Live from New York, it 's Saturday Night ! - Wikipedia Live from New York, it 's Saturday Night ! This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia 's general notability guideline. Please help to establish notability by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond its mere trivial mention. If notability can not be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. Find sources : `` Live from New York, it 's Saturday Night ! '' -- news newspapers books scholar JSTOR ( October 2017 ) This article indiscriminately collects miscellaneous information. Please compress this material to remove any irrelevant or unimportant information. ( October 2017 ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2016 ) `` Live from New York, it 's Saturday Night ! '' is a famous phrase typically featured on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, which runs on the NBC broadcast network. It is generally used as a way to end a cold opening sketch and lead into the opening titles / montage and cast introductions for the program. Contents 1 Origin 2 Instances used 3 Readings by special guests 3.1 Presidents and Presidential hopefuls 4 References Origin During the show 's first season, the show was known simply as NBC 's Saturday Night, due to the existence of an ABC show titled Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. This is how the phrase received its wording. The phrase was kept intact even after ABC 's SNL was canceled and NBC 's Saturday Night adopted the SNL name for itself. Instances used Chevy Chase said the line on the first show that aired, October 11, 1975. The phrase is typically spoken by a host, cast member ( s ), and / or musical guest, and has been used in every season except one ( the 1981 - 1982 season, the first full season with Dick Ebersol as producer ). It was first said live on air by Chevy Chase, on SNL 's first show on October 11, 1975. For all but two of the first season 's 24 episodes, Chase delivered the phrase after a pratfall of some kind. Even when the show is not aired on a Saturday -- such as the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday specials aired from 2008 to 2012, and again in 2017 -- the traditional line is used. The person delivering the phrase usually breaks character and the fourth wall, in that the phrase is normally not spoken to other cast members as part of the regular dialogue in the opening sketch. Instead, the person suddenly turns ( if not already facing downstage ) and delivers the phrase directly to the audience and the camera with a full - throated shout. At the same time, the camera zooms in for a tight close - up shot of the person 's face, followed by a dissolve to the show 's opening montage and titles. Readings by special guests The line has occasionally been given to a non-host / non-cast member for cameo purposes. This could be for stars like Brad Pitt and Dwayne `` The Rock '' Johnson, or for more unusual celebrities like Monica Lewinsky, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire winner John Carpenter, WWE chairman Vince McMahon ( on March 18, 2000 ), Carolyn Kepcher ( on April 3, 2004 ), and Al Sharpton ( on November 2, 2013 ). Presidents and Presidential hopefuls Gerald Ford opened the show with the phrase on April 17, 1976, which came during his presidency. A series of Presidential and Vice Presidential hopefuls have also announced the phrase on their appearances on the program, beginning with Bob Dole on November 16, 1996 ( coming after the 1996 election ). It was announced by Barack Obama on November 3, 2007, by Hillary Clinton on March 1, 2008, by Sarah Palin on October 18, 2008, and by John McCain on November 1, 2008. References Saturday Night Live Seasons 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 History 1975 -- 80 1980 -- 85 1985 -- 90 1990 -- 95 1995 -- 2000 2000 -- 05 2005 -- 10 2010 -- 15 2015 -- present Related lists Commercials Cast members Writers Guests A -- D E -- H I -- L M -- P Q -- T U -- Z Awards DVD releases Incidents Recurring characters and sketches Chronological Alphabetical By cast member Musical sketches TV show sketches Weekend Update characters TV Funhouse segments Characters and sketches The Barry Gibb Talk Show Bill Brasky Bill Swerski 's Superfans Blizzard Man The Blues Brothers The Boston Teens Canteen Boy Celebrity Jeopardy ! The Chris Farley Show The Church Lady Coffee Talk The Coneheads The Continental Debbie Downer Ed Grimley Emily Litella Father Guido Sarducci The Folksmen Gerald `` T - Bones '' Tibbons Hanukkah Harry Hans and Franz Happy Fun Ball The Land of Gorch Land Shark Larry the Lobster The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise MacGruber Mango Mary Katherine Gallagher Matt Foley More Cowbell Mr. Bill The Nerds Olympia Café Pat David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special Roseanne Roseannadanna Samurai Futaba The Spartan Cheerleaders Sprockets Stefon Stuart Smalley Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber TV Funhouse The Ambiguously Gay Duo The X-Presidents Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Wayne 's World Weekend Update What Up with That Impersonations Bill Clinton Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Sarah Palin Digital Shorts Boombox Dick in a Box Hugs I Just Had Sex I 'm on a Boat Jizz in My Pants Lazy Sunday Like a Boss Jack Sparrow The Creep YOLO 3 - Way ( The Golden Rule ) Films based on sketches Mr. Mike 's Mondo Video ( 1979 ) The Blues Brothers ( 1980 ) Mr. Bill 's Real Life Adventures ( 1986 ) Bob Roberts ( 1992 ) Mr. Saturday Night ( 1992 ) Wayne 's World ( 1992 ) Wayne 's World 2 ( 1993 ) Coneheads ( 1993 ) It 's Pat ( 1994 ) Stuart Saves His Family ( 1995 ) A Night at the Roxbury ( 1998 ) Blues Brothers 2000 ( 1998 ) Superstar ( 1999 ) The Ladies Man ( 2000 ) A Mighty Wind ( 2003 ) Harold ( 2008 ) MacGruber ( 2010 ) Anniversary specials 15th ( 1989 ) 25th ( 1999 ) 40th ( 2015 ) Related topics Broadway Video `` Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead '' `` A Limo For A Lame - O '' `` Live from New York, it 's Saturday Night ! '' The Lonely Island discography Saturday Night Saturday Night Live Band Saturday Night Live in the 2000s Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday Saturday Night Live Korea ( episodes ) SNL Milano SNL Québec SNL Studios Strategery Who was the first U.S. President to say `` Live from New York it 's Saturday Night '' ? Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Live_from_New_York,_it%27s_Saturday_Night!&oldid=826296973 '' Categories : Saturday Night Live catchphrases Words and phrases introduced in 1975 Running gags Hidden categories : Articles with topics of unclear notability from October 2017 All articles with topics of unclear notability Articles with trivia sections from October 2017 All articles with trivia sections Articles needing additional references from February 2016 All articles needing additional references Articles with multiple maintenance issues Talk Contents About Wikipedia Latviešu Edit links This page was last edited on 18 February 2018, at 09 : 42. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: first president to say live from new york on snl
Answer: Gerald Ford