Lorne Michaels's Real Name: Lorne Michaels

Quick answer: The producer and writer is known professionally as Lorne Michaels. The Canadian Encyclopedia records the birth name Lorne Michael Lipowitz and the birth date November 17, 1944, in Toronto. The Jewish Virtual Library independently gives the birth date November 17, 1944, in Toronto, but records the longer name as Lorne David Lipowitz. A 2015 Encyclopaedia Britannica biography independently gives Lorne Michaels, November 17, 1944, and Toronto, without a longer legal name. Because the middle names conflict, the longer form is not used as an agreed title.

Real name and early life

The Canadian Encyclopedia says Lorne Michaels, né Lorne Michael Lipowitz, was born in Toronto on 17 November 1944, earned a B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1966, and later used the professional name Lorne Michaels. The Jewish Virtual Library independently says he was born Lorne David Lipowitz in Toronto on November 17, 1944, and names his parents as Florence (née Becker) and Henry Abraham Lipowitz. The sources differ on the middle name. The Britannica entry independently gives November 17, 1944, in Toronto, and describes him as a Canadian-born American writer and producer, without recording Lipowitz. A Television Academy biography lists a November 17 birthday and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but does not give a year; that page also includes "Learn More" links to Wikipedia and IMDb, so it is used here for career facts rather than as a second source for the birth date.

Career highlights

The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Britannica entry both say he began as a television writer before the 1975 launch of Saturday Night Live in New York. Britannica says he cocreated the show with Dick Ebersol in 1975; the Canadian Encyclopedia calls him the original producer in 1975 and the creator of the weekly show. The Jewish Virtual Library independently identifies him as the creator and executive producer of Saturday Night Live. The Television Academy biography independently records his work creating and producing Saturday Night Live, and also lists later producing credits including Late Night, since 1993, and The Tonight Show, since 2014. It further records a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1999. The Canadian Encyclopedia independently discusses his later position as a major American television producer around that show.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Lorne Michaels, Lorne Michael Lipowitz, or Lorne David Lipowitz are looking for the same Saturday Night Live producer. The sources used here agree on the professional name and the 1944 Toronto birth; they do not agree on a single middle name.