“Talk about a live show! It’s nice to see you, welcome, and thanks for joining us — live.”

With those words, the comedian George Carlin became the host of the first episode of “Saturday Night Live,” the NBC late-night show that became a television landmark.

Mr. Carlin died Sunday at the age of 71. It speaks volumes about his prominence as a comedian that the NBC executives turned to him to host the inaugural show.

On October 11, 1975, on the debut of “SNL,” Mr. Carlin cribbed from one of his comedy albums and delivered a monologue comparing baseball and football. A Web site of SNL transcripts has the complete monologue. Mr. Carlin did not participate in any sketches; he only performed stand-up and introduced the show’s musical guests, according to the site. He recalled being “loaded on cocaine all week long,” according to the Associated Press.

Mr. Carlin regularly appeared on other late-night programs. He showed up on NBC’s “Tonight” Show a total of 130 times over the course of three decades.