LOC #84: Top 50 Saturday Night Live Cast Members

[Fred Garvin]

Good start to the countdown. Parnell was on my list. I didn't have room for Killam although I think he's talented.

Music? Bowie had a noteworthy set. The one I'd spotlight would be the idiosyncratic Kate Bush. I have everything she's ever recorded and she did not disappoint that night. Overall great show, music and comedy. Eric Idle hosted.

[CJones]

I usually change the channel during the musical guest segments. I do remember seeing the Spice Girls and thinking that there's no way they're not lip synching. And what was the name of that girl who was caught lip lynching her second song because they accidentally played the first song again, then she sort of did a jig and walked off stage. I didn't see it, but I heard about it.

I just happened to be watching when Sinead O'Connor tore apart a picture of the Pope. I don't think that was ever reaired. Can't remember the song at all.

EDIT: To answer my own question: Ashley Simpson

[MightyJack]

Tonight's Host: #7. Richard Pryor  3 points
The comic is the only member of this list never to make a return appearance. But Pryor's stint on the show's seventh episode helped define the host's role and displayed its potential impact. His monologue, about an acid trip, set the wild tone. He deftly turned samurai to bolster John Belushi's sword-wielding early running character, and played a priest in a spoof of "The Exorcist." But it was Pryor's daring racially charged job interview-word association sketch with Chevy Chase that firmly established "SNL" not just as a comic voice of the post-1960s counterculture but as TV's dysfunctional home of cutting edge, socially aware humor. – Jere Hester (nbcbayrea.com)

Note: On our Top 10, I believe Patrick Stewart only appeared once as well.

Pryor also does a bit where he pretends to be white, something Eddie Murphy will do as well in a later show.

The N word sketch… https://screen.yahoo.com/word-association-000000441.html

[MightyJack]

#44. Kevin Nealon

Era: 1986-1995
18 pts on 3 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #11 (C.Jones)
Most Memorable Characters: Franz, Tarzan, Mr. Subliminal, Mr. No Depth Perception, Bob Waltman, Frank Gannon, P.I,

While I disliked his mush mouthed delivery as anchor on Weekend Update, in sketch work he was always good for a laugh. Kevin is best known for his part in the Hans and Franz bits, but typically didn’t go that broad with his characters, preferring the deadpan approach. I'm very curious about the inspiration for Mr. Subliminal, as Joe Piscipo did a similar character (once) years before.

Rolling Stone Rank him #59 and said…
He got in way over his head when he took over "Weekend Update" ("I'm Kevin Nealon, and that's news to me"), but otherwise he remained a dependable support player — especially as Tarzan to Lovitz's Tonto and Hartman's Frankenstein on "Succinctly Speaking."

Uproxx 6 favorite Nealon moments… http://uproxx.com/tv/2014/11/kevin-nealons-most-memorable-snl-moments/

[MightyJack]

#43. Christopher Guest

Era: 1984-1985
19 pts on 1 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #7 (ScottD)
Most Memorable Characters: Update Anchor, Frankie, Herb Minkman, Rajeev Vindaloo, Señor Cosa

Guest is one of my favorite people in the world, and I dug his laid-back style (a nice contrast to the crazies around him). I especially got a kick out of his Señor Cosa (“Cotha!”) He was one of Ebersol’s All-Stars and while that might have not been SNL in it’s purest form, it was a damn funny season.

Saturday Night’s Children summed up his highlights… "During his time on SNL, Guest's most popular recurring characters were duos with cast mate Billy Crystal like Frankie and Willie, two talky blue-collar New Yorkers who work odd jobs as security guards, messengers, and construction workers and have rambling conversations about their masochistic proclivities: "Don't ya hate it when…" Another Crystal/Guest duo were the Minkman brothers, two owners of an allegedly high-quality prank toy company who warn against purchasing pirated Minkman replica products: "If you buy an inferior non-Minkman dribble glass and you put it to your lips, and because of uneven glazing, suddenly find yourself on the way to the emergency room, with 15 stitches, this does no longer amaze and delight your friends. This is a lawsuit." Guest also played picky wine expert Rajeev Vindaloo and Señor Cosa, a ventriloquist who he developed during his time on The National Lampoon Radio Hour based on Señor Wences. He also impersonated Alan Arkin, Red Skelton, Bert Convy, and James Mason and acted as anchor of Saturday Night News from December until the end of the season in April 1985."

Rolling Stone Rank him with Short and Crystal at #29-31 and said…
SNL took the Steinbrenner approach of bringing in these three free agents as hired guns — they walked in and took over the team for a year. Crystal finally became a superstar with his Fernando bit and his "I hate when that happens" routine with Guest. Short reprised some of his broader SCTV bits. It wasn't a career peak for any of them, but it kept a weak franchise ticking for one last season, before Michaels ended his five-year absence.
 
“I hate when that happens…” https://screen.yahoo.com/know-hate-night-watchmen-000000299.html

[MightyJack]

#42. Seth Meyers

Era: 2001-2014
19 pts on 2 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #14 (C.Jones)
Most Memorable Characters: Update anchor, John Kerry

Though primarily known for his work on Update, he also got big laughs as the guy on the receiving end of several Jack Black spit takes in a winery sketch.

Paste Magazine ranked him #35 and said..,
Meyers’ 13-year run on SNL is second only to Darrell Hammond when it comes to the longest tenures on the show, and his 154 shows as Weekend Update anchor mean he’s sat behind that desk longer than anyone. And yet somehow, he still feels underrated. That’s partly because so many of his contributions to the show happened behind-the-scenes: he served as a head writer from 2006-2014 and didn’t appear in many sketches outside of Update during that time. But whether he was playing it straight next to memorable characters like Stefon or penning some of the era’s best political humor (those Sarah Palin “I can see Russia from my house” sketches from ‘08, which he co-wrote with Tina Fey), Meyers quietly delivered one of the most impressive runs on Saturday Night Live. —Bonnie Stiernberg

Rolling Stone Rank him #28 and said...
The longest-serving "Update" host — and the most tactful at walking a fine line between wiseass and well-mannered. His trademark niceness was never a drawback — it served him well in terms of schmoozing with guest commentators, which Meyers did better than any "Update" guy ever. He unleashed his bitchy side in the "Really?!?" segments with Poehler, whether he was ranting about birth-control laws or the Keebler elves' drug habit.

Seth's farewell... http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-seths-farewell/n45832

[MightyJack]

#41. Fred Armisen

Era: 2002-2013
19 pts on 3 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #15 (Cole Stratton)
Most Memorable Characters: Fericito, Garth, Liberace, President Obama, Nicholas Fen, Stewart, Prince, David Peterson

Hey, I thought his (controversial) David Peterson was hilarious!

Paste Magazine ranked him #29 and said…
Portlandia co-creator Fred Armisen took a weird route to SNL. He was a drummer in the punk band Trenchmouth throughout the first half of the ‘90s, and the first time he made waves as a comedian was when he hosted a satirical video about South by Southwest in 1998. That led to appearances on Late Night With Conan O’Brien and work on Adult Swim, which eventually opened up an opportunity at SNL. His musical background was a big part of his identity on the show, where he impersonated a variety of musicians and played such characters as Mackey the drummer, one half of the Garth and Kat songwriting team and the “What Up With That” saxophonist. He even popped up on the show again in the most recent episode, playing drums in a monologue based on the movie Whiplash. Armisen created a number of recurring characters during his eleven seasons on the show (the fourth longest tenure ever), but his best bit of musical comedy was a one-off sketch with Bryan Cranston that can be seen here.
 
Rolling Stone Rank him #23 and said...
Should you dock Armisen points for being even more brilliant on Portlandia? Nah. Only Armisen could thrive so long on SNL in so many different kinds of roles while retaining his own punk-drummer weirdness. Who else could play both Lou Reed and Liberace?

Fred’s 11 Best sketches… http://www.ifc.com/fix/2014/05/freds-best-snl-sketches

[MightyJack]

#40. Don Novello

Era: 1978-1980; 1985-1986
20 pts on 2 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #15 (George Harrison)
Most Memorable Characters: Father Guido Sarducci, Abdul Asad

Novello was hired as a writer - he’s the one who penned the Olympia Restaurant sketch, with its almost musical cadence, “Cheezborger, Cheezborger!” He also appeared in that bit as Mike, and showed up in other skits here and there (he broke his leg in a Hockey scene). Later on he played Abdul Asad in The Bel Airabs, a Beverly Hillbillies spoof. But it was his Father Guido Sarducci that rocketed him into our hearts.

Though the character didn’t originate with SNL and has shown up in other TV series and specials, SNL is where he hit big. Myself, my friends and my (Catholic born) family were freaks for Father Guido. We loved him, even my dad. And when he’d pop up on Update, we’d cheer along with the TV audience, and then spend the week quoting his quips. When his comedy album was released, I bought it and had a listening party. Ah, such sweet memories.

Novello’s other writing credits include “Gilda Live”, a year at SCTV in 1982, and he also co-wrote the screenplay Noble Rot with John Belushi (the film was never made due to John’s death.) 

Rolling Stone ranked him #42 and said…
Although primarily a writer, he knocked it out of the park as Father Guido Sarducci — the rock critic for the Vatican newspaper, chain-smoking through homilies about the Last Brunch. The ultimate hip priest, Father Guido might have been the inspiration for Pope Francis.

[MightyJack]

#39. Al Franken

Era: 1975-1980; 1985-1995
20 points on 2 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #9 (George Harrison)
Most Memorable Characters: Stuart Smalley, Pat Robertson, Paul Tsongas

Legend has it that the comedy/writing team of Franken and Davis were nearly fired from SNL… and then they penned a weird Richard Nixon sketch, written in cloud of pot smoke (and maybe other narcotics) and saved their jobs.  They were also responsible for scripting the "Little Chocolate Donuts" commercial and Aykroyd’s classic Julia Child bit (his partner, Tom Davis was working the blood pump under the desk for that one.) Franken was Lorne’s pick to replace him when he left in 1980, and when that didn’t happen, Al left too. The comic returned for a second stint, and found even greater acclaim with his self-help guru, Stuart Smalley, which he originally wrote for Mike Meyers. Al left the show a second time after failing to get the Update gig (which went to MacDonald)

Oh and another bit I remember was Al’s complaint that Frankenberry looked like him.

Rolling Stone ranked him #20 and said…
What a country — the punk who wrote the "Roman Vomitorium" sketch is now a senator from Minnesota. (Alas, not alongside the late, great Sen. John Blutarsky.) Franken had two totally distinct runs on SNL. In the Seventies, he and partner Tom Davis were the gangly goofballs who resembled the kids in the audience, the ones Belushi dismissed as "the angel-dust crowd." Then he surprised everyone by coming back in the Nineties as self-help guru Stuart Smalley, one of SNL's most beloved and original recurring characters, at a time when 12-step-speak was still very much in the closet.

Greatest hit: Stuart Smalley meets Michael Jordan (he calls him Michael J., to protect his anonymity) and tells him, "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt." Here’s a clip… https://screen.yahoo.com/daily-affirmation-michael-jordan-000000862.html

[MightyJack]

And that’s it for now; I’ll be back around this same time tomorrow. But I leave you with the…

SNL Question of the night: Share a memory of a favorite catch phrase?
Mine…

“Jane, you ignorant slut!” – Dan Aykroyd
Now remember this was the 70s: I was in my mid teens when Dan Aykroyd first uttered that line and I just about fell out of my chair from both laughter and delighted shock… “You can’t say that on TV!” I thought through my tears. Things like that felt so subversive and dangerous to my young mind (and to my siblings and friends). And that’s what we loved about the show.

There have been many great and memorable catch phrases over the years, but that one always comes to mind because it was such a “Holy crap!” moment.

[The Lurker]

#40. Don Novello

Era: 1978-1980; 1985-1986
20 pts on 2 of 10 lists - Highest Ranking: #15 (George Harrison)
Most Memorable Characters: Father Guido Sarducci, Abdul Asad

Novello was hired as a writer - he’s the one who penned the Olympia Restaurant sketch, with its almost musical cadence, “Cheezborger, Cheezborger!” He also appeared in that bit as Mike, and showed up in other skits here and there (he broke his leg in a Hockey scene). Later on he played Abdul Asad in The Bel Airabs, a Beverly Hillbillies spoof. But it was his Father Guido Sarducci that rocketed him into our hearts.

Though the character didn’t originate with SNL and has shown up in other TV series and specials, SNL is where he hit big. Myself, my friends and my (Catholic born) family were freaks for Father Guido. We loved him, even my dad. And when he’d pop up on Update, we’d cheer along with the TV audience, and then spend the week quoting his quips. When his comedy album was released, I bought it and had a listening party. Ah, such sweet memories.

Novello’s other writing credits include “Gilda Live”, a year at SCTV in 1982, and he also co-wrote the screenplay Noble Rot with John Belushi (the film was never made due to John’s death.) 

Rolling Stone ranked him #42 and said…
Although primarily a writer, he knocked it out of the park as Father Guido Sarducci — the rock critic for the Vatican newspaper, chain-smoking through homilies about the Last Brunch. The ultimate hip priest, Father Guido might have been the inspiration for Pope Francis.

I first saw his character thanks to the 90s Casper movie.

[MightyJack]

Yeah, while there have been many a character brought over from a cast members days with the Groundlings, National Lampoon or their stand-up acts, etc. How many have continued into other non-SNL related movies and TV shows after the end of their SNL stints?

[anais.butterfly]

Does "More Cowbell" (or the actual "I have a fever, and the only prescription...is more cowbell") count as catchphrases?

If they don't, then my most memorable is "Live in a VAN down by the RIVER"

Also "I'll take The Rapists"

[Fred Garvin]

"ACTING!" - from Lovitz, said with flourish!


And I remember that Father Guido album. Funny, funny material.

[CJones]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/RmwqnqL3Hbg" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/RmwqnqL3Hbg</a>