 Upon graduation from college, Zweibel started writing for stand-up comedians who paid him seven dollars a joke.He later compiled over 1,100 of them into a portfolio which he showed to producer Lorne Michaels who then hired Zweibel to be one of the original writers of a new show called "Saturday Night Live".During his 5 years at "Saturday Night Live" (1975–1980), Zweibel wrote many memorable sketches, including the "Samurai" for John Belushi, and helped to create the characters of Roseanne Roseannadanna and Emily Litella, both portrayed by Gilda Radner.