Mitch Laurance - Part 1 (From Queens to Studio 8H: Mitch Laurance’s Wild Turn Toward “Saturday Night Live”)
In this opening chapter of our multi-part conversation, Mitch Laurance takes us all the way back—before the bright lights of television, before the broadcast booth, before the roles that made his career a near-constant highlight reel—back to a simpler time on the south shore of Long Island.
Born in Queens and raised in Hewlett, Mitch shares what it really felt like growing up as an identical twin: the built-in best friend, the constant competition, the comfort of always having someone to throw a football to, run pass routes with, or battle one-on-one on the backyard hoop. It’s a window into a childhood shaped by sports, neighborhood freedom, and family dinners—long before screens took over daily life.
Mitch also paints a moving portrait of his parents: a steady, quiet father who anchored the household, and a magnetic, big-hearted mother who seemed to know everyone, everywhere—right up through her later years. Along the way, he reflects on the one thing many of us wish we’d done more of: asking our parents the deeper questions while we still had the chance.
From there, the story pivots into the late-1960s college experience—an era that cracked Mitch’s world wide open—and then into a string of “how did that happen?” turns: photography school, restaurant work, a short-lived banking career in Louisville that ended with a two-week notice typed in a flash of clarity… and finally, the moment that changed everything.
A friend. A brand-new show. A simple offer: “ Lorne Michaels needs a gopher.”
Next thing Mitch knows, he’s making $93 a week, running on no sleep, and living in a tiny room above a sandwich shop—right as Saturday Night Live is being born.
And that’s just the beginning.
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Music by Lyrium.
About
"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”
Actor, Sports Broadcaster
Mitch Laurance is one of cue sports’ most recognizable and trusted voices—an entertainer, storyteller, and broadcaster whose career has traveled an uncommon path from legendary television comedy to the pressure-packed arena of championship billiards. He’s the kind of presence audiences immediately feel: warm, quick-witted, and steady when the moment gets big. And whether he’s calling a final rack under bright lights or swapping stories about the personalities who shaped the game, Mitch has built a reputation on one essential skill—making people care.
Long before pool fans knew him from the booth, Mitch was developing the instincts of a live performer in the most demanding classroom imaginable: *Saturday Night Live*. In the show’s formative years, he worked inside that famously fast, chaotic, and relentlessly creative environment, learning firsthand how timing, preparation, and teamwork turn a rough idea into something electric. Those early experiences weren’t just a résumé line—they became a professional foundation. Mitch has often reflected on what it means to operate under pressure with a clock running, an audience waiting, and no margin for hesitation. It’s a mindset that later translated seamlessly into live sports television, where a single shot can flip the story, and a broadcaster has to be ready to capture it in real time.
That blend of performance and discipline carried Mitch into a full on-camera career. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked his way into television roles, earning early credits that opened the door to a long run of appearances … Read More