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December 19, 2011
Ranked: Every Saturday Night Live Cast Member Ever, From Worst to Best
A highly scientific survey that will surely lead to no disagreements.
By Phil Nugent
We are gathered here today to rank the — what is it? Jesus! — ninety-two past and present cast members of Saturday Night Live, in ascending order of their contribution to the show. This is no way to make friends. But while no one will be completely happy with the results, let's at least stress one of the ground rules: for the purpose of this experiment, these performers are being graded solely on the work they did on SNL itself. If we were talking about their entire careers, Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Rock, and Joan Cusack would be clustered at the top. As it is, they're not even serious contenders for the top twenty.
92. VICTORIA JACKSON (1986-1992):
Jackson's cute-ditsy-idiot act got pretty thin when dragged out over the course of five seasons. Plus, it turns out it wasn't an act.
91. JIM BELUSHI (1983-1985):
It seems unlikely that the people who hired Jim Belushi believed they were bringing his brother John back on board, especially since John Belushi had been dead for a year at that point. But the alternative explanation is that they knew who Jim Belushi was and still wanted him, and how likely is that?
90. GARY KROEGER (1982-1985):
Kroeger was so boring that he was cast as Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential campaign. His most memorable bit featured him begging viewers to elect Mondale so that he'd still have something to do on the show after November. In retrospect, it may have cost Mondale some votes.
89. COLIN QUINN (1995-2000):
Quinn is a funny guy, but he just looked miserable when he was on this show, and the feeling soon became contagious. The definition of one-note comedy.
88. ROB SCHNEIDER (1990-1994):
We'll say this for Schneider: considering how doggedly he insisted on pounding one-joke characters into the ground, doing the same shtick over and over and over again, he couldn't have picked a more fitting catchphrase than "Makin' copies!"
87. ELLEN CLEGHORNE (1991-1995):
Perhaps the biggest laugh ever generated by Cleghorne's name was a throwaway reference on Family Guy, when someone wondered aloud if she'd ever find "an appropriate vehicle." The most appropriate vehicle for Cleghorne's career is probably a hearse.
86. BRAD HALL (1982-1984):
If anyone remembers Brad Hall today, it's because he married Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
85. HORATIO SANZ (1998-2006)
Too much laughing at his own jokes, not enough funny.
84. MELANIE HUTSELL (1991-1994)
Hutsell did a few memorable appearances on Weekend Update as Jan Brady (a role that she had played before joining SNL). Otherwise, pretty forgettable.
83. CHRIS KATTAN (1996-2003):
I just don't get it. Is it a monkey?
Tags
Saturday Night Live
Commentarium (229 Comments)
I'd be more eloquent and argue, but this list sucks. Andy Samberg, despite being overdone and annoying, was able to bring SNL to an internet venue and was able to package skits in a social networking-positive way. And Chris Farley, even if his shtick was one grain, and may have been blown out of proportion after his death, had some of the most memorable and funniest skits on the show. Ever. Lorne makes his bucks from specials and DVD boxsets featuring Farley.
Agreed. There are some people on this list who should be ranked higher and some who are completely overrated. Tsk tsk on your list Nerve
Wait, are you saying that an internet list has opinions you disagree with?
Holy cow, Sven. You pulled out that meme so early on a Saturday morning?
Have some coffee and come back when you're awake.
Well played Sven. Rather than broadly being critical, share your counter opinions. I actually think this list is pretty good. I definitely disagree with a bunch, but comedy is crazy subjective.
I like the top ten on this list. Anything past that is pretty difficult to quantify
andy samberg brought notoriety to the lonely island, not snl.
casey wilson?
I always thought Casey Wilson was great, but I don't think she was ever more than a "featured player" (the ones introduced second in the opening bit).
She was definitely in more skits than Morwena Banks. She did get introduced in the opening credits, so you have to consider her a regular.
how is abby elliott that high? shes non existent on the show, and simply there because of nepotism. the best female on the show right now is nasim pedrad and shes not even on this list...
Yeah, wait where is Nasim?
it just doesnt make any sense that abby elliot is ranked higher than legends like belushi, schneider, and kattan. during their time if you thought of snl you would think of those specific actors. elliot is an afterthought at best.
horrible job nerve.
But the Belushi she's ranked higher than is Jim, not John
jim belushi was a legend too. albeit not as much as his brother. but seriously, the point is that abby elliot is ranked in the 50's when schneider and kattan are at the bottom. plus, david spade isnt even on this list!
@stupid, you are a terrible hater of things on the internet. Spade is on the list (36). Jim Belushi is NOT a legend. Your comments come off as juvenille when you get so much wrong. Also, Kattan and Schneider were THE WORST.
@poppy. you should probably stop smoking whatever it is you're smoking. maybe it was a reach to call jim belushi a legend but his stay on SNL was memorable (the name belushi didn't hurt), and i just didn't see david spade, but now i do. but your comment is absolutely retarded. i am a terrible hater of things on the internet because i disagree with one list that is clearly under scrutiny not just by myself but others? my name, thisisastupidlist, is meant in jest because i do not think the entire list is horrible but rather at my complete and utter shock that abby elliot is even on the list. the top 10 is sensical. what is illogical is the fact that abby elliot, someone who is not memorable or significant to the show at all is ranked higher than people who were. namely, chris kattan, rob schneider, molly shannon, will forte, jimmy fallon, and kenan thompson. kattan, schneider, shannon, forte, and fallon were staples of the show during their time and were great actors. kenan thompson has shown that he can carry a scene and could join their league one day. abby elliot cannot hold a scene and is just not funny. her main source of fandom comes from the fact that she's "hot". just watch the show and see how many skits abby elliot is in, and then how many of those skits she actually plays a major role in... you can't imagine a world in which the actors i named were not called back for the following season of snl, but you can imagine one in which abby elliot is cut from the show.
i do not hate her and i hope she eventually succeeds on the show because that would be valuable for me as a viewer, but as of now, she is simply not funny, and her place on this list is ridiculous.
@thisisastupidlist - great points about elliot. does not appear that she will come anywhere close to what fallon, forte, kattan, and schneider were to their years. she is not even the best actress on her season, yet she is place ahead of a number of them. i'm not sure that jim belushi was such a legend, as you say, but i think that he is clearly a much better comedic actor than elliot.
@poppy - have you even watched snl? i'm not sure where your anger stems from, but thisisastupidlist made some concrete arguments. i agree with your point that JIM belushi was not a legend, but i'm not sure how you can possibly back-up the statement that kattan and schneider were the worst. they clearly were not the best on the show during their tenures, but then look at the legends that were at the top during their time. kattan and schneider were great comedians and icons for snl during their reigns, and should be ranked much higher than they should.
You people scare me.
Chris Farley should be higher(better) number than 22.
Deserves to be in the top 10. Early nineties, late eighties, one of the best time periods of SNL.
Agreed. Easily the most egregious error on the list.
As Dana Carvey sung when he hosted SNL the other day, "86 to 93 was the best"
WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!!!! Let's not, I repeat NOT limit the talents of the overlooked but great and hilarious Jim Breuer to just, a character he himself hated, but it made me laugh, goatboy. That dude has so much more material to him. Seriously. He's amazing. Breur's talent extends so far beyond just that one bit.
Thank you for your input, Jim Bruer.
I am not Jim Breuer, but you're obviously someone who hasn't seen his work outside of snl, so you're just suffering from your own limited mind.
You are too Jim Breuer.
Game, set, and match.
This list doesn't care about anyone's work outside of SNL - it's attempting to grade their work as a cast member. Love Jim's outside stuff, but his most enduring character on SNL was "Backgroundy O'McNolines"
Jim Breuer. No doubt.
So we're on to hating stuff from the 90s now? Chris Kattan, Horatio Sanz, and Jimmy Fallon all belong higher on the list. Not like, a ton, but still higher. They were all solid cast members.
I feel like everyone began watching SNL at some point, and that's their favorite era. Whenever a person goes back to watching the show, they hate it because it's not what they knew. So everyone's nostalgic for whatever they first loved about the show, and it's a dumb tendency that prevents people from appreciating anything good that comes from current stuff.
Yup. This is an essential tenet of criticism for this show and favorite bands and whatever.
There's no way that anyone could rate Jimmy Fallon's or Horatio Sanz's presence as being representative of the best era of SNL. I grew up during that era, and they were putrid. I always thought the late 80s/early 90s (and then as I grew older and watched the late 70s episodes) were the golden years.
@shannon - you just figured this out now? You're not terribly smart, are you? Expect to work as a table dancer for the rest of your life. Just sayin'.
Victoria Jackson wasn't the greatest, but there were far worse (Gary Kroger, Brad Hall, etc.). The trouble is that the author of this list doesn't like her politics and religion. How bigoted and disgusting he is.
"bigoted and disgusting?" that, uh, seems a little strong
*she
Yes, SHE is a bigoted lefty loser! VJ was awesome, and should be praised for being so forthright on her CORRECT political observations!
Name one tolerable role Victoria Jackson ever had on the show. She was a dumb blonde one-trick pony who couldn't even get her one trick right.
Victoria Jackson was forgettable at best. Of course the reason why conservatives are sticking up for is because she was so talented and NOT because she's a GOP Neo-Con, right?
Right, Velvet Underground! She WAS talented, and funny, and cute as a button! Plus, you all are still talking about her, 20 years later-what other female performer from that long ago can you still say that about, besides the original Big 3?
Starring Eddie Murphy...and....EDDIE MURPHY !
Thanks for ranking Colin Quinn so poorly, but you make a mistake when you say he's "a funny guy." He is one of America's least funny alleged funnymen.
Top 10 for Amy Poehler? I know she's great on Parks & Rec, but this list supposedly isn't about that (or UCB, for that matter). Here's my question to you: name me ONE sketch she was ever in (not counting her stint as co-anchor of Weekend Update). I like her, but not in the top 10.
I always liked her as Caitlin to Horatio Sanz's Uncle Rick, but she's being highly overrated here, and I say this as a pretty big Amy Poehler fan. To have her rated higher than Chris Farley is criminal.
Or Gilda Radner. She should definitely be in the top ten.
Did I miss David Spade? Or did they miss David Spade?
He's number 36.
Thanks!
No problem. But next time, try actually reading the article instead of getting someone else to do your work for you. Bimbo.
This list is asinine and poorly researched. Tim Meadows doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the top 50, let alone ahead of Gilda Radner. It's like the person who compiled it never really even watched the show. Other than the odd appreciation of a one-note actor like Meadows, once you get in to the Top 20, it's hard to argue with any choice over another. They were all immensely talented. It's the 20-90 rankings that are all over the place and impossible to support.
As to the person who's complaining that Victoria Jackson ranks low because of her religious and political beliefs, watch five minutes of any of her "performances" and make your case on any form of objective criteria. I hated her when she was on the show, the fact that she's an ignorant bigot now only makes her complete lack of talent even more grating. I hated Melanie Hutsell and Anne Risley, too -- and I have no idea what their politics are. Not finn is not funny.
Dont' know what spell check did. My last comment was supposed to read: "Not funny is not funny."
It's kind of weird to "hate" Anne Risley. She was so inconsequential and barely made any impression at all - less an intensely negative one than none at all.
I agree, way overrates Tim Meadows.
I love Tim Meadows, and I wish they'd used him more effectively, but yeah, he didn't deserve to be ranked so high.
Tim Meadows is awesome, but Mike64 is a foggot.
I think this is a pretty good list, overall. My only major complaint is with Joe Piscopo being so low. He's an easy punchline now, but, at the time, he was clearly the number 2 performer on the show, and wasn't as far behind Eddie as people tend to think.
Agreed. He blew in feature films and stand-up, but he was really effective on SNL. "You are blind and I have sight..." is one of my favorite lines from the show's history.
The line is actually, "You are blind as a bat and I have sight" which is even funnier.
So many one-off cast members fare better than Horatio Sanz? This list is ridiculous and arbitrary.
I feel like this list is ignoring the contributions of these people to the show that the intro says it recognizes. I mean, Jimmy Fallon's laughing in sketches was annoying to many, but I really don't see how Danitra Vance (who no one remembered til they read this) was more influential to SNL history than Jimmy Fallon.
This article seems like it was written in reverse. "Who's the best comedian ever to be in SNL?" "Duh, Eddie Murphy." "Who else after that?" "Ummmm....Will Ferrell...Bill Murray...I don't know who the fuck's been on that show other that that..."
Bone(s) of contention: The only way Will Ferrell should ever be ranked before Bill Murray is alphabetically. WTF. Also, David Spade and Chris Farley should be way higher on the list. Not to mention Gilda Radner, hello!
I'm getting sick of these Nerve articles that seem to have been written by some 23-year old whose only exposure to media events that happened before 1995 was some sort of noncontextual YouTube clip. At least ask your fucking parents to explain the cultural relevance of Gilda Radner and Joe Piscopo if you're going to attempt to rank them in an article. Either that, or stick to ranking boy bands.
Agree 100%. Gilda Radner was HILARIOUS and should have been placed in the top 10.
Laraine Newman should have been ranked alot higher too.
Ditto, Vix, on Laraine Newman-a very underrated performer, but if Gildas not in the top 10, then this list has no merit! And Ferrell at #2? Yeah, hes #2 alright-only by smell!
where is Steve Martin? Was he always just hosting?
I just reread this list and I think it's pretty close in line with what I think. Definitely some outliers, but how could anyone do a list like this and there not be. Also, Piscopo was terrible, you lost all cred with that.
Wow. We lost our cred. What could we possibly do to restore your faith in us, Jackel? Say the word.
Sincerely
We all
Shit list. Where are Jay Mohr, Sarah Silverman or A. Whitney Brown?
They weren't full cast members
Neither was Finesse Mitchell
He was a full cast member from 2005-2006.
OR Al Franken? What the hell? You should feel badly about this list because it was badly done.
Not a cast member
Fair enough. "Full cast" seems like an unnecessarily narrow restriction (especially considering Al Franken) but I can accept that.
Good. Because the only alternative was for me to club you into submission with a cold, wet, dead fish and then insert your corpse into a furnace in the basement of a high school.
Damon Wayans. Missing.
Try watching the shows next time. Some are faulted for recurring characters, some for having same. Others excelled for having a catch phrase, others criticized for not.
I tire of the lot of you. Write and edit as if you care - that is how I read.
if i could write and edit as i cared, i'd edit your last post to say "hi, i'm a chronic butthole licker with a penchant for self-flagellation. call me at my home phone :" then i'd put your home phone number here.
Garrett Morris?
Yeah.
MSM.
That added line about writing only about the notable players doesn't cut it. Even if you hated Chevy Chase, for example, he certainly was notable, and you write nothing about him. That's just one example.
Could someone update me on what happened? First this was a half-assed list with several items that had no write-up or justification, and there were a bunch of comments complaining about that (including mine) which have now been deleted. Now the list seems complete, but did something happen in between? What was this "line about writing only about the notable players" that I can't seem to find anywhere now?
So, according to the list SNL's best days are behind them (I agree). Not one current cast member was ranked above 30. Fascinating.
Taran Killam. That is all.
Gilda definitely should have been in the top ten. For shame!
Steve Martin? Gilda Radner? Eddie Murphy? Anyone... Bueller?
Steve Martin wasn't a cast member. He just hosted a lot.
Nothing to say about Chevy Chase? Nothing at all? It's not that I dislike the premise, or the lovely fight we all knew it would brew up, but this project deserved more than the Cliff's Notes review you guys gave it.
This entire article was designed to slam Victoria Jackson, because she is a rarity. She's a Conservative Celeb. She's also is highly vocal about her total disdain for President Obama. So the little Leftists at Nerve had to come up with this faux article in order to express their displeasure for someone who doesn't bow before their Demi-God.
I'm a Christian Conservative (Go Bachmann!!!) and I have to disagree with 'TiminPhx'- in all fairness Victoria Jackson WASN'T that funny. (Check out her skits on You Tube) All she had was that dumb blonde shtik and it got old really quick. I think last place suits her fine. (Though I have to say, I LOVE her politics- Go Jesus!!!)
I think your "Go Jesus" at the end somewhat oversold your pretense in being a Christian Conservative. And while Jackson wasn't the funniest, her choice as the worst, is clearly just a Lefty smear job as I initially wrote. Leftists such as the writer and I would guess you, can't stand someone not accepting the wisdom of NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, PBS, NPR, the genius of Snarkmaster Jon Stewart, Steve Colbert, and newspapers and periodicals such as Time, Newsweek, the NYTimes, and on and on and on and on.
God forbid, someone turn out to disagree with the religion which is today's Progressive/Liberal way. If they do, burn them at the stake.
It must suck to be so underrepresented in the snarkmaster department that you have to latch onto Victoria Jackson as your comedy torchbearer. What about Dennis Miller? He's a righty and he's way higher on the list. And that guy hasn't been funny since....(I'll get back to you on that.)
Chill out, partner. Take the next few plays off.
I'm going to try to explain this as unemotionally as possible and I''m not concerned with Ms. Jackson's position as a cast member. (The list is insignificant). I don't know if the "Leftists at Nerve" are intentionally slamming her but she definitely deserves to be slammed and if you were in the arts you'd understand this. A lot of artists (actors, writers, painters, etc.) struggle there entire life to make a meager living at what they do. It's like a calling. (I'm already assuming you don't really understand what it means to have 'a calling' but to those that have it: it's real.) These artists make huge sacrifices to follow this calling. So when some hot blonde, (Victoria Jackson was an attractive 26 year old with a nice figure who convincingly played a dumb blonde and that was more or less her entire schtick). After she did her stint at SNL, she never did anything with her life and retired to sunny Florida. The problem, and this is why people hate her, she thought she was entitled to this fame forever, and never learned humility. When the public moved on she became a bitter judgmental person without learning 'Christian' sympathy to what her fellow artists were going through. She reaped the benefits at a relatively young never really having to struggle for it and expected people would gather around her feet. That didn't happen and now she's old and fat and the only way she can get any attention is by being a hate monger because that's all that Republicans really respond to. If she was still a poor, struggling actress, do you really think she'd be a Republican? (Show me one poor struggling artist that is.) She let herself go and is bitter and depressed and is taking it out on those who were like her. In short: the poor.
Amen sister
Very True! In short what she did was betrayed the middle class. She's disgusting. I hope she rots in hell!
Timiphx: If you absolutely must sacrifice for your calling, then go ahead and do so.
But if it is truely your calling, then sacrificing should be par for the course. Why write into a forum like Nerve and try to garner sympathy for your position? You choose to be an artist. There are downfalls to this choice, just as there are upsides to this choice. If you expect everybody to feel sorry for you, I'm not quite sure what to say.
you all are far too worked up over a seamy trash article. kthxbai
Go Jesus!!!
Hey, lib, Victoria Jackson was one of the BEST! Why dont you like her-cause she "came out" as a -gasp- conservative? Theres enough liberal shit on SNL, dont drag it here, to a third-rate lefty website!
There has to be SOME rational for her last place finish that has nothing to do with her performances. I could not believe that she was put on the bottom.
As an old fart who has watched the show since its inception, I see a lot of selective memories in this list, or maybe just giving in to the myth of SNL.
We hold the Belushi era in high reverence because all we see of that era are the best of compilations.
Go back and watch the shows in their entirety. There were as many if not more duds in those shows as there are now.
It's easy to get down on the more current members because well, they are more current and haven't been built into a mythic powerhouse of comedy.
Old Fart, that is the sanest comment I've ever read on Nerve. Good on ya.
I still don't think Will Ferrell was funny on SNL. I don't know what it is about him but I just can't laugh at his antics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQro-S6Fok
Again, I still don't think Will Ferrell was funny on SNL. I don't know what it is about him but I just can't laugh at his antics.
Obviously your thoughts do not echo the vast majority of SNL fans. Will Ferrell was great on SNL. Unfortunately his movies often are not. I actually feel that way about a lot of SNL cast members. Once they move on from SNL and go on to do movies, the movies are often crappy. I think it has been almost a decade since I laughed at a movie with Adam Sandler, David Spade, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider or Mike Myers in it.
If any cast member of the last 10 years is ranked higher than 50-or is it lower than-then this list is fuckin rubbish! These "comedians" arent that good, and the writings worse, but geez, the main problem is, they never LEAVE! 4 years , 5 max, should be the limit, as it was with the inaugural actors, and no one was better than them-they should ALL be in the top 10!
So curious as to how old you are, Phil Nugent? I'm 45 years old and wasn't permitted by my parents to stay up late enough to watch the first few seasons. It would seem to me that you would have to be at least 50 years old and have watched from season one in order to properly compile these rankings. I suspect, however, that you are closer to 25. Because there's NO WAY IN HELL that you could not have Gilda Radner in the top ten! No way at all.
At the very least, I would think that anyone who was only on SNL for one year would have to have ranked the lowest, just by your own description of this list to rank them in "ascending order of their contribution to the show." Please explain to me, Phil, my young friend, how anyone who was only able to last one season could have contributed more than anyone who was on SNL for longer?
This list is by far the biggest FAIL on Nerve in recent history. You should be ashamed.
If only there were some kind of video machine that would let people watch old shows ...
i think there's one at unfrozen caveman lawyers house
ROFLMFAO LOLOLOLOLOLOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mm +1
Calling Jim Belushi the second worst is a bit much. He's not the greatest gift to comedy, but he did supply some moments of mirth. Quite a few of the people ranked above him never did.
I agree. I feel like the author is being a bit harsh on him simply because he couldn't measure up to his brother. He was in a few good sketches and was funny as Captain Kangaroo. He doesn't deserve to be much higher, but he deserves to be higher than the plethora of people whose names you couldn't remember before reading this list, i.e. Brad Hall.
1995's kind of a blur, but I admit I have absolutely no memory whatsoever of Morwenna Banks. Did you make that one up?
I love lists and understand that not everyone can agree- but this list truly stinks.
Kevin Nealon at #27?! He was not funny to me - I think he belongs in the 90 something range.
The "buh-bye" sketch appeared twice. Honest! Once with Helen Hunt, then again with Steve Martin.
Man, what a steal for Finesse Mitchell getting in at the 72 spot. At least Julia Sweeny had a memorable (if horrible) characer. Mitchell's only contribution was being the token black guy one of the shittiest casts of SNL ever.
For this Sketch alone Jim Belushi should bemuch higher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a-uP6QFd0s&feature=related
I thought the exact same thing. That ksetch is a classic. That should be worth jumping ahead of many former members who, frankly, committed the worst sin: you just can't remember them.
LOL! Point taken Brett!
The list starts out as an attack on people the writer doesn't like, then a list of people the writer doesn't care about, then a tribute to people the writer likes. It should've been split into 3 articles so that the different parts don't discredit each other.
Shut the fuck up, Martian.
I was hoping to see Phil Hartman at #1, but I'll grant that there was some stiff competition for that spot. I'm just happy to see Phil Hartman near the top, getting the credit he deserves. I always thought he was the best cast member ever, personally.
I would have definitely ranked him over Will Ferrell though. Will Ferrell obviously did a lot on that show but I find him kind of hit-or-miss, while Phil Hartman NEVER missed. He was as reliable as it gets. A true pro.
Terribly subjective list. Jan Hooks? Sexy in her way, but overused and not that funny. She is way too high. The writer seemed to simply stick no-named performers in the middle of the list as opposed to the end where they belonged. Several of those at the back end were simply placed there to gather momentum for this awful ranking.
"He once broke up on the air while playing Frankenstein's monster; it was like seeing Nolan Ryan pitch wild and bean the umpire."
Nolan Ryan is the all-time leader in walks, and second all-time in wild pitches. He's just about the worst possible example you could have chosen for this sentence.
Classic.
This is the weirdest list ever. It's like they're in no particular order, because they aren't in order by who's best. I've seen every episode of SNL and I didn't even remember some of these people! When I saw Victoria Jackson on the bottom I knew it would be bad. Has this person ever even seen this show?
Exactly. Ranking someone last because you do not agree with their politics invalidates the entire list. Fail.
I bet the writer is annoyed that Victoria Jackson is a conservative because it creates these comments. Dude, she was awful, so annoying.
NO mention of Casey Wilson or Ben Stiller? FAIL! Also, whatever you think of Victoria Jackson now, her earlier, chubby incarnation Denny Dillon had NO business being ranked ahead of her, let alone that high...
Maybe it is just me, but I don't tend to advertise a top 100 list that is missing comments on the members in it. Seriously, I get that there are obscure members, but if you don't have anything to say about them then how can you rank them?
I think you got it exactly right with Murphy as the top guy, he was insanely good before his ego eventually ruined it. But his talent is off the charts.
i forgot, was Steve Martin Part of the cast?
Nope. Seems like it though because he hosted so many times.
Dude. Where's Jay Mohr? Also, how come no write up for Norm MacDonald?
Mohr wasn't a full cast member, just what they call a "featured player."
nora dunn?? really?
list is so ridiculous
honestly just looked to see who number one was and i wholeheartedly agree
Brian Doyle Murray is also missing from the list.
1 - Abby Elliott is up waaaay too high on this list
2 - Kristen Wiig should not be higher on the list than Bill Hader. That's just kooky talk.
Phil Hartman is of course the best ever.
Here's my list - http://www.saloforum.com/index.php?posts/8119/
At least your list is much better than this shite, perhaps with the exception of Rich Hall (though I love Sniglets, I think that he's too high on your list). But I can't understand why you, too, give the short shrift to Gilda Radner. Jan Hooks was terrific, no doubt, but go back and watch some of Gilda's stuff...she was truly brilliant and ground-breaking. Without her, none of the other women would have followed....
Kristin Wiig, and Dana Carvey are WAAAAYYYY overrated.....
Dana Carvey was dominant at his time but his material, like that of Mike Myers, hasn't aged well at all.
Tim Meadows at 12? At best, he should be in the middle of the pack - what have you people been smoking?
Just what we needed. Another hand-job for the current cast of SNL. This list blows.
It seems as if the people were, for the most part, just randomly placed, and then the biggest stars were put at the top. Except for Robert Downey Jr, who Lorne Michaels is credited as discovering even though he was in several movies before being a cast member, and who even this list compiler admits was awful, lasting only one year, yet is still ranked higher 62. Very weird list. I'm guessing whoever wrote it is around 25 yo. Anyway, Kristen Wiig is the greatest female cast member ever. Cheri O'Teri, Jan Hooks, and Amy Poehler are also up there. Chris Elliot's daughter and Tim Meadows are dreadful. Watching the daughter not get a laugh for her awful impressions is one of the new hallmarks of the show.
Jan Hooks ranking higher than Kristen Wiig? Dude, really?
I figured from the start that Eddie Murphy would be at the top of this list, but - why?! I do not understand why people think that this guy used to be all that great. I've seen some of his old performances, and they are very hammy. (Plus, I absolutely hate his stand-up films, as full of bigotry as they are). John Belushi should also be tossed down to the middle of the list somewhere.
I would rank Murphy pretty high, but Bill Murray and possibly Dan Akyroyd higher. Akyroyd didn't have the strong identifiable persona that Belushi or Chevy Chase had, but his versatility and body of work were pretty extraordinary.
The fact that Anthony Michael Hall is anywhere other than the bottom of the list, let alone above people like Jimmy Fallon, Jim Belushi, Chris Kattan etc is a blaring sign that this list is bullshit... this person is obviously someone too immature to be making the list cuz they obviously don't have any concept of the classic casts and have ranked it according to their personal like for the individual, instead of the persons accomplishments and effect on the show.
Robert Smigel (TV Funhouse and more) might as well be #1 on this list, and he's not even on it. Will Ferrell sucks, big time, just like Jim Carey to me. Chris Kattan's "monkey"... frickin' same kind of awful. I'm glad that era of "comedy" (loud, obnoxious, stupid, no redeeming value etc.) has almost come to an end. Kristin Wiig unfortunately is still kind of keeping that kind of thing "alive" on the show today, she's about as funny as Joan Davis on "I Married Joan." Kenan Thompson from today's cast, however rated way too low, mostly when he comes on the show today, it picks up. Bill Hader's great, I can't remember the last time I liked a character on the show as much as "Stephon"... and Hader's "Italian" segments are some real genius. Eddie Murphy had his moments but he was also self-righteous '80s egotistical bunkness a lot of the time... definitely not even close to "#1". Gilda Radner is obviously way under-rated by this list, so is Garret Morris, some of the most memorable things on the show (for me, personally) were done by Garret Morris, like him in a Mets uniform sliding into a base at the end of one of Akroyd's "Bad Red Chinese Play"... the Chico Escuela character and his role on "What Men Like" ... What this list shows is how some great talent got shuffled aside, people like Chris Elliot, Chris Rock, John Cusak, Janeane Garofalo all ranking behind Bobby Moynihan says a lot, and then Harry Shearer hovering just abovove Moynihan is another "huh? wha hoppened?" Chevy Chase probably ranked too low as well, John Belushi definitely ranked too low, same with Akroyd and maybe it was just a teenage crush but Laraine Newman was someone I always really looked forward to seeing what she was going to do next. Maya Rudolph was another great one ranked far too low, plus she could sing (good, and funny)... when she was involved with parodies of TV variety shows... or "Club Traxx"... she killed. Finally... it was my great pleasure, when I moved to New York in the late '90s/early 2000s, to be seated on a subway train when Rachel Dratch walked in with a couple of friends and proceeded to tell really funny, biting stories to them my whole ride down the 6 train... she was a great one on the show, of course.
Holy fucking sweet jesus in heaven above, you need to get a life.
Maya Rudolph is the reason I started watching SNL again in 2001. She and Rachel Dratch coming in under Kevin Nealon (the most painfully unfunny full cast member from the early 90s) is insane.
And say what you want about Chris Kattan but he always got laughs -- watch his old sketches, people LOVE the wiggly guy.
Lastly, for everyone loving Will Ferrell -- I guess you don't remember how much everyone HATED him when he first joined the cast? He could easily swap his number 2 spot with Mike Myers, a comedian who always respected his audience and never ever played "the dumb guy."
Charles Rocket was the worst, by a mile. Buck Henry was one of my favorites.
This list is a joke!?!?!?! Has anybody watched SNL lately? Have you laughed at any of the skits other than the Samberg/Timberlake skits? I watch every week hoping for a laugh and rarely do I even snicker. It is a travesty to have any of the current cast members ahead of people like Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, etc. The current cast other than Kristen Wiig is awful and the writing is even more horrendous. Bad job on this list. Sudeikis is horrible!!!
Dude, this is what SNL was over it's entire existence. Occasional gems and mostly just attempts. Ever watched Monty Python or Kids In The Hall? Same thing. Comedy is difficult. There are too many compilation "best-ofs" for short attention spans. Occasional nuggets of gold, a ton of effort.
if any woman, Gilda needs to be in the top 10, most of the other women could be a lot lower... let's be real here.
Poehler could be in the top 50, not the top 10 though, no way.
also, let's put Mike Myers at 2 and Will Ferrell at 8, and we might be getting somewhere. (while Ferrell did a lot for SNL at the time, people seem to gloss over the fact the show was fuckawful at that point.)
OPINION'D
PHIL HARTMAN at #4 is not right, he was good but not better then JOHN BELUSHI and DAN AYKROYD
are 1 and 1A
I'm curious as to the age of the author of this article/creator of this list. Clearly, that person has no frame of reference for the talent of the ORIGINAL cast members. It is a disgrace to place the brilliant Gilda Radner so low. And Eddie Murphy as No. 1? That is utterly ridiculous. Phil Hartman should be No. 1 and Dan Aykroyd should be No. 2. While Bill Murray was occasionally funny, he was tedious and more than a little one-note in his contributions. Jane Curtin, Gilda, and Laraine Newman were founding members and should be revered as such. None of the others after them would even BE on the were it not for them. This list is age-ist and sexist, but when talking SNL, what else is new?
Best Guest Hosts of SNL - Steve Martin & Justin Timberlake.
You put Victoria Jackson at the bottom for her politics, period. I thought this was supposed to only be about their performances on SNL, not their careers (or lives)? Granted, she's middle-of-the-pack, but you're telling me she's worse than people who got canned after one season? Save your politics for some other list.
What he said. Total PC crap. Is Eddie Murphy
really a better comic actor than Bill Murray?
For all those who are saying that Jackson got put in the lowest slot because of her politics, I would like to ask you: can you name one funny sketch that she was the focal point of during her multiple years on SNL? One?
How about a character she did (and "dumb blonde with squeaky voice" doesn't count, because that's what she was portraying herself as in real life).
In all the time she was on it, I can remember two things she was involved in that were mildly funny: the commercial for the product that burnt off extraneous fingers, and her playing Tina Yothers in the Family Ties sketch when Justine Bateman hosted. The first sketch almost any female cast member could have done, and the second was only funny not because Jackson was doing it, but because the writers just had her say the same word ("Yeah") in each flashback. Again, those were the two BEST things Jackson did IMO, and she didn't bring anything special to the table in either sketch.
To turn the accusation around then, just because her politics resemble your own, doesn't actually make her funny. Maybe Jackson wasn't THE worst if you did a deep, deep analysis of the entire history of the show, but I still think she should be near the bottom regardless.
this is a terrible ranking - terrible. Molly Shannon at 56? WTF? Radner should be top 5 easy, she was a game changer. and Eddie Murphy, are you kidding me? Top 20 yes but come on. Maya Rudolph 34? Joke. And Chevy Chase is a gross woman hating pig. Anyhoo....terrible ranking. And why would you only rank cast members on appearances/performance when Tina Fey for example was also head writer. She brought the show to new heights, she should be top 10.
I must be the only person on the planet who doesn't like Andy Samberg. Lazy Sunday was good, and the stuff with Timberlake, but beyond that I don't like any of his stuff.
Anyone that gives high ratings to Will Farrell has obviously forgotten the painfully bad skits he's been a part of. Frankly, I'd like to forget them too....
Did I miss Nora Dunn and Beth Cahill? Cool article, though. Phil Hartman forever!!
Jane Curtain over Chris Farley???Really?You must be on more drugs than Farley was...
Seriously? Tina Fey? I get that you hate Palin, but you think she's ahead of some of the comedy greats you dissed? If politics weren't part of your yardstick she wouldn't be in the top 50.
She's HOT dude, get it on. Fuck her, just don't vote for her.
1.Will Forte
2.Kristen Wiig
3.Bill Hader
4.Fred Armisan
5.Jason Sudekis
6.Andy Samberg
7-92. The rest.
I agreed with most of this list except for Darrell Hammond. He did impressions, but that was it. From my understanding, he never got a single sketch on the air, and most of the impression stuff was written by the writers. He was talented at impressions, but I don't think he's top 20 material. As annoying as Rob Schneider's movies are now, he was a better SNL cast member. He was great on the show, and so was Chris Kattan. I feel like some of the cast members were punished on this list by their post-SNL work, which isn't very fair.
This list sucks. Fallon is by far THE WORST for breaking the cardinal rule, Fey was a good writer not performer, Kristin Wiig is completely overrated and I have a feeling you put Victoria Jackson so high because of her personal politics.
breaking the rules is the whole point of snl. if he was the worst he wouldn't have been on for so many years.
Other than some in back doing better, the top 4 are dead-on. Phil Hartman was just the funniest.
Great list, nothing out of whack or anything I'd argue about. I'd probably raise Andy Samberg a bit, and lower Tim Meadows in the list. A great list all around. Good job.
Nora Dunn at 23? Name one character or skit she was involved in? Can't can you, that probably because she wasn't funny.
Where's Steve Martin?
He was not a cast member.
Clearly, anyone who would list that top ten as the best ANYthing, is a person who was either conceived or born during the initial SNL years, has no knowledge or recollection of that era, and has no appreciation for true sketch comedy. For the record, I stopped watching SNL after the first Joe Piscopo show; however, I know the majority of the people and corresponding characters and work, and, while everyone is free to their own opinion, this list is worthless.
Oh c'mon. I loved Horatio Sanz.
What? Eddie Murphy #1? Will Farrel #2? Phil Harman over John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd? Please ... I put Murphy in the top 10 and Farrel top 20 but both these guys were the "B" team in my mind.
Tracy Morgan is waaay to high. So is the unwatchable and never funny Jim Bruer. Will Ferrell #2? Bah!
By the way, Mr. Editor, seeds are not sewn, they are sown.
This is the worst list I have ever seen. Farley not in the top 5? Eddie Murphy 1? Did they even watch SNL? Amy Poehler, although I LOVE UCB, shouldnt be in the top 20.
Has there ever been another cast member so utterly free of talent in every direction as JIM BREUER?
Phil Nugent is amazing at making terrible lists. He might as well have just used the pull the name out of the hat technique...works just as well.
Congratulations on your research skills! You did come awfully close to actually listing every SNL cast member (at least, what, 80% of them?), and your blurbs are sufficient in convincing the layman that you've actually watched (nay studied!) every one of these performers enough to have compiled a well-reasoned ranking. Some might argue that, say, giving Gail Matthius and Denny Dillon a tied position on your list is little more than an addled acknowledgment of their simultaneous presence on the show rather than a nuanced judgment of two very different performers. I, however, would never ever argue such a thing.
Dennis Miller arguably made the Daily Show workable by doing the "Fake news" for a long time, even after SNL. Plus he is a hell of a writer, deserves more respect....
. . . and he had not one funny moment on SNL. He just thought he was funny.
so wrong on horatio. shame shame. also, could you try making a list that is one page long with no clickys? thanks
you put will forte behind seth myers? just for delivery alone he should be way way up there.
Chris Farley doesn't even make the top 20? Are you people serious? This list is really bad.
Gotta say, Nealon and Kazurinsky are a little high,-up same with Tim Meadows---mostly agree with the rest.
MORWENNA BANKS
FINESSE MITCHELL
ANN RISELY
JEFF RICHARDS
All ranked higher than Jimmy Fallon, one of the most universally praised/beloved members in SNL history. Yeah, ok. That's as far as I look. I was almost out when Ellen Cleghorne ranked higher than Rob Schneider, but marched on. I know it's all objective/an internet list etc etc etc BUT COME THE FRUCK ON!!!!
If you think Jimmy Fallon was universally praised/beloved, you're inhabiting a very selective universe.
This list is all over the map except for some top tens. Whee is Andy Kaufman? Dennis miller was way to high and Hellooooooo...any one heard of STEVE MARTIN?????
Neither Kaufman nor Martin were cast members.
What? How is it that WILL FARRELL is in the top 10 but Gilda Radner isnt? Give me a break. Radner had more talent than Ferrell will EVER hope to have.
Your list could not be more incorrect
Well then, YOU write one and publish it on Nerve, you fucking twit. Can't wait to see it and critique it.
Chris Rock, far below Bobby Boynawhatever, absolutely terrible. So much wrong with this list.
This is a list based ONLY on their work on SNL, not in their whole careers. Rock himself has had very harsh things to say about his work on SNL--that he wasn't properly utilized and therefore his performance was often mediocre.
As opposed to the REST of his work, where he wasn't properly utilized and therefore his performance was often mediocre.
Calling Norm Macdonald the best Weekend Update anchor ever is like calling Tina Fey illiterate.
I liked Norm, because I'm not a hater, and he was a little edgy and caught people off guard with those punchlines about crack, or OJ Simpson, or both, but if you found his humor that funny, "Best SNL Weekend Update host," your sense of humor is mildly retarded in a clinical sense.
tim meadows in 12th... that's funnier than anything meadows ever did on the show ( and in 10 seasons, has anyone had more?) wiig should be top 10 for sure, she's been in damn near every sketch for several seasons now, and she's perhaps the most versatile actor/comedian to ever appear on the show... also where's casey wilson, was she never an official cast member, only "featured?" props for putting the list together, but i disagree with your ordering considerably...
as for Wayans, Watkins, Wilson...it appears that only Main Cast, not Featured Players, are counted in this list.
so can i get a shout-out for Emily Prager??!?!!!?
Tim Meadows was better than Chris Farley? That just isn't even close to debatable.
These lists are designed to provoke responses just to show readership, but good night, this was not thought through at all. Did you get drunk and just surf the web: "Oh, yeah, he was on the show. Put him in at seventy-something."
That list brought back some awesome memories, but I gotta say, Chris Rock is much higher up on my list.
I'm pretty shocked...how do you pull up this many people and write such a fantastic and spot-on list, and leave out STEVE MARTIN? What the flying fuck, it would be an outrage for him not to be in the top 3, let alone unlisted. Ffs
He was not a cast member. ffs
All ass-hattedness on my part aside, this was still extremely well done as funny as shit to read otherwise.
I can understand ranking the actors based on their work solely on (SNL), since this is after all an SNL poll. But was Murphy really all that great on the show???? I've seen clips, episodes of him through the magic of DVDs, and I have to say that I've seen better and believe that other cast members have made a greater contribution to the show than he did. Maybe Murphy could fit in the top 20, but certainly not one.
As for Jimmy Fallon, he was a very beloved cast member on the show - the hosting gig that he just did brought in great ratings (the guy was missed). IMO he should have been ranked much higher on the list. This guy was a strong player who could do just about anything thrown at him. If the only reason for a low ranking is because he laughed at his own jokes...that doesn't seem fair. The same could be said to Horatio S., another talented guy that was ranked too low (presumably for laughing at his own stuff). Both guys made great contributions and were strong utility players that delivered the goods.
I meant to say list instead of poll (though a poll could be very interesting in gauging public opinion).
Also wanted to add that the top ten ranking is very solid (with the exclusion of Murphy at top spot). I don't know who I'd pick as number one, but it wouldn't be him.
As for Chris Farley, I would have fit him in top 20 at best, he was phenomenal in the show (personal life aside, as it should be - we are only looking at body of work on the show). And Farley was wonderful. :)
IMO, There's some debate between Farley, Spade, Chase, Fallon, but hard to argue about the top 10.
Maybe you can make a case to bump Amy Poehler, the rest are pretty spot on.
This is a shit list. I agree with Tina and Amy being in the top 10 but over Gilda and Farley? That just isn't right. I love them, but really? They should be 8 and 9. Again- why the frick is Abby Elliott so high? She sucks, isn't funny, and is cue card Sally. Nasim outshines her by far (where is Nasim, anyway?) Jimmy Fallon should not be ranked that low, and neither should Horatio. I love Bill Hader and as much as I like Kristen Wiig, Bill should be ahead of her. Stefon- OMG.
Nasim is awesome (she's also not one of the main players, she's secondary in the credits). What's interesting is that for a secondary player, she is featured a lot (probably because Lorne M knows that she can carry skits).
As for Abby Elliot...I won't say that she's untalented, but I really don't know who the gal is. I can't pick her out on the screen (is she heavily featured?) I think she's a bit high on the list, hasn't quite earned her stripes the way some of the other cast members have.
Amy P is awesome and I think she earns her spot (there's a reason she was nominated for an Emmy while on the show).
It'd be nice if Nerve.com could do a ranking of secondary players (secondary players that never became primary members or whatever you want to call the people who get named first in the opening credits). Then you could compare Nasim and some of the other cast members as well.
Rachel Dratch, criminally underrated... must have been mistype. Least funny comedienne ever, most overrated.
Gotta disagree; I just saw the 'Best of Jimmy Fallon' on DVD and Dratch was heavily featured....she was a very strong player. Wonder what she's doing now.
Eddie Murphy at number one!? Why do people still worship this jerk after all these eyars? He made three good movies and did a few funny skits on SNL back in the eighties and has been spending the last three decades as one of Hollywood's most overpaid, overrated a-holes! Give me Joe Piscopo any day over this a-wipe!
your obvious list is being obviously wrong
kenan thompson #61????? he should be on bottom 3 list
I'm torn. Andy Samberg does deserve some credit for reviving the series with the digital shorts but he's still on the show and it kind of sucks again. Chris Farley IMHO deserves to be in the top five since the Matt Foley sketch is easily the best ever. Then again, Eddie Murphy completely tore up the 80s,he's in like every one of the best sketches from the 80s (relevant: http://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-saturday-night-live-sketches-of-the-...) but so did Will Ferrell in the 90s and 00s. This is so hard to pick! Gah!
Glad to see Jan Hooks outranking Kristen Wiig. I think she should outrank Fey and Poehler as well, but that's because she's in my top five cast members of all time.
Now you say something