Michael O'Donoghue on AllMovie

Specializing in comedy and satire, screenwriter and magazine journalist Michael O'Donoghue was among the charter writers of NBC's long-running comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live (1975). O'Donoghue's association with original cast members Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and John Belushi extended back through the days when O'Donoghue was creative director of the National Lampoon Radio Hour. Before that, O'Donoghue edited National Lampoon magazine where he ranked as one of the great humor journal's finest writers. On staff at SNL, O'Donoghue was responsible for some of the show's best sketches; his work there earned him Emmys in 1976 and 1977. Though O'Donoghue left the show in 1980, he returned for a short period in 1981 and in 1985. His few screenwriting credits include Savages (1972), Gilda Live!, and Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (both 1979).