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O ' Donoghue returned to SNL in 1981 when new executive producer Dick Ebersol needed an old hand to help revive the faltering series.

O ' Donoghue's volatile personality and mood swings made this difficult: His first day on the show he screamed at all the cast members, telling Mary Gross she was as talented as a pair of old shoes, and forcing everyone to write on the walls with magic markers.

This horrified Catherine O ' Hara so much that she quit before ever appearing on air.

The only one he liked was Eddie Murphy, reportedly because Murphy wasn't afraid of him.

According to the book Live From New York O ' Donoghue tried to shake things up on that first day by saying " this is what the show lacks " and spray-painting the word " DANGER " on the wall of his office.