Author Susan Morrison on profiling Lorne Michaels

Susan Morrison, articles editor for The New Yorker, can relate to long-standing SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels: Both have to manage the delicate egos of talent while coming up against a grueling weekly deadline. This commonality is apparent in her approach to the new biography Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live. Her book is a deep dive into the making of the man who created (and is still at the helm of) the pop culture behemoth, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Morrison tells The Treatment about how Michaels’ early experiences in show business informed his ideas about SNL and how he worked the show’s production schedule around his life. Plus, she debates Elvis about where Michaels picked up his instantly recognizable and widely imitated way of speaking.