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Saturday Night Live
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Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late night 90-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. It is one of the longest-running network entertainment programs in American television history. Each week, the show's cast is joined by a guest host and a musical act.
Originally, the show was called NBC's Saturday Night until NBC retitled its show in 1976 (the Saturday Night Live title having been previously attached to a short-lived variety show hosted by Howard Cosell and airing on rival network ABC). The first show with the new title was broadcast on March 26, 1977.
The show — broadcast from Studio 8H at the
GE Building (called the
RCA Building until 1988) in New York's
Rockefeller Center — has been the launching place for many major American comedy stars of the last thirty years. It was created by Canadian
Lorne Michaels who, excluding a hiatus from Season 6 through Season 10, has
produced and
written for the show and remains its executive producer (
Jean Doumanian produced most of Season 6, and
Dick Ebersol Seasons 7–10).
In 2005, NBC renewed SNL's contract until 2012.
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Cast
- 2.1 Current repertory players
- 2.2 Current featured players
- 2.3 Notable tenures
- 2.4 Longest-serving Weekend Update Anchors (3 or more seasons)
- 2.5 Family connections
- 2.6 Saturday Night Live Curse
- 2.7 Contracts
- 3 The studio
- 4 Production process
- 5 When it's not live
- 6 When it's less than live
- 7 Rights to SNL
- 8 Guest hosts
- 8.1 Frequent hosts (5 times or more)
- 8.2 Cast members who have hosted
- 8.3 Hosts who auditioned (or were offered) to join the cast
- 8.4 Political figures who have hosted
- 8.5 Sports figures who have hosted
- 9 Musical guests
- 9.1 Frequent musical guests
- 9.2 Musical guests who simultaneously hosted
- 10 Last-minute replacements/changes
- 11 Infamous moments
- 12 Recurring characters and sketches
- 13 Films based on SNL sketches
- 14 DVD release and controversy
- 15 Criticism
- 16 Trivia
- 17 See also
- 18 References and footnotes
- 19 External links
- 20 Further reading
|
History
Cast
Current repertory players
Current featured players
None, although featured players could enter the show anytime.
For a full list of past and present cast, see Saturday Night Live cast.
Notable tenures
Although
SNL has a rapid turnover of supporting players, some performers have had long tenures with the show. Few have broken the
seven-year barrier. Among the longest-serving cast members are:
| Cast Member | Cast Status | Tenure | Total Seasons | Other Notes
|
| Darrell Hammond | Repertory Player | September 1995–present | 12 and counting | Holds the record for the highest number of seasons as a SNL cast member. Only cast member to receive a "Best Of" while still on the show.
|
| Al Franken | Featured Player | 1977–1980, 1986, and October 1987–May 1995 | 11½ | Holds the record for the second-longest-serving male SNL cast member, but only perfomed in few sketches each season. Left SNL in 1980, returned near the end of Season 11 in 1986 for a few episodes, left again, came back in 1987 and stayed until 1995.
|
| Tim Meadows | Repertory Player | February 1991–May 2000 | 9½ | Holds the record for the longest-serving African-American SNL cast member. Was often billed as a "Featured" Player during his first 2 1/2 seasons. Has a "Best Of".
|
| Kevin Nealon | Repertory Player | October 1986–May 1995 | 9 | Featured Player for his first season.
|
| Phil Hartman | Repertory Player | October 1986–May 1994 | 8 | Has a "Best Of". Referred to as the 'glue' of SNL in early '90s.
|
| Horatio Sanz | Repertory Player | September 1998–May 2006 | 8 | Holds the record for the longest serving Hispanic SNL cast member. Is also the first Hispanic cast member in the show's history. Featured Player for his first season.
|
| Maya Rudolph | Repertory Player | May 2000–Present | 7 and counting | Holds the record for most seasons on the show by a female SNL cast member. Joined the cast as featured player in late season 25, was promoted to a repertory cast member at the start of season 27 and missed most of season 31 due to pregnancy.
|
| Chris Parnell | Repertory Player | September 1998–2001 and March 2002–May 2006 | 7½ | He was fired from SNL at the end of the 2000–2001 season. However, he was rehired for the remaining half of the 2001–2002 season. Featured Player for his first season. Fired again five years later.
|
| Chris Kattan | Repertory Player | March 1996–May 2003 | 7½ | Featured Player for his first two months on the show. Has a "Best Of".
|
| Rachel Dratch | Repertory Player | October 1999–May 2006 | 7 | Holds the record for most live broadcasts by a female SNL cast member. Featured Player for her first two seasons.
|
| Tracy Morgan | Repertory Player | September 1996–May 2003 | 7 | Has a "Best Of".
|
| Will Ferrell | Repertory Player | September 1995–May 2002 | 7 | Has two "Best Of" shows.
|
Longest-serving Weekend Update Anchors (3 or more seasons)
| Cast Member | Tenure | Total Seasons | Total Episodes | Other Notes
|
| Tina Fey | October 7, 2000 – May 21, 2005 and October 22, 2005 – May 20, 2006 | 6 seasons | 117 episodes | Longest serving Weekend Update anchor, missed the beginning of the 31st season due to pregnancy
|
| Dennis Miller | November 9, 1985 – May 18, 1991 | 6 seasons | 111 episodes | Longest consecutive tenure as anchor
|
| Jimmy Fallon | October 7, 2000 – May 15, 2004 | 4 seasons | 80 episodes |
|
| Jane Curtin | October 23, 1976 – May 24, 1980 | 4 seasons | 78 episodes |
|
| Norm MacDonald | September 24, 1994 – December 13, 1997 | 4 seasons | 69 episodes |
|
| Kevin Nealon | September 28, 1991 – May 14, 1994 | 3 seasons | 60 episodes |
|
| Colin Quinn | January 10, 1998 – May 20, 2000 | 3 seasons | 50 episodes |
|
| Amy Poehler | October 2, 2004 – present | 3 seasons and counting |
|
Family connections
Some cast members are related to former staff on the show. The most prominent example is Jim Belushi, younger brother of Not Ready for Prime Time player John Belushi. Before that, Bill Murray's older brother Brian Doyle-Murray was a writer and cast member. When Dan Aykroyd left the show in 1979, he was replaced by a series of short-lived featured players, one of whom was his brother Peter Aykroyd.
Other family connections are not as obvious. For instance, long-time writer and sometime performer Jim Downey is former cast member Robert Downey, Jr.'s uncle. Cast member Gilda Radner was briefly married to G.E. Smith, who later became the show's bandleader. Michael O'Donoghue was married to SNL band pianist Cheryl Hardwick. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall were an item during their tenure, and were married in 1987.
Saturday Night Live Curse
Although SNL is well-known as the launchpad for many successful careers, a few cast members (and active crew members) have died prematurely. This has given rise to a superstition known as the Saturday Night Live Curse.[1][2][3]
Cast member deaths
| Cast Member | Date of Death | Cause(s) of Death | Notes
|
| John Belushi | March 5, 1982 | The cause of death was a speedball, an injection of cocaine and heroin. | Belushi's friend, Cathy Smith, was arrested and charged with first degree murder for having administered the fatal injection. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served over a year in prison. 6 days short of 4 years prior to Belushi's death, SNL aired a short sketch titled Don't Look Back In Anger featuring an elderly John Belushi as the last living of the "not ready for prime time" cast members.
Yep, they all thought I'd be the first to go. I was one of those live-fast, die-young, leave-a-good-looking-corpse types, you know?—John Belushi
|
| Gilda Radner | May 20, 1989 | ovarian cancer | She was scheduled to host the last episode of season 13 (1987-1988), a first for a former female cast member, but the season was cut short due to a writer's strike and her condition worsened. When Steve Martin hosted the last episode of the 1988-1989 season (Season 14), his original monologue about photographing his good and bad sides was scheduled for later in the show when news hit that Radner had died. The new monologue was Steve showing a clip from a sketch on an episode he hosted in 1978 (Steve Martin/The Blues Brothers) where two strangers (played by Martin and Radner) meet each other in a disco and start dancing elegantly around the studio until they return to their tables and go about their business as if nothing happened between them. This sketch is called Dancing In The Dark (transcript). Martin was barely able to maintain his composure during one of the most poignant and sensitive sketches on SNL. Martin's presentation was followed by a musical tribute to Gilda, performed by her former husband G.E. Smith, with the SNL Band, before going to commercial.
|
| Danitra Vance | August 21, 1994 | breast cancer | She was the first black female repertory cast member (not to be confused with Season 6 featured player/recurring extra, Yvonne Hudson). She claimed to have quit the show because she was sick of being put in stereotypical roles, but according to Al Franken in the book, Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, Vance quit because her dyslexia made it difficult to memorize lines and read from cue cards.
|
| Michael O'Donoghue | November 8, 1994 | cerebral hemorrhage | He was a one-time SNL cast member and SNL writer who long suffered from severe chronic migraine headaches. Bill Murray cameoed in a Season 20 (1994-1995) episode (hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker with musical guest R.E.M.) to honor him by replaying O'Donoghue's sketch, Mr. Mike's Least Loved Bedtime Stories: The Soiled Kimono from December 1977. (transcript of Bill Murray's appearance; transcript of Mr. Mike's Least Loved Bedtime Stories: The Soiled Kimono sketch)
|
| Chris Farley | December 18, 1997 | overdose of cocaine and heroin | Farley died from an accidental drug overdose of cocaine and heroin, commonly known as a speedball. Farley's death occurred nearly two months after he came back to host SNL, which turned out to be his last television appearance.
|
| Phil Hartman | May 28, 1998 | Murder (Gunshot) | Hartman's wife, Brynn, had been in treatment for her depression, after months of speculated marriage problems. On May 28, 1998, she consumed a combination of alcohol, cocaine and the prescription drug Zoloft, then shot Hartman that morning while he slept. She later shot herself.
|
| Charles Rocket | October 7, 2005 | Suicide | Local police in Canterbury, Connecticut found Rocket dead near his backyard with a slashed throat. The death was ruled a suicide.
|
Contracts
SNL received some negative publicity in 1999 when it was leaked that, henceforth, actors joining the show would have to agree in their five-to-six year contract that, upon request, they would act in up to three movies by SNL Films, for fees of US$75,000, US$150,000, and then US$300,000; and also that, upon request, they would leave SNL and act in an NBC sitcom for up to an additional six years. This appeared to be a reaction to former cast members such as Adam Sandler and Mike Myers going on to movie stardom.[citation needed]
Some agents and managers characterized these long-term contracts as involuntary servitude, saying that almost any young, undiscovered comic would immediately agree to any given set of exploitative contractual restrictions for the opportunity to launch a career via the show. NBC publicly defended the new contracts, saying that SNL was doing a service to young comics by launching so many careers.[citation needed]
Jay Mohr reported in Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live (ISBN 1-4013-0006-5), that his starting salary of his 5 year deal was US$5,500 per episode (in 1994) plus $1,500 for his writing credit. The following year's salary was $6,500 per episode, up to $12,500 for a 5th year tenured player.
The studio
Since the show's inception, SNL has aired from Studio 8H, located on floors 8 and 9 of 30 Rockefeller Plaza (usually nicknamed "30 Rock"). Due to the studio originally being a radio soundstage for Arturo Toscanini and his NBC Symphony Orchestra, the layout of the studio floor and the audience positioning causes some audience members to have an obstructed view of many of the sketches.
Three of the first four shows of the 1976-77 season were shot at the former NBC Studios in Brooklyn, due to NBC News using Studio 8H for Presidential election coverage.
During the summer 2005 shooting hiatus, crews began renovations on Studio 8H. With its thirty-first season premiere in October 2005, the show began broadcasting in High Definition, appearing letterboxed on conventional screens.
The offices of SNL writers, producers, and other staff can be found on the 17th floor of "30 Rock". Last Call with Carson Daly used the studio until 2005, when the show moved to Studio 9 at the NBC Studios in Burbank, California.
Production process
The following is a summary of the process used to produce the show. It is based in part on an August 2000 Writer's Digest article and an April 2004 Fresh Air interview with writer and performer Tina Fey:
Monday:
- The day begins with a topical meeting, identifying the biggest story for the show's opening.
- This is followed by a free-form pitch meeting with Lorne Michaels and the show's host for the week.
- Throughout the week the host has a lot of influence on which sketches get aired.
- Following the meeting, writers begin to draft the two scripts each must produce.
- The host does the photo shoot for the SNL bumpers.
Tuesday:
- Starting in the afternoon, anywhere from 30 to 45 scripts are written, most of which will not be broadcast.
- Once a writer's scripts are complete, he or she will often help other writers on their scripts.
Wednesday:
- All scripts get a read-through.
- After the read-through, the head writer(s) and the producers meet with the host to decide which sketches to work on for the rest of the week, with Lorne Michaels and the host having the final say.
Thursday:
- The surviving sketches are reviewed, word-by-word, by the writing staff as a whole or in two groups in the case of co-head writers.
- Some sketches which survived the cut because of their premise, but otherwise needed a lot of work, are rewritten completely. Others are changed in smaller ways.
- The Weekend Update crew starts coming together, starting with the news items written by writers dedicated all week to the segment.
- The crew comes in for rehearsal, and the music act is rehearsed as well as some of the larger, more important sketches.
- The musical guest does a photo shoot for the SNL bumpers.
- The host and musical guest and usually some cast members shoot two promos to play for NBC.
Friday:
- The show is blocked.
- The writer of each sketch acts as producer, working with the show's set designers and costumers.
Saturday:
- With the show still far from finalized, the day begins with a run-through, with props, in front of Lorne Michaels.
- After the run-through, the cast and crew find out which of the sketches are in the dress rehearsal, and which are cut. The writer/producer deals with any changes.
- This is followed by a live dress rehearsal, which lasts from 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. (or sometimes later) and contains approximately twenty minutes of material which will be deleted from the final broadcast.
- Lorne Michaels uses firsthand observation of the audience reaction to the rehearsal and input from the host and head writer to determine the final round of changes, re-ordering sketches as necessary.
- The live show then begins at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time, but some markets will delay airing.
The status of the show during the week is maintained on a bulletin board. Sketches and other segments are given labels which are put on index cards and put on the board in the order of their performance. The order is based on content as well as production limitations such as camera placement and performer availability. Segments which have been cut are kept to the side of the board. As the broadcast approaches, often the writer/producer discovers the fate of his or her segment only by consulting the bulletin board.
A 60 Minutes report taped in October 2004 depicted the intense writing frenzy that goes on during the week leading up to a show, with crowded meetings and long hours. The report particularly noted the involvement of the guest hosts in developing and selecting the sketches in which they will appear.
When it's not live
SNL is one of the few shows on television to have its in- and off-season reruns aired out of its original broadcast sequence. The sequence of the in-season reruns (that is, encore shows that air during the season it originally aired) are usually determined by the episodes' popularity. So, for example, if by the midway point of the season in December, a show hosted by Robert DeNiro turned out to be the highest rated show of the season thus far, it would be the first show to be repeated when SNL begins airing its reruns during one of their live breaks. Shows usually air twice during a particular season, but often the highest rated shows of the season have a second encore show towards the end of the off-season, or episodes will be repeated a second or third time to coincide with an event connected with the person who hosted. For example, on August 5, 2006, that prior season's show hosted by Natalie Portman was aired, as the video release for her movie V for Vendetta was the following Tuesday.
Encore showings are not always identical to the original broadcast. Frequently, successful sketches that aired later in the show during the original broadcast will be reedited to appear earlier, and segments that did not work well during the original showing are replaced by a) alternate performances or b) completely different sketches that had been taped at the dress rehearsal that preceded the live broadcast. In the earlier years of the show's history, reruns occasionally replaced weaker sketches with segments from other episodes, usually from episodes that did not have an encore showing at all.
Compilation shows
From time-to-time, SNL airs compilation shows. Such shows will feature the best of a previous season (consisting of sketches and musical segments specially selected by the producers, though the most recent of these shows was in the 1998-99 season), or of a particular cast member (such as Eddie Murphy or Adam Sandler) or guest (such as Tom Hanks), or centered on a particular theme (for example, Halloween, Christmas, or a major news event). Almost every election year since 1992, SNL airs, during primetime, a "Presidential Bash" featuring both classic and new sketches involving Presidents and presidential candidates. The 2000 Bash was notable for having self-deprecating sketches taped by the actual candidates (George W. Bush and Al Gore, though not together) in addition to the sketches with the players normally assigned to impersonate them. The 2000 Bash also featured a cameo appearance from Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura with the famous opening line "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night."
When it's less than live
- The episode scheduled for October 25, 1986, hosted by Rosanna Arquette, was not aired until November 8. NBC was broadcasting Game 6 of the 1986 World Series on the evening of October 25; the game entered extra innings, causing that night's broadcast of SNL to be first delayed and then cancelled. The show was performed for the studio audience starting at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, recorded, and broadcast two weeks later with an "apology" by New York Mets pitcher Ron Darling.
- The episode scheduled for February 10, 2001, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, aired 45 minutes late due to an XFL game. Lopez and the cast were not told by Michaels that they were not being seen live.[4]
- Episode #594 December 17, 2005, hosted by Jack Black did not start airing in some markets until 12:50 a.m. due to a long-running NFL game.
- Some live shows may also be altered and edited for the West Coast (where it is broadcast at 11:30 p.m. or 11:35 p.m. Pacific Time, depending on market); in some cases recordings of sketches or performances from the program's dress rehearsal have been substituted for the later feed.
- During Richard Pryor's monologue, he twice used the word "ass", which was muted on the West Coast (but has been restored for syndication). When Sam Kinison delivered a comic monologue in 1986, NBC removed his plea for the legalization of marijuana from the West Coast broadcast and all subsequent airings.
- On December 16, 2006, host Justin Timberlake and cast member Andy Samberg starred in the digital short "A Special Box", where the word "dick" was performed uncensored in front of the studio audience in the live performance, but the segment was censored by NBC sixteen times during the broadcast. Incidentally, during the dress rehearsal, the short was aired censored.
- A portion of Martin Lawrence's 1994 monologue concerning feminine hygiene has been removed from all repeats, replaced with a voiceover and super stating that the excised portion "...was a frank and lively presentation, and nearly cost us all our jobs."[5]
- There were even rumors that Ashlee Simpson's live performance recording fumble in 2004 was to have been edited out of the West Coast broadcast, but publicity surrounding the fiasco forced West Coast affiliates to keep the original footage aired that night. The original uncut version aired on the mid-season rerun, and also aired uncut on E!, which syndicates the show.
Rights to SNL
NBC holds the copyright to every episode of the show made thus far.
The syndication rights to the original incarnation (1975–1980) were originally acquired by Filmways Television (later Orion Television and MGM as respective successors), while the syndication rights to the shows made from 1980 forward (that is, rerun rights beginning two years after its original NBC airings) have been held by Broadway Video, Lorne Michaels' production company.
The home video rights have also been scattered. Warner Home Video originally released several episodes from the original incarnation (1975–1980). Paramount released a "Best of Eddie Murphy" video compilation in the 1980s (Murphy had a multi-picture deal with Paramount at the time). In the 1990s, Starmaker Entertainment held the video rights. Lions Gate Home Entertainment handled the VHS and DVD releases of SNL under a new license with NBC until 2006, when Universal Studios Home Entertainment took over releasing SNL DVDs, as Universal Studios and NBC are owned by the same company, NBC Universal.
For many years, Comedy Central aired SNL reruns from 1980-93 under license from Broadway Video. In 1998 or so, Comedy Central began getting reruns from 1993 to the (then) present. In 2001, E! Entertainment Television contracted with Orion/MGM to show reruns from the 1975-80 seasons. At the same time, a deal was signed to move the 1980-present reruns to E! starting March 2003. By fall 2003, the 1975-80 reruns were rarely programmed by E! and had disappeared entirely by 2005. The reruns currently shown on E! are edited down to 60 minutes. Many fans were displeased with this move, as E! does not show SNL reruns as frequently as Comedy Central did in the past.
The only episodes that have not been included in any syndication package (including the current deal with E!) are the prime time special at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the only time the show has originated outside of New York, and the infamous 1990 episode which Andrew Dice Clay hosted.
Note: An edited version (one hour) of the Andrew Dice Clay episode did air on one occasion, during a "Bleep Day" marathon on Comedy Central in the late 1990s. The episode also aired in its entirety in 2003 during NBC's (now defunct) Classic Saturday Night Live.
In other countries
In Canada, episodes from 1975–1980 are aired in late night programming hours, weeknights on some Global Television Network owned stations such as CHAN, CHCA, and CIII. However, these episodes are edited considerably to fit into to a one hour timeslot, rather than the usual hour and a half.
In Australia, SNL was formerly seen on cable TV network Arena. However, as of November 2006, The Comedy Channel picked up the rights to the one-hour syndicated version, and is airing episodes from 2002-2005 Weekdays at 2 p.m. On Saturday, November 18 at 9.30 p.m., they began airing new episodes, beginning with the premiere of the 2005-06 season.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, SNL is shown on ITV4 in varying 'graveyard' timeslots around midnight on Saturday night. The 2006-2007 season began showing on February 11, 2007. This is the one hour version of the show.
Recently, CNBC Asia's Singapore service dropped SNL. Up until then, SNL was seen on CNBC Asia every Saturday at 11 p.m., with an encore telecast on Sunday in a similar time slot.
Also in Portugal, the show was aired on SIC COMEDIA between April 28th 2005 to the day of the channel cancellation, December 31, 2006. It aired every weekdays during the 5.00-6.00 pm slot. Episodes from the 1990/1991 season to the 1999-2000 season were aired and from December 2005 the show re-ran the same episodes.
The one-hour syndicated version is also broadcast on Saturdays on Sony Entertainment Television Latin America.
Guest hosts
- A separate list of Saturday Night Live hosts and musical guests is available.
There have been many people who have been invited to host SNL. The hosts have ranged from stand-up comedians, like Steve Martin, Robin Williams and George Carlin, to serious character actors, like Robert DeNiro, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron and Charlton Heston; from pop music icons, like Janet Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears, to sports figures like Deion Sanders, Tom Brady, The Rock, O.J. Simpson and Derek Jeter. SNL has also had many of its distinguished alumni, like Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Norm Macdonald and Will Ferrell to return to host the show.
Even elected political figures, like former Vice-President Al Gore, U.S. Senate members John McCain and George McGovern and New York Mayors, Ed Koch and Rudy Guiliani have hosted the show. Other notable public figures to have hosted SNL have included Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Ralph Nader. The following are lists of notable categories of SNL hosts.
Frequent hosts (5 times or more)
There have been many people who have been invited to come back and host SNL again, but few have broken the "five time hosting" barrier. Since December 1990, performers who have either hosted SNL (or appeared as a musical guest) for five times are considered members of SNL's Five Timer's Club.
Some of these "Five Timer" hosts (such as Steve Martin, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, and Alec Baldwin) have hosted so many times that special episodes of SNL have been compiled and aired as "Best of ..." episodes. Hosts who have been the subject of a Best of SNL videotape, DVD, or compilation special are marked with a (•) in the "Other Notes" section on the list below. The following people have hosted SNL at least five times:
| Host | Number of Episodes | First Hosted | Last Hosted | Number of Special Cameos | Other Notes
|
| Steve Martin | 14 | October 23, 1976 | February 4, 2006 | 6 | Hosted three times in one year, 1978. He co-hosted with Chevy Chase and Martin Short on December 6, 1986 (•)
|
| Alec Baldwin | 13 | April 21, 1990 | November 11, 2006 | 3 | Co-hosted with wife (Kim Basinger) on February 12, 1994 (•)
|
| John Goodman | 12 | December 2, 1989 | November 3, 2001 | 9 | Hosted once a season for 11 straight seasons; holds SNL record for most total guest appearances (21).
|
| Buck Henry | 10 | January 17, 1976 | May 24, 1980 | 5 | Hosted twice a season for each of the first five seasons. He is also the very first five-timer.
|
| Chevy Chase | 9 | February 18, 1978 | February 15, 1997 | 5 | First former cast member to host more than five times. Was banned from ever hosting again in 1997. (•)
|
| Tom Hanks | 8 | December 14, 1985 | May 6, 2006 | 1 | Had two recurring characters during his hosting tenures: A short-term memory guy, and as one of the lady crooners in a skit also featuring Jon Lovitz. (•)
|
| Elliott Gould | 6 | January 10, 1976 | November 15, 1980 | 1 |
|
| Danny DeVito | 6 | May 15, 1982 | December 10, 1999 | 3 | Co-hosted with wife (Rhea Perlman) on October 15, 1983
|
| Christopher Walken | 6 | January 20, 1990 | February 22, 2003 | 0 | (•)
|
| Candice Bergen | 5 | November 8, 1975 | May 19, 1990 | 0 | The first woman to host five times; hosted twice in one season in 1975.
|
| Bill Murray | 5 | March 7, 1981 | February 20, 1999 | 1 | Second former cast member to host five or more times.
|
| Drew Barrymore | 5 | November 20, 1982 | February 3, 2007 | 4 | The second woman to host five times
|
Cast members who have hosted
As of May 2006, there have been 22 performers who have hosted SNL who, at one point in their careers, were either a repertory or featured member of the SNL cast. The following performers have hosted SNL either before, during or after their tenure as a member of the SNL cast.
| Host | Number of Episodes | First Hosted | Last Hosted | Number of Special Cameos | Other notes
|
| Chevy Chase | 9 | February 18, 1978 | February 15, 1997 | 5 | First former cast member to host and first to host more than five times. He is the first former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL. As of 1997, he has been banned from ever hosting again.
|
| Bill Murray | 5 | March 7, 1981 | February 20, 1999 | 1 | Second former cast member to host five or more times. He is the second former Weekend Update anchor to come back to host SNL. Only cast member to host during Jean Doumanian's tenure as producer.
|
| Dana Carvey | 3 | October 22, 1994 | October 21, 2000 | 5 |
|
| Don Novello | 2 | January 14, 1984 | May 12, 1984 | 3 | Sometimes appeared as Father Guido Sarducci.
|
| Eddie Murphy | 2 | December 11, 1982 | December 15, 1984 | 0 | He is the first African-American cast member to host SNL. He is the only performer to host while still a cast member. Also, he was the first of only four hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
|
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus | 2
| May 13, 2006 | March 17, 2007 | 0
| She is the first female alum to host SNL, and as of March 17, 2007, she remains the ONLY female alum to host SNL. She is one of only four cast member hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
|
| Billy Crystal | 2 | March 17, 1984 | May 12, 1984 | 2 | He is the first performer to join the cast after he had hosted. He co-hosted with Ed Koch, Don Novello, Betty Thomas and Edwin Newman on May 12, 1984. Also, he is one of only four hosts who joined the cast when Lorne Michaels was not producing SNL.
|
| Martin Short | 2 | |
