24 Facts About Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels was born on Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17,1944 and is a Canadian and American television writer and film producer.

Lorne Michaels created and produced Saturday Night Live and produced the Late Night series, The Kids in the Hall, and The Tonight Show.

Lorne Michaels has received 21 Primetime Emmy Awards from 106 nominations, holding the record as the most nominated individual in the award show's history.

Lorne Michaels began his career as a writer and broadcaster for CBC Radio, working with partner Hart Pomerantz.

Lorne Michaels returned to the United States in 1973 to write for The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour.

In 1975, Lorne Michaels created the TV show NBC's Saturday Night, which in 1977 changed its name to Saturday Night Live.

Originally the producer of the show, Lorne Michaels was a writer and later became executive producer.

Lorne Michaels occasionally appears on-screen as well, where he is known for his deadpan humor.

Lorne Michaels has been with SNL for all seasons except for his hiatus in the early 1980s.

In 1979, Lorne Michaels founded the production company Broadway Video, which has produced SNL since 1981 as well as other shows such as Canadian sketch-comedy The Kids in the Hall which began airing in 1988 on CBC in Canada, debuting in the US market in 1989 on cable television network HBO until moving to CBS in 1993.

Whilst on his SNL hiatus, Lorne Michaels created another sketch show titled The New Show, which debuted on Friday nights in prime time on NBC in January 1984.

Lorne Michaels is the executive producer of the NBC show Late Night, and was the executive producer of 30 Rock and Up All Night during their runs.

Lorne Michaels has three children, Henry, Eddie, and Sophie and has been married three times.

Lorne Michaels married model Susan Forristal in 1981, a marriage that ended in divorce in 1987.

Lorne Michaels became a US citizen in 1987 and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2002.

In January 2025, Lorne Michaels donated archival materials from throughout his career to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Lorne Michaels Collection was scheduled to become available for research in January 2026.

In 1999, Lorne Michaels was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Also in 1999, Lorne Michaels received an honorary degree from Ryerson University.

Lorne Michaels received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2006, Canada's highest honor in the performing arts.

In 2012, Lorne Michaels was awarded a rare Personal Peabody Award.

Lorne Michaels accepted at a ceremony in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel.

In December 2021, Lorne Michaels was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, along with Justino Diaz, Berry Gordy, Bette Midler, and Joni Mitchell.

In 2022, Lorne Michaels received a Peabody Award for his work as an executive producer of the Spanish-language comedy series Los Espookys.