"snl" was given one more chance when dick ebersol, one of the original developers of "snl" in 1974 and the man responsible for hiring lorne michaels as show-runner in 1975, was hired to replace jean doumanian. in his first week, dick ebersol fired gilbert gottfried, ann risley and charles rocket, replacing them with tim kazurinsky, catherine o'hara and tony rosato. dick ebersol made offers to john candy and catherine o'hara (of "sctv") to join the cast. john candy turned down the offer, so tony rosato was added to the cast in his place. catherine o'hara initially accepted, but changed her mind after michael o'donoghue – the show's original head writer, who had been brought in to rejuvenate the show – screamed at the cast about the season's poor writing and performances. catherine o'hara suggested robin duke as her replacement, and robin duke was brought in. catherine o'hara never appeared on "snl" as a cast member. laurie metcalf and emily prager joined as featured players.