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Live From Austin: The Lorne Michaels Collection Opens at Harry Ransom Center

Explore behind-the-scenes treasures from “SNL” and beyond — including props, costumes and scripts spanning nearly five decades of comedy history

Mary Ellen Matthews, [Lorne Michaels and Madeline Kahn with Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as Spartan cheerleaders], 1996. Lorne Michaels Collection. Harry Ransom Center.
Mary Ellen Matthews’ 1996 photograph shows Lorne Michaels and Madeline Kahn with Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri in their Spartan cheerleaders costumes. (Photo courtesy of the Lorne Michaels Collection, Harry Ransom Center)

The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin will open the exhibition “Live from New York! The Making of Lorne Michaels” on Sept. 20, marking the first major public showing of the famed producer’s archives. The collection, a gift from the Michaels family, will be on display through March 15, 2026.

Michaels, the creator and longtime producer of “Saturday Night Live (SNL),” approached the Ransom Center in 2023 about housing his archive. Over 500 banker’s boxes arrived in Austin that November, filled with annotated scripts, production notes, photographs and other materials. Processing the collection has taken more than two years, and it will be available for research in the Ransom Center’s Reading Room beginning in January 2026.

Guest curator Steve Wilson, who came out of retirement to oversee the exhibition, said Michaels’ creative philosophy guided his selections.

“Live from New York! The Making of Lorne Michaels,” opens Sept. 20 at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin.
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“Live from New York! The Making of Lorne Michaels,” opens Sept. 20 at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin.(Photo by Trent Lesikar)
The costume worn by Chris Farley in the “Matt Foley: Van Down by the River” sketch
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The costume worn by Chris Farley in the “Matt Foley: Van Down by the River” sketch. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
Costumes for Cady Heron and Regina George, played by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams in the film "Mean Girls," written by Tina Fey and produced by Lorne Michaels.
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Costumes for Cady Heron and Regina George, played by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams in the film “Mean Girls,” written by Tina Fey and produced by Lorne Michaels. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
The exhibiton features items from Michaels’ studio Broadway Video and photographs from the set of "Three Amigos," which he co-wrote.
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The exhibiton features items from Michaels’ studio Broadway Video and photographs from the set of “Three Amigos,” which he co-wrote. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
Costumes from the Roxbury Guys, Doug and Steve Butabi — the head-bobbing, nightclub-frequenting brothers played by Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell — are featured in the exhibition
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Costumes from the Roxbury Guys, Doug and Steve Butabi — the head-bobbing, nightclub-frequenting brothers played by Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell — are featured in the exhibition. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)

Putting on a cool show

“We just had a wonderful conversation about, you know, improv world and ‘Saturday Night Live’ and all of that and it was the end of the conversation. He said, you know, all I ever really wanted to do was put on a cool show. And I thought, there it is. So that’s what I tried to do—is it cool? Is it interesting to me? And if it is, then it goes into the short list,” Wilson said.

The exhibition draws from across Michaels’ career, from his early work on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” to sketches that became cultural landmarks. It also showcases projects beyond “SNL,” including “The Kids in the Hall,” “Wayne’s World” and “Three Amigos.”

Some of the most recognizable artifacts come courtesy of NBCUniversal, which has loaned out iconic costumes and props: the cowbell from Will Ferrell’s “More Cowbell” sketch, the Five-Timers Club jacket, and costumes worn by characters like Matt Foley, the Church Lady, the Festrunk brothers and the Butabi brothers. Also on view will be the ripped photo of Pope John Paul II from Sinéad O’Connor’s controversial 1992 appearance and costumes from “Mean Girls.”

The exhibiton features highlights of SNL's legacy, including musical guests, cultural commentary, famous sketches and key cast members across the decades.
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The exhibiton features highlights of SNL’s legacy, including musical guests, cultural commentary, famous sketches and key cast members across the decades. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
Costumes worn by Dan Aykroyd as Yortuk and Steve Martin as Jorge in the “Two Wild and Crazy Guys” sketch, which premiered on "Saturday Night Live" in 1977.
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Costumes worn by Dan Aykroyd as Yortuk and Steve Martin as Jorge in the “Two Wild and Crazy Guys” sketch, which premiered on “Saturday Night Live” in 1977. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
Posters featuring NBC late-night television hosts Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers
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Posters featuring NBC late-night television hosts Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
The ripped photo of Pope John Paul II from Sinéad O’Connor’s controversial 1992 "SNL" performance.
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The ripped photo of Pope John Paul II from Sinéad O’Connor’s controversial 1992 “SNL” performance. (Photo by Trent Lesikar)
The prop gift box from the “Dick in a Box” sketch, performed by Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake on "Saturday Night Live."
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The prop gift box from the “Dick in a Box” sketch, performed by Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake on “Saturday Night Live.” (Photo by Trent Lesikar)

A wealth of archival footage and documents

Wilson noted that the archive goes far beyond what visitors will see in the exhibition. “Oh, it’s a tiny, tiny fraction. There’s so much more. The idea was that we would have an exhibition about this entire career. What I found is that we couldn’t even get all the highlights, much less misfires or false starts. He’s had a remarkable career and incredible impact on our culture.”

The Ransom Center has also acquired a remarkable video archive, including copies of every “SNL” episode and dress rehearsal, as well as rare footage from Michaels’ early shows.

The exhibition underscores the Ransom Center’s growing reputation as a repository for major cultural collections, which already include the archives of Robert De Niro, Gabriel García Márquez and Matthew Weiner. Wilson speculated that De Niro’s connection to Michaels may have helped pave the way. “It’s quite possible, I think, that one of his archivists talked to Robert De Niro’s archivists,” he said.

The Lorne Michaels Collection will be accessible in the Ransom Center’s Reading Room beginning January 2026. The Reading Room is free and open to the public with a research account.

“Live from New York! The Making of Lorne Michaels” opens Sept. 20. Exhibition hours are noon to 5 p.m. on weekends and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Admission is free. An author talk with Susan Morrison, author of “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” will take place Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.

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