Tom Davis, one half of the...

...comedy team Franken and Davis, died at age 59. (I'm surprised there aren't more clips of them on YouTube; they were really funny.) From the New York Times obit (my emphasis): 

In 1975, Mr. Davis, brilliant at improvisational comedy, and Mr. Franken, a whiz at plotting funny sequences, became two of the first writers on a new show called “Saturday Night Live,” which has lasted 37 years. (The two should actually be called one of the show’s first writers: they accepted a single salary of $350 a week. Each, singly, was called “the guys.”) 

Actually, the show was originally called NBC's Saturday Night. Saturday Night Live, a variety show hosted by, of all people, Howard Cosell, also debuted in 1975. It lasted about six months.