Story highlights Tom Davis was hired as comedy writer on "Saturday Night Live" in 1975

He and Al Franken appeared in comedy sketches

In its early years, "SNL" was "a writer's show," Davis said in a 2010 interview

Tom Davis, who teamed up with Al Franken and wrote comedy sketches during the early years of "Saturday Night Live," died Thursday, according to Franken.

"Today is a sad day for all of us who loved Tom. I spoke with his mom this afternoon and she recalled fondly all the laughter that would come from the basement when Tom and I first got started in comedy," said Franken, a U.S. senator in Minnesota. "I visited Tom two weeks ago, and though he was deathly ill, we did a lot of laughing. He was a great friend, a good man, and so funny."

There were no immediate details on the cause of death.

Davis, 59, and Franken started "Franken and Davis" in high school, according to IMDb.

The pair, specializing in political satire, were hired as writers in the inaugural season of "SNL" in 1975. They also made occasional appearances on the show.

Current cast member Seth Meyers tweeted, "RIP Tom Davis, 'SNL' original. He was as kind as he was funny."

Davis, in a 2010 interview with SiriusXM, said the first five years of "SNL" was a "writer's show."

"The way I wrote sketches was I wanted the actors to serve the sketch," he said. "I don't think it works that way so much anymore."

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