Saturday Night Live (TV Series) Jill Clayburgh/Leon Redbone/The Singing Idlers (1976) User Reviews

One of the Great First Season Classics

[jraskin-1 · 8/10 · 1 February 2015]

I just re-watched this episode on my SNL first season DVD collection, and found it thoroughly enjoyable and poignant. This episode was hosted by Jill Clayburgh, who was approaching the heights of her fame. It was ironic, that in the lengthy sketch featuring Jill as a guidance counselor to John Belushi's Julio character, Chevy Chase says at the end of this sketch (after the Belushi character shoots Clayburgh)that Jill's character was diagnosed with cancer and was going to die anyway. Strangely prescient line of dialog here. This episode also featured the first appearance of Mr. Bill, which honestly, gave me the chills when re-viewing, as this became such an iconic part of the show in its early years, plus this episode featured one of the great classic appearances of Andy Kaufman on this program. Add in Leon Redbone giving two fantastic performances, and you have an episode that more than stands the test of time. Highly recommended!