On April 24, 1976, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels appeared on the show to pitch The Beatles on reuniting on the show:
"Now, we've heard and read a lot about personality and legal conflicts that might prevent you guys from reuniting," he said. "That's something which is none of my business. You guys will have to handle that. But it's also been said that no one has yet come up with enough money to satisfy you. Well, if it's money you want, there's no problem here. The National Broadcasting Company has authorised me to authorise you a certified cheque for $3,000[…]
You divide it anyway you want: if you want to give Ringo less that's up to you. I'd rather not get involved."
The kicker is that the following week, Paul McCartney was visiting John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their New York City apartment and while watching SNL, they talked about dropping by the studio as a surprise that night. As McCartney told the story on a podcast:
"John said: 'We should go down there now, it's live!' and for five minutes we were like 'Yeah, lets' go down there, it'd be great, what a hoot!' and then we went 'No, let's not' and then we didn't."
From Far Out:
However, as he did so often, George Harrison stepped up to the plate and would go on to be a musical guest on 'Saturday Night Live' later in the year and carry on the joke.
Arriving to collect the previously offered cheque, he and Michaels discuss the split. With the producer's hands tied Harrison agrees that for an extra $250 he would say the show's iconic opening line, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
