Anne Beatts

Along with frequent collaborator Rosie Schuster, Anne Beatts was one of the original writers on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ) and her efforts resulted in some of the most memorably hilarious moments found on that legendary program. In addition to helping break new ground for women in that medium, Beatts also managed to surmount the Boy's Club comedic brain trust at National Lampoon, becoming the magazine's first female contributor. While she and Shuster were instructed to concentrate their efforts on the three "SNL" female cast members, they still managed to concoct memorable sketches for most everyone. Beatts' willingness to fight for her material did not always sit well with co-workers, but that situation was created at least in part by the tougher conditions that she and Schuster were forced to work under. The results usually spoke for themselves and along with her fellow writers, Beatts shared a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series. Following "SNL," she created "Square Pegs" (CBS, 1982-83) though low ratings ultimately killed the acclaimed sitcom after a single season. Beatts also found a new vocation as Adjunct Professor in the Writing Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, where she taught a course on writing for late night comedy programs. While her later television ventures mostly fizzled, Beatts accomplished much during her time with "SNL" and fully deserved her status as a true pioneer and trailblazer for female comedy writers and showrunners.