Which comedian hosted Saturday Night Live’s first episode on 11 October 1975?

George Carlin hosted Saturday Night Live’s first episode on 11 October 1975.

The program was then titled NBC’s Saturday Night and premiered from Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Carlin served as host, while Billy Preston and Janis Ian were the musical guests. The episode established the live, sketch-and-music format that later became known simply as Saturday Night Live.

Carlin was an especially significant choice for the premiere because he was already a major stand-up performer known for moving between television-friendly observational comedy and more provocative material. He appeared in several different comedic styles during the broadcast rather than functioning only as a conventional host.

The first episode is sometimes confused with the show’s first host from its later, familiar title, or with performers associated with its earliest cast. Carlin was the host of the premiere; the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players were the cast members who developed the recurring sketch characters and formats.