Here's
the transcript of Lorne Michaels' original on air offer to the
Beatles to
get back together on the show.
April
24, 1976
BEATLES
OFFER
(OPEN
ON: LORNE AT DESK. THERE IS ONLY ONE CAMERA USED THROUGHOUT)
LORNE:
Hi.
I'm Lorne Michaels, the producer of "Saturday Night." Right
now, we're being seen by approximately
twenty-two million viewers, but please allow me, if I may, to address
myself to
just four very special people -- John, Paul, George and Ringo -- the
Beatles. Lately, there
have been a lot of rumors to the effect that the four of you might be
getting back together.
That would be great. In my book, the Beatles are the best thing that
ever happened to
music. It goes even deeper than that. You're not just a musical
group, you're a part of us. We
grew up with you. It's for this reason that I'm inviting you to come
on our show. Now,
we've heard and read a lot about personality and legal conflicts that
might prevent you guys
from reuniting. That's something which is none of my business. That's
a personal problem. You
guys will have to handle that. But it's also been said that no one as
yet has come up with enough
money to satisfy you. Well, If it's money you want, there's no
problem here. The National Broadcasting
Company has authorized me to offer you this check to be on our
show.
(HOLDS
UP CHECK) A certified check for $3,000. Here it is, right here. Dave
-- can we get a close-up
on this? Which camera? Oh, this one. (CAMERA MOVES IN TO SHOW CHECK)
Here it is, a check
made out to you, the Beatles, for $3,000. All you have to do is sing
three Beatle songs.
(SINGS)
She
loves you - yeah,
yeah, yeah ...
That's
$1,000 right there. You know the words. It'll be easy. Like I said,
this is made out to the
Beatles -- you divide it up any way you want. If you want to give
Ringo less, it's up to you. I'd
rather not get involved. I'm sincere about this. If it helps you to
reach a decision to reunite,
it's well worth the investment. You have agents. You know where I can be reached.
Just
think about it, okay? (HOLDS UP CHECK AGAIN)
Thank
you.
***************************************************************************
Lorne Micheals made a second offer to the Fabs:
This was aired on May 22, 1976. The host was Buck Henry, and Musical guest was Gordon Lightfoot.
LORNE:
Hi,
I'm Lorne Micheals, producer of Saturday Night. A short while ago I
went on the air and
addressed myself to John, Paul, George, and Ringo--the Beatles. At
that time I invited them to
come on our show, and told them that I was authorized by NBC to pay
them in the sum of three thousand
dollars for just three songs. Well, about a month has gone by. We've
heard from the Monkees,
Freddy and the Dreamers, Peter and Gordon, Herman's Hermits, the
Cowsills, and Lulu; but
still no word from the Beatles. I'm not discouraged and neither is
NBC. Because of the recent
acclaim we've received, I have the weight to go to the network and
convince them that it is worth
it for them to sweeten the pot. John, Paul, George, and Ringo--NBC is
now prepared to up the
original offer from three thousand, to three thousand, two hundred.
Can we get a close-up of
the check? Which camera is it? As you can see, it's a check made out
to you, The Beatles.
Off
the record, this increase comes to an extra fifty dollars for each of
you. That's if you split
it equally--I'm still not sure what your situation with Ringo is.
Also, NBC has decided that
they will take care of your hotel accommodations.
Don Pardo, tell the
Beatles what they can
expect when they come to get that check for three thousand, two
hundred dollars.
DON
PARDO:
It'll be my pleasure, Lorne. First of all, the lads from Liverpool will be picked up by
a radio-dispatched Checker cab that will whisk them to the Cross Town
Motor Inn, located in the
heart of New York's fashionable garment district. Once there, they
will check in in the
recently
renovated lobby; and then it's off to their rooms via round-the-clock
elevator service.They'll
be treated like royalty as pitchers of ice water are hand-delivered
to their rooms, and
they can drink that water from glasses sanitized for their
convenience. Oops--Ringo spilled
a
little something on his jacket? No problem--not with prompt
forty-eight-hour dry cleaning service!
"In by Tuesday, out by Thursday." And let's just put a
shine on those shoes, too, with
a free shoe shine cloth. And, Lorne, since the Beatles will be
staying in separate rooms, the
four Mop Tops can speak to each other as much as they want because
there is no charge for room-to-room
calls. And, after a hard day's night, the Beatles can sleep as late
as they like with
a leisurely checkout time of 10 A.M. That's the Cross Town Motor Inn,
a hotel tradition, hosting
New York's visitors since 1971. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Back to you
Lorne!
LORNE:
Thank you, Don Pardo. John, Paul, George, and Ringo, that's where we
stand right now. Thirty-two
hundred dollars, and free hotel accommodations. Now, it's your move.
I've always respected
you, and you were always my favorite group, and I always liked Yoko,
even at the
beginning
when everyone was having problems with her. I would like to see you
do our show, and
so would the American people. You know where i can be reached. I'm
waiting to hear from you.
