"[In 1980] NBC was getting a double drubbing: terrible ratings in prime time and even worse press. Fred Silvemtan, having a spectacularly stormy reign as network president and already feeling under siege, saw 'Saturday Night Live' graduate from being a source of occasional irritation to being a major gaping trouble spot. Al Franken picked this painful moment to compose a savage piece of satire called 'Limo for a Lame-O'...
"Franken, addressing the camera, told viewers Silvernan had done a lousy job running the network and didn't deserve the limousine that was one of his lavish perks, whereas Franken, star of a hit show did. He invited viewers to write to Silverman demanding that Franken be given the use of a limo. More than five thousand letters -- nastily addressed to 'The Lame-O' -- deluged an infuriated Silverman's office."
Sources
Shales & Miller, Live From New York, p. 180
