In 1974, photographer Edie Baskin met Lorne Michaels at a poker game at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The two became fast friends, and, not long after, they started talking about working together on a project Michaels had cooking.
“He had seen my photography work, so he knew what I was capable of, and, one day, he called me and told me he was moving to New York to start a show,” she told The Post. “I was already living in New York and looking for a job.”
The show was, of course, “Saturday Night Live,” and Baskin would go on to serve as its chief photographer from 1975 to 2000.
Every week, she’d shoot the host and musical guests backstage; develop and print the black-and-white images overnight, and then hand-tint them with bright paints. The dynamic shots — of stars such as Nicole Kidman, Mick Jagger and George Harrison — would flash onscreen during the opening credits or before or after a commercial break. Their images became a marquee fixture that defined the look of “SNL.”
Baksin’s portraits are back in the spotlight with a new book “Live From My Studio: The Art of Edie Baskin” (ACC Art Books, out Oct. 7).
Here, she shares some of her favorite images from a quarter of a century working on the show.
Lily Tomlin
Baskin had already photographed the funny lady on a television special that Michaels had produced in California when she met her again on the set of “SNL” in 1976. “It was wonderful to reconnect with her in New York,” she told The Post. “This particular photo was taken during the dress rehearsal for her character Edith Ann, which happens to be my legal name.” Baskin noted that she recently spoke to Tomlin by phone and describes the actress as unchanged. “She was still exactly the same as she’s always been: warm, gracious, and full of life. She’s truly one of a kind.”
Steve Martin
Baskin shot this image of the comedian, whose image graces the cover of the book, while he was on a break on one of his numerous appearances as a host. “He hosted eight times during [one] stretch,” she said. “Steve was wonderful to photograph because he was so expressive, and he had a real sense of style that stood out, both on camera and off.”
Paul Simon
Baskin and the musicians were friends before she started working on SNL. They’d first met at a Grammy after-party in Los Angeles, and Baskin had taken a portrait of him on the fire escape of her Soho loft that was used as an album cover on Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years.” He’s “incredibly smart, with a great sense of humor,” she said of her longtime pal.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
