 On Weekend Update near the end of Season 5 , Franken delivered a commentary called " A Limo For A Lame @-@ O " . He mocked controversial NBC president Fred Silverman as " a total unequivocal failure " and displayed a chart showing the poor ratings of NBC programs . As a result of this sketch , Silverman refused Lorne Michaels ' request that Franken succeed him as producer , prompting Franken to leave the show when Michaels did , at the end of the 1979 – 80 season . Franken later returned to the show in 1985 as a writer , and also as an occasional performer . Franken has acknowledged using cocaine while working in the television business . In 1995 , Franken left the show in protest over losing the role of Weekend Update anchor to Norm Macdonald . 
