Which SNL writer delivered the debut episode's first sketch line about wolverines?

Michael O'Donoghue delivered the debut episode's first sketch line about wolverines on SNL. He played an English teacher in “The Wolverines,” the opening sketch of the October 11, 1975, premiere.

In the sketch, John Belushi played an immigrant taking an English lesson. O'Donoghue's teacher instructs him to repeat increasingly bizarre sentences, including one about feeding someone's fingertips to wolverines. The dark, absurd premise immediately signaled that the new program would not resemble a conventional variety show.

O'Donoghue was more than the performer in the scene: he was SNL's first head writer and wrote the sketch. Because he spoke first, he is often described as the first performer to deliver a line on the series. The sketch ends with the teacher and student collapsing, after which Chevy Chase delivered the first “Live from New York, it's Saturday night!” announcement.

The common confusion is with John Belushi, whose accented student repeats the memorable wolverine phrases. Belushi made the lines famous, but O'Donoghue played the teacher who says the opening words and authored the sketch.