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do a show in a barnyard.’ Gary Weiss, one of our friends at the time, was going to do short films for it. I asked if I could be the show photographer and Lorne said, ‘Well, Edith…we’ll see.’ I kind of made my own job.”

At the time, Edie had just returned from driving around the country creating “night scenes,” hand-painted sketches on black and white photographs of nighttime in various locations. Lorne liked her work, and Edie’s night scenes of New York appeared in the first season’s title sequence, before there were images of the cast. “My role as photographer,” says Edie, “was to take pictures

during the show and archive them. But, once I got into it, I made work for myself, and the position evolved.” Case in point, after the first season Edie’s hand-tinted photographs of the cast were used as bumpers during the opening title sequence, a tradition that continues today, 40 years later.

Edie’s photographic process, much like the nature of early SNL, was self-admittedly: “crude in the beginning, but gradually became more sophisticated.” At least, this is how Edie describes it: “The picture-taking process was very simple. Very simple. The actors and musicians were pretty much posed up against a wall, probably in someone’s office and I snapped the picture. I never had production value, just one strobe and a little grey camera.”

While the mug-shot nature of the photo shoots may have been technically sparse, Edie’s gift for capturing the energy of the moment and inner personality of her subject is anything but simple. Whether bumper photos of a cast member or images of an invited host or musical guest, Baskin’s photographs singularly, and as a collection,

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Above: Edie Baskin’s hand-tinted portrait of Gilda Radner as

Baba Wawa (1977).

It was 1975 and the nation needed something to laugh about. After a decade fraught with riots, assassinations, political turmoil, and a controversial war, America had pretty much stopped thinking anything was funny. The range of comedy shows airing during that post-Watergate era ranged from generally humorous as directed by canned laughter to downright pathetic (as in Benny Hill, the sexist-to-the-point-of-perversion British comedy personality). But, a young Lorne Michaels and his ragtag band of talented comedians stuck a hot poker in all of it, skewering the rigid backbone of current events, tickling the sides of popular culture, and literally falling down stairs with slapstick, outrageous skits, and short films. The live raw energy of the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” cracked open a collective funny bone and Saturday Night Live became an overnight sensation, quickly establishing itself as a comedic institution to this day.

Chronicling the show’s groundbreaking first 25 years, photographer Edie Baskin captured the entire range of SNL’s early history from the historic opening night in 1975 until leaving the show in 2000. Her style imprint on the show’s photography is recognizable to this day. As SNL celebrates its 40th birthday this year, Taschen Books pays tribute with a comprehensive tome, Saturday Night Live: The Book, written by Alison Castle, the talented editor of titles of photography, film, and design including: Some Like it Hot and The Stanley Kubrick Archives. The book features over 2,300 images (many previously unpublished), a significant number of them featuring Edie’s iconic hand-tinted portraits and photographs of the cast, hosts, and musical guests.

Before SNL was a real thing, Lorne Michaels and Edie Baskin were friends hanging out in New York City (as you do when you’re young, talented, and seeking to be in the right place at the right time for some kind of break). “He’d moved there because he was hired by NBC’s Dick Ebersol to create a new late-night show geared toward a younger audience,” says Edie. “It was kind of like, ‘Let’s

TOP: Edie Baskin at work on a photograph: etching, then hand-tinting.

BOTTOM: Bumper photo of Steve Martin (1976).

More than Ready for Prime Time Players:

Photographer Edie Baskin Saturday Night Live Experience

and theBy Kim FrankPhotography by Edie Baskin

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cast members John Belushi and Gilda Radnor to the memorable colored sketches of beloved comedians such as Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and Eddie Murphy, Baskin’s photographs are lasting keepsakes

ABOVE: Gilda Radner unfazed as the Land Shark gobbles John Belushi's arm backstage (1976).

of the talent that jolted America into remembering how great it feels to laugh.

Of particular cultural interest is Edie Baskin’s collection of musical guest photographs. The recent, “Under the Influence of Rock and Roll” exhibit at Sun Valley Center for the Arts (Edie has been a part-time resident of Sun Valley since

the mid-1970’s) showcased a selection of Edie’s black and white images of rock stars at various stages of their careers. In the early years of SNL, the musical guests were largely unknown to a mainstream audience, mirroring the "Not Ready for Prime Time" culture of its cast. However, once the show had established itself—as an institution of American television, a gig on SNL was a stepping-stone to certain stardom. Many performers would appear on the show just as they were gaining traction beyond their local niche scene but before they were a household name. Baskin’s photographs of

Saturday Night Live: The Book is a veritable saturnalia of such images. The photographs, deadpan and raw, reveal trust and vulnerability. Because of the way SNL airs (which the book explores in detail) – a few days to rehearse brand new material, then a live audience performance—weekly hosts, cast members, and musical guests all operate under a constant state of surprise. “When they came into SNL,” says Edie, “they were coming into the unknown. They were less comfortable and didn’t know what to expect.” Perhaps the relationships between Baskin and her subjects are so intimate because of the lack of sophisticated layers of equipment and accoutrements that can create distance between photographer and subject. What is crystal clear, however, is that Edie Baskin’s disarming single camera and discerning eye was largely responsible for shaping the special magic of the SNL journey.

legends such as Bruce Springsteen, Warren Zeevon, and Kurt Cobain with Nirvana (to name just a few shiny grains from her entire body of work) offer a rare glimpse of that fleeting moment when a talent begins to understand that their dream of success may actually come true. One deep look at each photograph is to be a mind-reading voyeur.

Saturday Night Live: The Book by Alison Castle, Taschen BooksHardcover with ribbon bookmarks11.0 x11.0 inches, 500 pageswww.taschen.com

ABOVE: Edie and her daughter, Bella (SNL Photography Assistant) on Baldy in Sun Valley.

ABOVE: Edie's hand-painted night scene graces the book's cover.

“The book reflects a great collaboration. The majority of work came from me and Mary Ellen Matthews, as the principal photographers for 40 years. Editor Allison Castle is brilliant and was fabulous to work with.” -Edie Baskin, photographer

tell a story of developing stardom through dead-on eye stare expressions that at once reveal feigned confidence, doubt, hope, tentative cockiness, tenacity, drive, tenderness, and a healthy dose of out-of-control fear. From the poignant, dressing room hug between original

ABOVE: A Baskin classic, the tender moment backstage between Gilda Radner and John Belushi.

Above: Excerpt of a telegram from Lorne Michaels to NBC's

Dick Ebersol describing the earliest SNL concepts.

"TO HIGH HUMAN EXPECTATIONS.

JIM HANSON AND MUPPETS: JIM HANSON HAS AGREED TO CREATE A TOTALLY NEW GROUP

OF MUPPETS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT. THESE WILL BE ADULT PUPPETS SO THERE WILL BE NO

PROBLEMS ABOUT THEIR STAYING UP LA

TE. AS TO WHAT THESE MUPPETS WILL DO OR

SAY,

I REALLY HAVE NOT MUCH OF AN IDEA. HOWEVER, JIM SE

EMS TO FEEL THEY CAN BE RELIED

UPON. THIS SEGMENT WILL BE DON

E LIVE AND MAY INVOLVE MEMBERS OF REPER

TORY CAST.

“All the years I was at SNL, Sun Valley was my go -to place, my solace away from the craziness of New York.” -Edie Baskin, photographer for Saturday Night Live for the first 25 years

ABOVE: An early photo of "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen.