Alabama actor part of movie exploring the early days of ‘Saturday Night Live’

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — On Friday, a movie exploring the first moments of “Saturday Night Live” being broadcast nationwide in 1975 was released.

“Saturday Night,” directed by Jason Reitman, tells the story of the start of the long-running NBC show created by Lorne Michaels and what led up to the debut of the series on October 11, 1975. In the movie, several people play different real-life cast members of the “Not Ready for Primetime Players,” but one actor who grew up in Alabama plays a role as one of the show’s founding creative voices.

Tommy Dewey, an actor who grew up in Mountain Brook, plays Michael O’Donoghue, who had worked at National Lampoon magazine before being recruited into the first writers room of the show, which was initially called “Saturday Night” due to another show on the network hosted by sportscaster Howard Cosell being called “Saturday Night Live.”

O’Donoghue, who once famously spray-painted the word “Danger” on his office to encourage the cast to make their comedy dangerous, was featured in the first sketch aired on the show and was known for his dark sense of humor and fearlessness approach to comedy, whether it be “Mr. Mike,” a macabre take on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” or “Exorcist II” with comedian Richard Pryor.

O’Donoghue, who worked on and off the “SNL” writing staff due to his uncompromising approach, later co-wrote the Bill Murray Christmas movie “Scrooged” and was involved in other TV and movie projects before his death in 1994 due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

After graduating from Mountain Brook High School, Dewey attended Princeton College, where he was involving in theater. His first big break was in the 2004 TV series, “The Mountain.” He later made appearances on shows like “The Mindy Project” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

One of Dewey’s more prominent starring roles was in the Hulu vehicle “Casual,” which he worked on from 2015 to 2018 with “SNL” alum Michaela Watkins.

Later this month, Dewey will star as the lead in another movie, “Your Monster,” set to premiere Oct. 25.

“Saturday Night” debuts Friday, marking 49 years to the day that the show first aired.

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