CTVNEWS

Lorne Michaels to receive international Emmy honour

The Canadian Press Published Monday, June 14, 2010 12:57PM EDT

Tina Fey, executive producer Lorne Michaels and Alec Baldwin pose with the award for outstanding comedy series for their work on '30 Rock' at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. (AP / Reed Saxon)

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NEW YORK - The Canadian creator of "Saturday Night Live" is being honoured with an International Emmy Award.

Lorne Michaels will receive the International Emmy Directorate Award at the 38th annual International Emmy Awards gala on Nov. 22 in New York City.

The organizers of the award say they're honouring Michaels for founding "SNL," which "reinvented comedy on television and launched a generation of major film and TV stars."

Michaels is also executive producer of "30 Rock" and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

"Saturday Night Live" has been on the air for 35 years and is broadcast in about 130 countries.

"With 'Saturday Night Live,' Lorne Michaels opened the door to a new kind of comedy on television and since then nearly everyone has walked through it," said international academy president Bruce L. Paisner in a statement.

"He has changed our entertainment, affected our politics, and shaped the way we view the world."