The 17th Episode of Season 4 of Saturday Night Live aired on April 14, 1979. The host was Milton Berle, and the musical guest was Ornette Coleman.
Having “Mr. Television” Milton Berle host was a clash of comedy generations. Berle, a legend from the old school, came with his own jokes and a reputation for being difficult. He hijacked the show, inserting his old vaudeville bits and mugging shamelessly. It was a fascinating mess. The cast seemed annoyed, and the tension was obvious. The show is infamous for Berle’s bizarre and off-key closing performance of “September Song.” The only saving grace was the musical guest, free-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, whose challenging and brilliant music was the polar opposite of Berle’s shtick. A truly awful, but historically significant, trainwreck of an episode.
Cast members Garrett Morris, John Belushi, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd perform as “singing gas attendants” in a sketch that used to appear in host Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre show in the 1950s.
Milton Berle, Ornette Coleman, April 14, 1979, SNL Season 4, SNL Season 4 Episode 17
