Legendary “Saturday Night Live” comedy writer Anne Betts has died at the age of 74.
According to the Associated Press, Beatts died Wednesday at her home in West Hollywood, which was confirmed by the author’s longtime filmmaker Rona Edwards.
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Former Saturday Night Live writer Anne Beatts passed away on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at the age of 74, according to her good friend Rona Edwards. (Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP)
Beatts started her career as a TV comedy writer on ‘SNL’ in 1975. She worked with writers Rosie Shuster, Alan Zweibel and Marilyn Suzanne Miller on the evening sketch series.
Famous actors such as Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray delivered iconic lines written by Beatts and her team, including Lisa Loopner’s motto: “It’s so funny I forgot to laugh.”
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Beatts worked on the late-night series for five seasons.
By 1982, Beatts’ sitcom “Square Pegs” debuted for young adults with actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Linker, as a Patty Greene and Lauren Hutchinson, respectively. The show lasted one season and centered on the two awkward teens in their freshman year at Weemawee High School.
“Square Pegs” was praised by critics at the time and maintains a rating of 7.3 out of ten stars on IMDb.
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Parker, 56, expressed her sadness in a tweet Thursday: “Struggling to find adequate and appropriate descriptive words to describe her singularity. I need time. Because I fall short. Okay, she really was something. RIP Anne. Thank you. For memories, many can make 17/18 yr old. “
Other notable Beatts writing and production credits include ‘Murphy Brown’, ‘The Bellers of Bleeker Street’, ‘A Different World’ and ‘Leader of the Pack’.
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Beatts grew up in Buffalo, New York, but eventually moved with her family to Somers, a town in Westchester County.
She visited McGill University in Montreal and wrote comedy pieces for National Lampoon magazine before switching to the small screen.
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Beatts’ cause of death was not immediately disclosed at the time of publication. However, she is survived by her daughter, Jaylene; her sister Barbara Resucha; and two nieces Jennifer and Kate Dreger.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.