Phil Hymes, SNL's lighting designer from 1976 to 2018, dies: He won an Emmy just last year while in his 90s

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Hymes, who was in his mid-90s, won an Emmy in 2018 for Outstanding Lightning Design for a variety series for his work on Saturday Night Live. He also designed the lighting for Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show and Seth Meyers' Late Night. "My dear friend Phil Hymes passed yesterday," tweeted Late Night producer Mike Shoemaker, who worked with Hymes at SNL. "He was the lighting director for SNL since forever and Jimmy and Seth and everyone else you know who is well-lit.  He was ornery and opinionated and truly hilarious." SNL historian James Andrew Miller added: "His brilliance was on display every show; his contributions, particularly early on in @nbcsnl history, were critical; and he was part of one of the most extraordinary workplace cultures in the history of television. RIP Strong man." When Lorne Michaels was asked about retiring from SNL in a 2014 interview with Deadline, he referred to Hymes. "My lighting director, Phil Hymes, is 91, and he’s out there every night for the warm-up, and he’s not lost a step," said Michaels. "So, maybe there’s something healthy in the studio. I don’t think it’s Shangri-La, but maybe there’s something. I think feeling useful is probably the most important thing, in terms of keeping you alive and interested." UPDATE: Hymes was 96.