Calling Ann Risley!

Since I realized that, unlike my blogs on other sites, these ones are here for all the world to see, I wanted to transmit a message that hopefully will reach its recipient someday...

Ann Risley, where are you?

I wanted to write this for a while, because in the many years I've spent researching SNL, I've come to the conclusion that if any major castmember has been horribly overlooked, it's Ann Risley.


Hired as part of the unfortunate 1980 cast, Ann's time on "Saturday Night Live" was cut short after only twelve episodes when, during the transition to Dick Ebersol's reign as executive producer, she was replaced by then-current "SCTV" cast member Robin Duke. Sadly, as all twelve of her episodes fell under NBC's lame idea to limit the rerun exposure of episodes that fell below SNL's ever-changing quality standards, Ann's work went unnoticed by most fans who didn't see the shows when they aired live. Even her lone photo in the "SNL: The First Twenty Years" book got cropped off the page... respectful network they are, huh?

The truth is, like several other cast members from that era, Ann showed a lot of potential on the show. Not only was she easily one the best looking women in SNL's history, but she showed split-second comedic timing in the very few sketches were she was given a chance to shine. A good example is "The Toni Tennille Show," from the episode hosted by Ellen Burstyn. This was probably the only sketch were Ann herself had the floor, without being weighed down by other cast members; and her performance is like clockwork. At every cue to do or say something funny, she is right on the mark. It's unfortunate that executive producer Jean Doumanian somehow failed to notice this, often wedging Ann into miscast characters or background roles.

Well, I certainly did notice, and I hope that others reading this will be inspired to track down her episodes and appreciate her work as well. Unfortunately, after SNL, she doesn't seem to have appeared on screen many more times. She currently runs an acting school in Tucson, now going under the name of Anna Risley; and apparently, she doesn't look too fondly upon her brief stint in the late night limelight. I think it's time to change that, and finally give her the credit she deserves.

So, wherever you are, Miss Risley... thank you for brightening those twelve dreary episodes with your talent. You deserved more than what you got from that show, and I hope that fan appreciation will allow you to have a better outlook on the time you spent there.