Ira Needleman on SNL

The non-Lorne Michaels years were hit-or-miss for "Saturday Night Live" but here’s a definite hit… IRA NEEDLEMAN from May 5, 1984! Gary Kroeger says this film bought him another season on the show.

And I have just learned that Bebe Neuwirth is one of the dancers! She’s most visible at 0:22 (lower right) and then again at the end. That means the only “Cheers” stars never to appear on SNL were Nick Colasanto (Coach, who passed away in early 1985) and Shelley Long (Diane, who was supposedly slated to host during SNL’s 10th season 1984-85, but Long’s pregnancy and a writer’s strike made that impossible). Ted Danson, Kirstie Alley, George Wendy, Woody Harrelson and Kelsey Grammer have all hosted, and John Ratzenberger (Cliff) made a cameo with his fellow castmembers when Kirstie hosted in 1991.

When Siskel & Ebert appeared on the SNL "Film Fest" (March 2, 1985), they were inexplicably lukewarm on Needleman. Siskel felt it was implausible that Needleman's seeming discomfort with video dating technology precluded him from production an epic, MTV-style video. (This is more apparent in the prologue, which is not included in the video below). I really like S&E but they often missed the point when it came to comedies (e.g. Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Silver Streak, being just a few examples)