Teamed with a leather jacket, Cher wowed the crowd with her age-defying physique and stamina.<\/p>\n
Other celebs who performed at the event included Miley Cyrus, Bad Bunny, The Roots, Arcade Fire, Backstreet Boys, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Chris Martin, David Byrne and Lady Gaga.<\/p>\n \u201cSNL\u201d aired its first-ever episode in 1975 with musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian.<\/p>\n To celebrate half a century on air, a star-studded special is set to air this Sunday.<\/p>\n And with the program rapidly approaching, Keith Raywood, who has been a production designer on the series for forty years,\u00a0took a moment to reflect\u00a0on \u201cSNL.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been a part of this pretty much my entire adult life,\u201d the Emmy-winning production designer told The Post.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always looked at it as something I love doing, but it\u2019s also my job,\u201d Raywood continued. \u201cWe\u2019re not designing things aware of what it might mean \u2013 like \u2018this cowbell is going to become iconic\u2019\u201d he said, referring to\u00a0Will Ferrell\u00a0and Christopher Walken\u2019s iconic\u00a0\u201cMore Cowbell!\u201d sketch<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know about [the audience reaction]. You\u2019re just part of the entire process.\u201d<\/p>\n After decades working on set, Raywood is just now realizing what a phenomenon the show truly is.<\/p>\n As he put it: \u201cIt\u2019s only recently that I\u2019ve become aware of how much the show has meant to people, how much it\u2019s\u00a0meant to the culture,\u00a0how much it\u2019s meant to New York.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t aware of that until fairly recently. It\u2019s very satisfying to know that I\u2019ve been a part of all that.\u201d<\/p>\n Raywood also spoke about how the show\u2019s creator, Lorne Michaels, still has a hand in\u00a0\u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d\u00a050 years later.<\/p>\n \u201cLorne is very involved, but not in the sort ofnitty-grittyy of a particular sketch. We would be dealing with the director Liz Patrick. Or, a writer will come in and say they need something or they want to change a prop or something like that,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n As for celebrating the show\u2019s\u00a0half-centennial on the air?<\/p>\n \u201cWe [will] have about 450 people in the studio, which is essentially about 200 people more than we would normally have,\u201d Raywood revealed.<\/p>\n The audience will be jam-packed with the special guests\u2019 friends and family.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine all the people who have been on the show \u2013 those cast members and hosts. It\u2019s a lot of people [there to see them]. And, those seats don\u2019t normally exist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Iconic cast members from past and present are set to make an appearance, including Jane Curtin, Amy Poehler,\u00a0Chevy Chase\u00a0, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy,\u00a0Will Ferrell, and others.<\/p>\n Although Raywood couldn\u2019t reveal what viewers will see, he did tease that it will involve \u201clots of new and older cast members doing lots of sketches.\u201d<\/p>\n