Anne Beatts, Pioneering 'SNL' Writer and 'Square Pegs' Creator Passes Away Aged 74

Publish date: 2024-05-08

Comedy pioneer, “Saturday Night Live” original writer, producer, and creator behind CBS sitcom “Square Pegs” Anne Beatts has reportedly passed on at 74.

Former cast member of "SNL," Laraine Newman, announced the sad news on social media. However, the 69-year-old did not reveal Anne Beatts’ cause of death.

Taking to Twitter, Newman tweeted: “Our Anne – an OG SNL writer passed away yesterday.” She shared a photograph of Beatts offering a wide smile.

A photo of writer and creator Anne Beatts | Photo: Getty Images

In the black backdrop of the photo, Beatts wore a matching-colored blazer with a pink shirt. She wore the outfit with a multicolored scarf and accessorized with pearl earrings.

Beatts opted for a natural makeup look but had on a pop of a red-colored lip. The New Yorker styled her short white-tinted hairdo in a pixie hairstyle.

Twitter followers took to the comments section to pay tribute to Beatts as some shared how devastated they are to hear about her passing. “Oh, Laraine. I am so sad to hear this,” said one user.

The user shared how he remembers her from back in the day. "I remember Anne from her days with National Lampoon before "SNL." Yeah, I was too young to read them, but I did anyway,” he shared.

Beatts was one of the few women to join the writers’ room for the popular show when it debuted in 1975. She won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series for her work on the show.

The late creative was also nominated for the golden statuette for the next four consecutive years from 1977 to 1980. Beatts was the first female contributing editor of “National Lampoon" magazine, a humor publication that ran from 1970 to 1998.

Sarah Jessica Parker took to Twitter to pay tribute to Beatts and expressed disbelief emotions following the pronouncement of her death. "Struggling to find adequate and appropriate descriptive words to describe her singular self," she tweeted.

Parker continued to say she was coming up short with words and said Beatts was really something and thanked her for the memories she made.

Parker starred in the Beatts-created 1982 sitcom "Square Pegs," and it was her breakout role. The show was shaped by a girl's perspective and featured misfit heroines Patty Greene, played by Parker, and Lauren Hutchinson, played by Amy Linker.

The series was directed by a woman, Kim Friedman, in its first and only season. At Beatts insistence, the writing staff was initially composed of five women and just one male, Andy Borowitz.

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