HALL OF FAME |
Cheryl Hardwick, keyboards and musical director
|
HALL OF FAME |
Cheryl Hardwick, keyboards and musical director
|
Cheryl's
not with the band any more, but she was such an integral part of the production
for many years that I can't bear to take her page down. --Dave
Cheryl Hardwick was on the very first SNL broadcast on October 11, 1975, one of two keyboard players (the other was Paul Shaffer) hired by Howard Shore to help drive the band's rhythm section.
A Juilliard-trained keyboard artist, Cheryl played organ in the band for the first five seasons of the show and wrote many of the special songs, then left to do other projects, including writing songs for "Sesame Street". (Cheryl did return as an occasional fill-in pianist during the Tom Malone era.) She also acted as Musical Director for the first time for a short-lived Michaels-produced series, The New Show (1984).
Cheryl came back to the show full time when the SNL Band was restored to its full five-horn, two-keyboard glory in 1985 (playing mostly piano) and was appointed Musical Director in 1986. She wrote the majority of the sketch themes and many other miscellaneous compositions.
May 20, 2000 marked Cheryl Hardwick's final appearance on SNL after 25 years of sterling service to the show. During the closing credits she accepted hugs from many cast and crew members appreciative of her very hard work on the show.
Photo by Leon Pendarvis