In 1976, Lorne Michaels tried to achieve the impossible: reuniting The Beatles. The Fab Four had split in apparently acrimonious circumstances six years earlier, but that didn’t stop the producer from addressing the “Saturday Night Live” cameras directly and issuing an offer he hoped they couldn’t refuse.
Per Far Out, Michaels first tried the charm offensive, telling the Merseysiders, “In my book, The Beatles are the best thing that ever happened to music. It goes even deeper than that — you’re not just a musical group, you’re a part of us. We grew up with you.” After appealing to their egos, the funnyman then switched his attention to their bank balances, adding, “But it’s also been said that no one has yet to come up with enough money to satisfy you. Well, if it’s money you want, there’s no problem here.”
But instead of the multimillion dollar sum expected, Michaels then revealed he could only pony up a paltry $3,000. He joked, “‘She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah’ — that’s $1,000 right there. You know the words. It’ll be easy. Like I said, this is made out to ‘The Beatles.’ You divide it any way you want. If you want to give Ringo [Starr] less, that’s up to you. I’d rather not get involved.” John Lennon later told Playboy that after watching Michaels make the offer, he and Paul McCartney seriously considered heading down to 30 Rockefeller Plaza to accept half the money.
Nicki
