressing room and refused to come out unless a certain sketch was cut". That's not professional behavior, and wouldn't have been accommodated today, especially for a sketch as benign as the sketch to which Lasser objected. Finally, and categorically, if Lasser says she was invited back to the show - she lied. (Either she, or dozens of people who were asked about the topic who say the opposite.) In fact, there have only been about ten folks reportedly *disinvited* from ever appearing on the show again, and she is alleged to be among them. Her episode has hardly been seen since originally airing, and was not rebroadcast during SNL's syndicated run on Comedy Central. It's a poorly-regarded episode by nearly everyone, including all the other cast and writers involved. You (and about twenty other hardcore LL fans) seem to be the only ones offended by this assessment, but my genuine opinion is that it's not very good, and LL is the reason for that. She simply seemed out of her element, and I don't buy that she did that "on purpose". As for "slander", I'd hardly call it anything of the sort - I'm relaying second-hand information readily available in multiple sourced and published biographies of the show. I appreciate your feedback and don't mean to be rude, but I'm about finished talking about this episode of the show. I've spent more time in the comments section of *this one video* than all 25 others combined, and I fail to see why my opinion has so offended the Lasser Superfan Club. TLDR: this was a bottom-tier episode of a show broadcast nearly fifty years ago, and I'm not going to continue spending my time trying to defend my opinion of it. (No hard feelings about the misgendering; it happens all the time and doesn't offend me in the slightest.) ;) Have a good day, mate. Cheers.
I saw it as a kid, I thought the whole thing was staged - I also thought Louise was surprisingly sexy - interesting to hear that it was more real than I thought. ( BTW - though no doubt, the coke didn't help, but something tells me she really was that much of a space cadet … marching powder or not )
Louise Lasser was in a fragile place when she hosted this show, as she has said herself. She had been working long hours doing a five-night-a-week sitcom and was just busted for cocaine possession under circumstances that were much more weird than criminal. She doesn't shy away from making her mental condition part of her show persona, in a way designed to blur the lines of reality, and maybe it was even an artistic choice on her part. But this is tough to watch, and even fans of her work can't see this as anything other than tough viewing. Her scenes are so dire you can feel her alienating the audience (who really is on her side) with every minute. The show cast and crew actually do a valiant job of trying to cover for her, and if not for the lack of laughs or cleverness they might have pulled this off.
Like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, it all seems like brilliant meta-commentary completely over the heads of and mocking its detractors. MHMH remains unsurpassed as cultural critique, and Lasser is easily the most talented host SNL ever had.
Wow! That's a take I don't think I've ever heard from *anybody*... I can't speak on MHMH, and to each their own as far as what they enjoy, but I gotta respectfully disagree. lol ;)
Lorne Michaels stole his whole SNL shtick from National Lampoon radio..FACT..I've always wondered if this was an Andy Kaufman type of improv bit personally
I think this SNL episode was great! This is what makes a great show! She truly IS Mary Hartman! I love her and Mary Hartman! Leave her alone and let her be herself!!!!
LOLOLOLOLOLOl....Don't you get it? This was all scripted! If is wasn't it would not have even aired. I LOVE Louise Lasser and I love Mary Hartman! God bless them both!💗💗
He's tough to write about. He was brilliant, but most everyone who worked or lived with him recalls behavior that could only be characterized as abusive. I'm currently on hiatus from this project while I get some legal help. NBCU keeps flagging my videos even though they clearly fall under fair use provisions, and I don't know how to make the show I want to without using footage from broadcasts. I'll keep your idea in mind if I ever manage to get back to work... ;)
Wow. You really missed the joke here. She was doing a Andy Kaufman bit, and it was hilarious but it went over everyones head. And Chevy was just mad he had to share a scene with a woman who was funnier than him.
I was listening to a podcast that references this episode as a bit of a cultural moment. I wanted more context, this breakdown was super helpful. I gotta say the opening monologue bit does seem very staged to my eyes, and Chevy throwing shade at someone else is hardly noteworthy or credible. But that’s just my read.
Elements of the monologue *certainly* were staged; I just can't figure out how much was her being an incredible actor and how much was her being incredibly nervous/intoxicated... ;)
I just watched the monlouge and entire episode. It was totally stage and went off perfectly as planned. If Louise truly ran off stage into the dressing room, unplanned, they would have cut to commercial. Notice how Chevy Chase was ready to go in his shark outfit. Do you think Dan Akryod would have pretended to be an LAPD officer if it were a real breakdown? Then, Louise comes out of the dressing room to be in a picture and Time magazine; and then says, "We'll be right back," on cue. It was so planned it came off corny. I have no idea how anyone could think it was a real flip-out/breakdown.
I think I've been diplomatic in responding to these comments for far too long, so I'll be blunt: IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THE SHOW, IT'S AVAILABLE FOR 99 CENTS ON PEACOCK. If I was to simply post the episode with no commentary, I'd be committing copyright infringement, which is against the TOS of RU-vid. The entire point of this video is "the narrator blabbering on". If you've somehow missed that, you're beyond my intervention.
Your framing stinks. Lasser was accustomed to five scripts per week. She may have known only one character, and she leaned on her personal quirks to bring it alive, but we MHMH fans knew what was happening, the whole thing was planned (with a dash of improv). For me, the show was a feast of the best weirdness of early SNL. I'm only sorry I had to miss some MHMH episodes airing concurrenly (I knew I'd get another chance on a different station).
So, despite what people may have thought, a woman famous for playing a woman having a nervous breakdown, actually had a nervous breakdown on live television.
That's my contention, yes. It's true that some of the material was based around her having "breakdowns" like her character on MHMH, but she was a nervous wreck in the week leading up to the performance and locked herself in her dressing room just before air. They'd been writing all week to play up the fact that this woman had come off like a nut-job to them, and it's my honest opinion that she realized that it wasn't going to be flattering or funny and she just kind of froze up. To her credit, she made it through the episode, but it seemed like she *barely* did...
un-professional performance.. she needed to be reminded that this is a job.. and to prepare for it.. do your best in front of the camera and go cry in the back afterwards
I too have heard it's awful, although I've not yet seen it. I'm on a hiatus right now as I finish a cross-country move, and working on reformatting the future videos in such a way as to better meet fair-use criteria. I intend to start with Season Two in 2023. (I believe Mr. Berle hosted in Season Four, and he's rumored to have showed his p*nis to more than one person at 30 Rock that week. It'll be a fun one to cover eventually!)
@@nicholasprakash3411 I believe there was a DVD set of the first five seasons; it would be on that, but you're correct that it hasn't been re-aired many times. Alternately, you could try Peacock - I think they're available for a small per-episode fee.
Nope. Disagree. It seems she was a good enough actor to fool you. Or is this just your hot take for clicks? The main problem I see is that it's just not very funny. Andy Kaufman used to do "breakdowns" but they were funny.
Louise Lasser! I had not thought about her in years. Never a big fan, but like almost everybody else I knew about her proclivity for nose candy. Boy, I bet the after-party that week was off the chain. The cocaine must've been piled a half-mile "high" (pun intended).
