Joe Piscopo was the cast member retained alongside Eddie Murphy when Dick Ebersol revamped Saturday Night Live in 1981.
The change followed a troubled period under producer Jean Doumanian, whose 1980–81 cast faced harsh criticism after the departure of most of the original ensemble. After a February 1981 broadcast incident involving Charles Rocket, NBC replaced Doumanian with Ebersol. He dismissed most of her hires while rebuilding the show around Murphy and Piscopo.
Murphy had already shown unusual promise, but Ebersol’s new format gave him much more prominent material. Piscopo also became a major performer, especially through his impressions, including his widely remembered Frank Sinatra impersonation and his comic character Paulie Herman. Together, Murphy and Piscopo helped restore the program’s popularity.
A common mix-up is assuming that Ebersol kept only Murphy. In fact, both performers from Doumanian’s cast appeared in the following season, while many other cast members—including Denny Dillon—were not retained.