Bob Tischler has died at the age of 78. He was known for helping to bring Saturday Night Live back to life.
The TV writer passed away on July 13 at his home in Bodega Bay, California.
For sure, his son Zeke said that pancreatic cancer killed him.
Bob helped bring back Saturday Night Live after its downturn in the 1980s and 1981s, when he was a part of the writing and production team.
The popular show has been on since October 1975, when it first aired on NBC.
In the early 1980s, the show got worse under Jean Doumanian’s direction after five seasons under Lorne Michaels’s direction.
Tony Schwartz, a reporter for the New York Times in 1981, said that the show’s “flinty irreverence gave way a year ago to cheap shocks and worn-out formulas.”
Dick Ebersol took over as creative director of Saturday Night Live in 1981, during its worst season ever. He hired Bob as a supervisory producer.
Before Bob, Michael O’Donoghue was the head writer for Saturday Night Live. He was fired because of an inappropriate skit.
In the end, Bob helped change SNL when he took over the role for the next four seasons.
Bob stopped working on the late-night TV show in 1985.
WHAT ELSE BOB DOES
Bob was in charge of David Brenner’s late-night talk show Nightlife for the next two years.
TV shows like “Empty Nest,” “Something So Right,” “The People Next Door,” and “Boy Meets World” were produced by him.
People also recognized Bob’s work in audio, such as the albums he produced for The Blues Brothers and The National Lampoon Radio Hour.
Bob said he didn’t really see himself as a writer in the 2002 book Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.
He told Tom Shales and James Andrew, “I produced a lot of comedy and wrote, but I wasn’t a member of the union or anything.”
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COMING UP FOR SNL
The sketch show has been on the air for almost 50 years, and different comedians have been on it at different times.
The show’s historic 50th season will start on September 28 with a cast full of big names.
There are 15 cast members in the show right now, with 11 regulars and 4 featured performers.
Every week, SNL airs on NBC on Saturday nights at 11:30 pm ET.
Each season usually lasts from late September to mid-May, with a break in December.
Lorne has been nominated for 98 Emmys for SNL and has won 21 Emmys for his work as a writer and producer for TV shows.