--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Lorne Michaels by Jack Nicholson: TIME 100 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt551076c37a3313bd/6987eb08524fc0a53edf0379/lorne-michaels-time-100-2015-titans.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 15, 2015 # Lorne Michaels by Jack Nicholson  SNL 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL -- Pictured: Lorne Michaels backstage at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, NY on February 15, 2015 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC) SNL 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL -- Pictured: Lorne Michaels backstage at the SNL 40th Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, NY on February 15, 2015 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC)Lloyd Bishop—NBC When I called Lorne Michaels to talk about writing this piece, he mentioned that he’d been in the TIME 100 once before, in 2008\. And I wondered, Who could TIME have chosen in between as having more influence in comedy? I’ve had the pleasure of trailing Lorne during an episode of _Saturday Night Live_, editing as he goes, writing as he goes, directing as he goes. Hard to think of anyone more skilled at discovering extraordinary comedic performers, who have gone on to become household names in their own right. It’s no wonder _SNL_‘s takes on current events have made headlines for 40 years. But as Lorne’s friend, I know that he is graciously suspect of admiration, and he understands that a discussion or dissection of humor is doomed to be dull. His credo: be funny and get on with it. (Note to TIME: if this is too short, please remember that brevity is the soul of wit. If this is too long, ask Lorne for help—he’s good at editing.) _Nicholson is a three-time Oscar-winning actor_ ### See the Best Impressions on Saturday Night Live  Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child in 1978. Edie Baskin—Warner Bros./Archive Photos/Getty Images  Dan Aykroyd as President Richard Nixon in 1978. Fred Hermansky—NBC/Getty Images  Dana Carvey as Ross Perot in 1993. Raymond Bonar—NBC/Getty Images  Norm MacDonald as David Letterman in 1997. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Molly Shannon as Monica Lewinsky and John Goodman as Linda Tripp in 1998. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Jimmy Fallon as Michael Stipe and Ana Gasteyer as Celine Dion in 1998. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery in 2000. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek in 2002. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  Maya Rudolph as Donatella Versace Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  Alec Baldwin as Tony Bennett in 2005. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton and Will Ferrell as Janet Reno in 2007. NBC/Getty Images  Will Farrell as President George W. Bush in 2008. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Tina Fey as Governor Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Senator Hillary Clinton in 2008. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kristen Wiig as Liza Minnelli in 2012. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kenan Thompson as Rev. Al Sharpton on Oct. 25, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kevin Hart as James Brown on Jan. 17, 2015. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber on Jan. 17, 2015. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3822845/lorne-michaels-2015-time-100/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3822845/lorne-michaels-2015-time-100/"},"headline":"Lorne Michaels","datePublished":"2015-04-15T23:22:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:33.457Z","description":"King of comedy","url":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3822845/lorne-michaels-2015-time-100/","keywords":["TIME 100"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt551076c37a3313bd/6987eb08524fc0a53edf0379/lorne-michaels-time-100-2015-titans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt551076c37a3313bd/6987eb08524fc0a53edf0379/lorne-michaels-time-100-2015-titans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3822845/lorne-michaels-2015-time-100/","name":"Lorne Michaels"}}]}] ```