Garrett Morris paved the way for people of color on SNL, but it came at a cost: ‘A lot of racism’
Garrett Morris recalls what it was really like to be the only Black person during SNL’s debut season.
Five decades later, comedian and actor Garrett Morris remembers what it was like to be the only Black cast member and writer as part of “Saturday Night Live’s” inaugural cast in 1975.
The 87-year-old actor told The Guardian in a recent interview that after working in Harlem’s experimental theater scene under constant threat from the authorities, SNL was a much safer work environment. However, it was not without its issues, namely, racism.
“I will say to the end of my days: Lorne’s writers had a lot of racism going on,” the 2 Broke Girls star told the outlet.
He continued, “Lorne himself? Zero racism. Because, remember, when I was hired I was the only Black writer. Lorne wanted to have somebody Black on TV at night-time. People didn’t want that. They were clamoring to make it all white. He didn’t.”
The Jamie Foxx Show actor explained he was initially hired on SNL to be a writer until Michaels was introduced to his performance in the film Cooley High as the history teacher.
“Because of that, I was asked to audition for the Not Ready for Prime Time Players [the working title for SNL at the time],” Morris told the publication. “And I went from being a writer to being part of the group.”
Breaking Boundaries While Battling Stereotypes
Despite the success of the show, the “Martin” star described a challenging period in his life that was fueled by drugs, involved “bad choices,” and marked by his attempt to resist being pigeonholed.
“It really threw me when we were going through the first show. I didn’t have a skit, but I was watching another one. I said to Lorne, ‘There’s a doctor in this skit. Why don’t I play the doctor?’ And he says, ‘Garrett, people might be thrown by a Black doctor,’” he said, adding, “Now, mind you, I had come from New Orleans, where you’re surrounded by Black medical doctors and Black PhDs. In all big cities down south, for that matter.”
Morris’ breakout characters on the sketch comedy show included Chico Escuela, the Dominican Major Leaguer whose single line is “base-e-bol been beddy-beddy good to me.” Another favorite was when he portrayed a deaf interpreter on the Update desk who would just repeat the news shared by Chevy Chase louder without signing it.
Morris explained how he attempted to infuse his characters with something other than stereotypical images of Black people. Despite that, however, Morris and his time on SNL, where he contributed to 99 episodes, have become synonymous with typecasting for Black actors in Hollywood.
Regardless, Morris said, “I feel proud that I was a minuscule part of the beginning of SNL and that I created the chair for the non-white performer.”
Morris’ undeniable impact on the legendary show is portrayed in the upcoming film “Saturday Night,” which chronicles the program’s debut night. Actor Lamorne Morris, of no relation, plays Morris. Even though the two share no relation, Lamorne shared with the Washington Post how they do share what it means to be the only Black guy on a cast. Lamorne famously played Winston Bishop, the only Black roommate character on the hit comedy “New Girl.”
On “The Kelly Clarkson Show” show, Lamorne joked how he grew up telling other people Garrett Morris was his father. Because of that, Lamorne had spent his life mimicking Morris on TV. He was so well practiced in portraying Morris for sport, that he was able to complete an audition tape for the part within minutes of being invited to send one in.
“I booked it the very next day,” Lamorne said.
Of Morris he said, “If you walk into a room with Garrett, he’s the most talented person there. He’s done everything. The man helped desegregate the unions. He was protesting during the Civil Rights Movement. Then he’s on SNL. I mean, you know name it.”
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