Anne Beatts is dead. Pioneer in the world of comedy writing, BeatShe is probably known for her five-year career as a writer in the early days of Saturday night live, where, as one of the few women on the program’s writing staff, she helped craft any class numbercharacters and sketches sic. After leaving the series, Beatts he created his own television, mostly the cult cult sitcom Square pegs, helping to launch the career of a young Sarah Jessica Parker in the process. In accordance with Variety, Beatts the death was confirmed today by his longtime friend Rona Edwards. Beatts was 74 years old.
Beatts first gained prominence as a comedy writer with her tenure as editor at the Beatles National Lampoon, one of the various tributaries of the comedy that fed the writing staff of the original SNL. (She was recognized for co-writing a fake ad that won the magazine a Volkswagen lawsuit.) By joining the series, Beatts they were often combined with their writer Rosie Shuster, where they were often tasked with development material for women program staff members, most notably Gilda Radner. (Like many of the early years SNL writers, Beatts was a writer on Radner’s 1980 solo program Gilda Live.) Beatts wrote for SNL for the entire original term of Lorne Michaels in the series, creating characters such as Todd and Lisa Lupner (also known as The Nerds), the deeply haunting “Uncle Roy” by Buck Henry and Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute.
In the 1980s, Beatts began creating herself Square pegs for CBS. Announced to tell the same kind of teen-focused stories that John Hughes would spend the next decade looking for hits, the one-season show featured a cast of future stars (especially Parker), a new, high-wave soundtrack and at least some cameo performances by old Beatts friends—especially Bill Murray in a single-episode guest star role. (Father Guido Sarducci also appeared.) Unfortunately, dysfunction reports on the show set lHe headed to the studio with a promising start, finishing the series after a single season.
After Square pegs ended, Beatts continued to write with some regularity, writing an episode of Murphy Brown at the 90s, and writing for the short life of comedian Stephanie Miller evening talk in 1995. She also worked for many years as a professor of writing, serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, and at Chapman University.