TV SERIES · 1975– · USA
Saturday Night Live
141 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (141)
- #001
At seventeen years old, Anthony Michael Hall was the youngest member of the cast.
- #002
Kenan Thompson, born in 1978, was the first cast member born after the show premiered in 1975 when he was hired for season 29 (2003-2004).
- #003
Contrary to popular belief, Chevy Chase was not banned from hosting the show again. In the official SNL book Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, numerous cast members recalled Chase insulting the cast and crew. According to Terry Sweeney, Chase made homophobic remarks to Sweeney, who was openly gay. According to Will Ferrell, Chase was the worst host during his time on the show. Chase continued to appear on the show as a guest actor, but he has not hosted since 1997. This gave rise to a persistent rumor that Chase was banned from hosting the show. In a 2018 Washington Post article, Lorne Michaels denied the ban regarding Chase and stated that his not hosting since 1997 was simply generational.
- #004
Don Pardo announced his retirement twice, in 2004 and 2009. Both times he was persuaded to return. He flew from his home in Arizona to New York every week. In 2010, Pardo was allowed to record his first scenes from home and send them to New York. Pardo remained with the show until shortly before his death on August 18, 2014, at the age of 96.
- #005
John Goodman hosted the show for 12 consecutive years, from 1989 to 2001.
- #006
Some of the celebrities who nearly joined the cast include: Jim Carrey (1980), John Goodman (1980), Robert Townsend (1980), Catherine O'Hara (1981), Paul Reubens (1981), Geena Davis (1982), Lisa Kudrow (1990), Jennifer Aniston (1990) and Dane Cook (2002).
- #007
John Mulaney would change some jokes right before going live to make Bill Hader laugh and break character during the "Stefon" sketches, which meant Hader was reading some of the material for the first time while reading his cue cards. His signature move of covering his mouth with both hands was an attempt to hide his laughing fits (which mostly failed).
- #008
Tina Fey is the first female head writer in the show's history.
- #009
Lorne Michaels and the rest of the cast left the show after the fifth season. For the 1980-1981 season, the show was revamped with a new cast and a new producer, Jean Doumanian. The sixth season was such a disaster that NBC President Fred Silverman called in Dick Ebersol, the network's head of programming and one of the series' creative geniuses, to save it. Ebersol fired Doumanian and the rest of the cast except for Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. He hired a new cast, and the show eventually regained its ratings, mainly due to Murphy's popularity. When Michaels returned for the 1985-1986 season, he wanted his own cast, so the remaining members were fired. That season's ratings were so low that the show was nearly cancelled. Michaels convinced Brandon Tartikoff that he could revive the show with a better cast. The show regained its popularity and Michaels has remained with it ever since. He later claimed that leaving the show was the biggest mistake of his life.
- #010
Steve Martin and Tina Fey are the only people to have hosted the season premiere, the season finale and the Christmas show. Martin is the only person to have hosted three times in a single season.
- #011
Studio 8H, where the show is broadcast, is not connected to the GE Building (NBC Studios) at Rockefeller Center but hangs by cables from the floor above. Arturo Toscanini, conductor of the NBC Orchestra, performed on radio from Studio 8H and did not want vibrations from the subway affecting his radio broadcasts.
- #012
The show was initially commissioned for only six episodes.
- #013
Chris Elliott's daughter Abby Elliott was the first cast member to be the child of a former cast member. Her grandfather Bob Elliott appeared as a guest actor in the fourth season. At 21, she became the youngest female cast member in the show's history.
- #014
Street performer Charlie Barnett was hired for the cast of the 1980-1981 season. When it emerged that Barnett was illiterate, Eddie Murphy replaced him.
- #015
In November 2007, the cast members other than Maya Rudolph performed a live, untelevised version of Saturday Night Live at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City as a result of the WGA strike. It featured old and rejected sketches from the show, and the proceeds went to the show's production crew. The host was Michael Cera and the musical guest was Yo La Tengo. Rachel Dratch, Horatio Sanz and Norah Jones appeared as guest performers.
- #016
In the 2007-2008 season, Wyatt Cenac, Jordan Carlos, Donald Glover and Jordan Peele auditioned to join the cast and play Barack Obama. Fred Armisen, who is not African American, was chosen for the role of Obama.
- #017
Norm MacDonald was first inspired to create the recurring "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch after noticing that the questions on the real show were much easier than those on regular Jeopardy! (1984). Eugene Levy had parodied Alex Trebek and "Jeopardy!" in a similar sketch called "Half-Wits" on The Martin Short Show (1994), and MacDonald asked Levy for permission to use the "Celebrity Jeopardy!" idea in the first "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch, in which he hosted and played Jerry Lewis, on the Martin Short/No Doubt episode (1996).
- #018
Although most of the musical performances on the show were live, a few were lip-synced and many were pre-recorded. The first lip-sync was ABBA on November 15, 1975. The first pre-recorded performance was Carly Simon on May 8, 1976, because she was nervous about singing in front of a live audience. In the October 23, 2004 episode, Ashlee Simpson revealed during her second performance that she was lip-syncing when the same vocal track from her first performance was mistakenly played again. An embarrassed Simpson walked off stage and the show quickly cut to a commercial.
- #019
The balcony-level studio audience seats in Studio 8H are actually rented from Yankees Stadium. New York Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner III lent them in 1975 on the assumption that the show would not stay on the air long; they were expected to be returned when the show was cancelled. Since then, NBC has had to pay annual fines to New York City. In addition, whenever any repair work is needed, repairmen are sent directly to the studio to do the work there, which is more expensive than having it done at a repair shop.
- #020
Jim Henson created new adult Muppets that appeared in every episode of the first season. The Muppet sketches were dropped because they were not popular with audiences or the writing staff.
- #021
According to Jane Curtin, John Belushi did not believe women were funny. He would sabotage female writers' sketches by not performing them to their full potential.
- #022
Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers and Tina Fey won Emmys for helping to write the series.
- #023
John Candy was offered the chance to join the cast for the 1981-1982 season. He turned it down to stay on SCTV Network (1981).
- #024
In October 1980, Lorne Michaels and most of the original cast members, who had since left the show, reunited to prepare a special parodying the upcoming Presidential election between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. The special was to air live on November 1, 1980. A few days before the special was to air, Carter and Reagan decided to hold another debate on television on November 1. The live broadcast of the debate forced NBC to reschedule. NBC offered Michaels the chance to do the special the following week. He declined because it would be after the election and the material would no longer be topical.
- #025
According to Kevin Nealon, the character Mr. Subliminal was based on his friend, actor Ed Peck. Peck would slip obscene words into everyday conversations, just as Mr. Subliminal did. Peck called this "tagging."
- #026
The episodes hosted by Louise Lasser and Milton Berle were never rerun, at Lorne Michaels's insistence. Lasser refused to do any sketches and locked herself in her dressing room shortly before airtime, coming out just in time to do her opening monologue. Berle called everyone "Booby" and, with his mugging, racist jokes and egomania, impressed no one except John Belushi. Berle also invited many of his friends and family to the show and their standing ovation infuriated Lorne Michaels.
- #027
Andy Kaufman was banned from the show after viewers rejected him by calling a 1-900 pay-per-call number. The telephone vote was Kaufman's idea. The bad publicity caused Kaufman to lose club dates. Executive Producer Dick Ebersol promised Kaufman he would bring him back to the show at a later date. Kaufman died two years later.
- #028
According to Larry David, he walked into executive producer Dick Ebersol's office and angrily quit the show. Once David realized how much money he would lose, he decided to return to the show and act as if nothing had happened. Ebersol never confronted him about it, and David stayed for the rest of the season. David used this experience as the basis for the film The Revenge (1991).
- #029
Three pairs of brothers were cast: John Belushi and Jim Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Peter Aykroyd, and Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray.
- #030
Leslie Jones became the oldest cast member to join the show when she joined in 2014 at age 47. The previous record holders were George Coe and Michael McKean, who were both 46 when they joined in 1975 and 1994, respectively. Darrell Hammond became the oldest cast member to leave the show when he departed in 2009 at age 53.
- #031
Candice Bergen was the first woman to host the show for a second time and the first woman to host it five times. Drew Barrymore also hosted five times, the first in 1982.
- #032
The following people are members of the Five-Timers Club: Alec Baldwin (17 times), Steve Martin (16 times), John Goodman (13 times), Buck Henry (ten times), Tom Hanks (ten times), Chevy Chase (eight times), Christopher Walken (seven times), Elliott Gould (six times), Danny DeVito (six times), Drew Barrymore (six times), Candice Bergen (five times), Bill Murray (five times), Justin Timberlake (five times), Ben Affleck (five times), Tina Fey (six times), Scarlett Johansson (six times), Melissa McCarthy (five times), Dwayne Johnson (five times), Jonah Hill (five times), Will Ferrell (five times), Paul Rudd (five times), John Mulaney (five times), Woody Harrelson (five times), Emma Stone (five times) and Kristen Wiig (five times).
- #033
Gilda Radner was the first cast member hired.
- #034
According to Chris Rock, during his time on the show he wished he were on In Living Color (1990), which had a predominantly African-American cast. After three seasons he left to join In Living Color as a regular cast member. That show was cancelled at the end of that season.
- #035
Contrary to popular belief, Steve Martin was never a cast member. He hosted the show 16 times and made occasional surprise appearances.
- #036
Amy Poehler's 2008 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series made her the first performer nominated in a category usually reserved for traditional comedy series.
- #037
Conan O'Brien contributed to many sketches without receiving on-screen credit during his time as a writer on Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991. Writer and former cast member Tom Davis also contributed to many sketches without on-screen credit between 1988 and 1994.
- #038
James Downey is the longest-serving writer in the show's history apart from Lorne Michaels, writing across 30 seasons: 1976-1980, 1984-1998, 2000-2005 and 2006-2013. He left the show in 1980 along with Lorne Michaels and other cast members. In 1998 he was fired by NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer. He took a break in 2005 to write a book and retired in 2013.
- #039
Every main cast member of Friends (1994) except Matt LeBlanc has hosted the show.
- #040
Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell auditioned in 2000 to become co-anchors of Weekend Update, but Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon were hired instead.
- #041
Alec Baldwin is the first actor in the show's history to win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor without ever being a cast member. In season 42 he appeared in 17 of 21 episodes, exceeding the limit for being counted as a guest star.
- #042
As of 2012, the only former female cast members who had returned to host the show were Julia Louis-Dreyfus (13 May 2006 and 17 March 2007), Molly Shannon (12 May 2007), Tina Fey (23 February 2008, 10 April 2010 and 7 May 2011), Amy Poehler (25 September 2010) and Maya Rudolph (18 February 2012).
- #043
All of the following performers are alumni of the famous Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, California: Laraine Newman, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, Cheri Oteri, Chris Parnell, Julia Sweeney, Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and Siobhan Fallon Hogan.
- #044
Paul Shaffer is the only member of the band to have hosted an episode.
- #045
Louis C.K. auditioned for the 1993-1994 season. He was not hired for the cast, but James Downey recommended him to Robert Smigel, head writer of the new show Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993), and C.K. was hired as a staff writer for that show.
- #046
When Nealon left in 1995, Al Franken wanted to replace Kevin Nealon as Weekend Update anchor. When Norm MacDonald was chosen instead, Franken left the show. Franken is the only cast member to leave the show and become a Senator.
- #047
The show offered the Jackass (2000) team the chance to perform weekly before their show aired on MTV. They declined, but Johnny Knoxville hosted the show in 2005.
- #048
In all 15 "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, no contestant ever gave a correct answer.
- #049
Lorne Michaels wanted Laura Kightlinger to co-anchor Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald, but MacDonald stubbornly refused to work with another anchor. Steve Martin convinced Michaels that MacDonald should work alone.
- #050
Catherine O'Hara was set to join the cast for the 1981-1982 season but backed out after Michael O'Donoghue yelled at the cast and crew during a meeting. She recommended her SCTV (1976) co-star Robin Duke instead. Robin Duke appeared on the show for several seasons and was part of the early-80s Joe Piscopo/Eddie Murphy cast.
- #051
In 2015, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked all 141 cast members up to that point, with John Belushi in 1st place and Robert Downey Jr. in 141st.
- #052
During the 2016 presidential election, candidate Donald Trump said he very much wanted Alec Baldwin to play him, and Baldwin said he very much wanted to play the role. After Trump won the Republican nomination and the general election began, Baldwin was cast in the role and continued playing the character during Trump's presidency. Trump later said he was bothered by Baldwin's portrayal, calling it "stinks" and saying the entire show was "boring and unfunny" even though he had hosted it less than a year earlier. He claimed Baldwin portrayed him as "mean and nasty," which he said was not his real personality.
- #053
In its first 1975-76 season the show was titled "NBC's Saturday Night" because Saturday Night Live (1975) with Howard Cosell aired earlier in the evening on ABC. The latter was cancelled after its first season, so NBC eventually bought the rights to the title.
- #054
In season 43, Kenan Thompson became the longest-serving cast member, surpassing Darrell Hammond's 15 consecutive seasons. Hammond appeared in more episodes than Thompson, made numerous cameos and served as the show's announcer for more than 3 seasons. In 2018, Thompson announced that he had no plans to leave the show soon.
- #055
When Eric Idle hosted on October 20, 1979, a clip from Idle's Beatles parody The Rutles, from the project Rutland Weekend Television (1975), was shown. The clip's success led Lorne Michaels to co-produce the film version, The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978), which featured numerous Saturday Night Live alumni and regulars.
- #056
Season 40 (2014-2015) was the first season in which every repertory player was born after the series premiered.
- #057
Tim Meadows and Chris Parnell are the only cast members to have been fired and then rehired the following season. Meadows was fired between seasons and did not miss a single episode. Jim Belushi was fired during his tenure but was rehired the next month. Announcer Don Pardo was also fired before the seventh season in an effort to revive the show. He was replaced by Mel Brandt, but Pardo was rehired the following season.
- #058
The show has had only five directors in its history: Dave Wilson, Paul Miller, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Don Roy King and Liz Patrick.
- #059
Starting in 1995, the Saturday Night Live logo began using the abbreviation SNL, the name by which the series is known.
- #060
Tim Kazurinsky was offered the chance to replace Brad Hall as Weekend Update anchor for the 1983-1984 season. Kazurinsky did not want to take the job from Hall and declined. Hall was nevertheless fired as anchor, and the show's anchor would generally hold the position for the rest of the season.
- #061
Before the 1983-1984 season, Eddie Murphy agreed to appear live in ten episodes and to appear in the other ten through taped sketches. These ten sketches were recorded in September 1983 and were alternated with Murphy's live performances throughout the season.
- #062
Gilda Radner was originally set to be the first female original cast member to host, in season 13, but the episode was cancelled because of the WGA strike. Radner would never get the chance to host, as her health declined the following season and she died just before the season finale of season 14.
- #063
The show is strictly scripted. Many cast members, including John Belushi, Jim Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy, are known for improvising their own lines in their performances. Lorne Michaels did not welcome improvisation on SNL for the simple reason that it airs live and changing lines could disrupt the performance. He is known to have punished cast members who went too far.
- #064
Roseanne Barr and Dwayne Johnson are the only hosts to appear under different names: Roseanne as Roseanne Barr, Roseanne Arnold and Roseanne, and Dwayne Johnson as The Rock and Dwayne Johnson. John Mellencamp is the only musical guest to perform under different names: John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp and John Mellencamp.
- #065
Despite the series' live comedy format, its 3 stand-up episodes (Richard Pryor/Gil Scott-Heron (1975), Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Run-DMC (1986) and Andrew Dice Clay/Julee Cruise/Spanic Boys (1990)) were broadcast with a seven-second tape delay to allow any "accidental" profanity to be censored.
- #066
According to Cecily Strong, the voice of her character in the "Former Porn Stars" sketches is based on Sasha Gray. Strong had seen Gray appear on The Tyra Banks Show (2005).
- #067
Music director Lenny Pickett has been the tenor saxophone soloist on the opening theme since the start of the 1985-1986 season. He has not missed an episode in that time. Fellow music director Leon Pendarvis has been in the house band since the 1980-1981 season and may be the longest-serving musician in the show's band.
- #068
Don Pardo's announcement stand is located at the spot where Arturo Toscanini's podium once stood when he conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra during his long-running series of radio concerts.
- #069
The series' 50th Emmy win was Kate McKinnon's in 2016, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
- #070
From 1975 to 1980, the world map on Weekend Update showed Vietnam divided into North and South as it had been before 1975.
- #071
Before joining the Saturday Night Live band, G. E. Smith was the guitarist for Daryl Hall and John Oates.
- #072
Jon Lovitz left Saturday Night Live after 1989-1990 to work on Mom and Dad Save the World (1992). Filming took place during the 1990-1991 season, and Lorne Michaels did not allow Lovitz to miss any episodes.
- #073
One of Kenan Thompson's most common impressions is Bill Cosby, whom he also frequently portrayed on All That (1994).
- #074
Playwright Garrett Morris was initially hired as a writer, but his sketches were considered too long and dramatic. Chevy Chase suggested he be added to the cast as a performer instead.
- #075
As of 2013, five cast members were born outside North America: Tony Rosato (Italy), Pamela Stephenson (New Zealand), Morwenna Banks (England), Horatio Sanz (Chile) and Nasim Pedrad (Iran).
- #076
Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider, A. Whitney Brown, Billy Crystal, Denny Dillon, Michael McKean, Terry Sweeney, Alan Zweibel, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Paul Shaffer, Brian Doyle-Murray, James Downey, Tom Schiller, Yvonne Hudson, Don Novello, Tina Fey, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Riggle and Ben Stiller all appeared on the show before joining the cast.
- #077
Guest performances were common in the show's early years, most often by Andy Kaufman, Al Franken and Tom Davis (who joined the cast as featured players in late 1979), Michael O'Donoghue (one of the original cast members), Michael Davis, Harry Anderson (who hosted in early 1985), Steven Wright, Penn Jillette, Teller and Sam Kinison. By the late 1980s, guest performances had become very rare.
- #078
According to Bob Odenkirk, John Candy "was the most burned potential host… because he had been asked to do it so many times and at the last minute was told 'no, thank you' by the staff."
- #079
Six presidential candidates have hosted the show: Ralph Nader hosted in 1977, 19 years before he was the Green candidate in 1996. George McGovern hosted in 1984, 12 years after he was the Democratic nominee in 1972. Al Gore hosted in 2002, 2 years after he was the Democratic nominee in 2000. John McCain hosted in 2002, 6 years before he was the Republican nominee in 2008; he hosted again in 2008 as the nominee. Roseanne Barr hosted three times in the early 1990s, before she was the Peace and Freedom candidate in 2012. Donald Trump hosted twice, in 2004 and 2015, before he was the Republican nominee in 2016. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Steve Forbes hosted while they were running in primaries, but none of them won their party's nomination. Rudy Giuliani hosted in 1997, 11 years before his failed run for the 2008 Republican nomination.
- #080
Fred Savage was the first person born after the show's October 11, 1975 episode to host it. He was born on July 9, 1976, and hosted the Fred Savage/Technotronic episode (1990).
- #081
In 1976, the NBC News election unit used Studio 8H for election coverage. The October 16, 23 and 30 episodes were taped in a studio in Brooklyn. The February 20, 1977 episode was performed live in New Orleans on a Sunday. In 1984, several episodes were taped in RCA Bldg Studios 8G and 3A because of election coverage.
- #082
When a celebrity dies, SNL often reruns an episode the celebrity hosted or appeared in a sketch in as a tribute.
- #083
As of 2013, nine cast members were born in Canada: Dan Aykroyd, Peter Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, Robin Duke, Martin Short, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Norm MacDonald and Mark McKinney. MacDonald is the only one of them born outside the province of Ontario.
- #084
TV Guide ranked it 10th among the 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
- #085
Every member of Monty Python except Terry Gilliam appeared on the show.
- #086
Jack McBrayer and Paul Scheer auditioned to join the cast.
- #087
Christopher Reeve appeared as himself in the audience in a sketch a few weeks before he hosted the show.
- #088
John Belushi initially did not want to join the show because he hated television. Michael O'Donoghue convinced Belushi to audition.
- #089
Dwayne Johnson was scheduled to host on November 10, 2007, with Amy Winehouse as the musical guest. The episode was cancelled because of the 2007 WGA strike.
- #090
Jeffrey Ross was offered the chance to audition to replace Colin Quinn as the Weekend Update anchor. Just before his meeting with Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey were hired for the role instead.
- #091
T. J. Miller auditioned to join the cast, but Bobby Moynihan was chosen instead.
- #092
This was one of composer Howard Shore's first professional concerts. He was hired as the series' first music director. At Dan Aykroyd's request, he hired several professional musicians as members of the Blues Brothers Band. A few years after he began working on this series, he started working with David Cronenberg. He also went on to win an Oscar for his music in the Lord of the Rings films.
- #093
Janeane Garofalo was in the cast during the 1994-1995 season. She left before the season ended due to creative differences.
- #094
Comedians Lenny Bruce and Buddy Hackett declared themselves Not Ready for Prime Time Players on the "Patrice Munsel Show" in 1957, twenty years before SNL's original cast adopted the name in 1975.
- #095
During the transition from Chevy Chase to Bill Murray, Chase (following Lorne Michaels' instructions) briefly trained Murray before he left. Later, when Chase returned as a guest host in 1978, a fight broke out between the two. In a Howard Stern interview, Chase admits that much of this was the fault of John Belushi, who was jealous of Chase's stardom and was also angry that Bill Murray, rather than his brother Jim, had replaced him; and that because of all this, Belushi stoked the resentment in Murray by having Murray push Chase around behind Chase's back. As a result, when Murray returned, he confronted Chase and a fistfight broke out between them.
- #096
Alec Baldwin was the first non-cast member to play Donald Trump in a sketch.
- #097
After Governor Tim Walz was announced as Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Lorne Michaels approached Steve Martin to play Walz. Martin turned down the offer, saying, "I said, 'Lorne, I'm not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.' I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses." Jim Gaffigan ultimately took on the role of Walz.
- #098
The "Coneheads" characters ranked 15th on TV Guide's "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" list (August 1, 2004 issue).
- #099
According to saxophonist Lou Marini, Lorne Michaels originally "didn't dig" the Blues Brothers sketch, but "it was one of the shows late in [season 3], it was short, and he said: 'You guys want to do your stupid song? Go ahead and do it.' So we did it on the show and it was a tremendous hit; people went crazy for it."
- #100
In the cast introduction segment in the early 1990s, the regulars are shown in a restaurant. When regular Phil Hartman is seen and named (it lasts only 2-3 seconds), the woman sitting with him who turns the most is his wife Brynn (who, as is widely known, killed him in 1998 over drug-related reasons). According to an interview with one of the series' crew, Brynn tried to get her face on camera, but the director ordered her to turn back and keep looking at Phil (because a non-regular person cannot be seen in "full face" when a regular is introduced). On close inspection of the 2-3 seconds, her long earring can be seen swinging back and forth, indicating that she is turning her head.
- #101
The following performers are graduates of the Second City Theatre in Chicago, Illinois: John Belushi, Jim Belushi, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Danitra Vance, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tim Kazurinsky, Mary Gross, Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, David Koechner, Ana Gasteyer, Nancy Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz.
- #102
The following performers are graduates of the Second City Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dan Aykroyd, Peter Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, Tony Rosato, Robin Duke and Martin Short.
- #103
Liz Cackowski and Maribeth Monroe were among the women who auditioned for the 2005-2006 season, but both lost out to newcomer Kristen Wiig.
- #104
Jennifer Tilly auditioned to join the 1985-1986 cast.
- #105
According to Marc Maron, he met with Lorne Michaels in 1996 to replace Norm MacDonald as the Weekend Update anchor.
- #106
Norm MacDonald parodied Burt Reynolds in the recurring "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch and eventually played Reynolds's son on My Name Is Earl (2005), even wearing the same clothes as in the sketch.
- #107
Ray Romano was scheduled to host the show for a second time in April 2002, but had to drop out due to a busy schedule. Dwayne Johnson was brought in as his replacement.
- #108
Chris Farley accidentally cut himself with glass between the first and second seasons. A scar is visible on his right arm during the sketches.
- #109
Of the fifteen total "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, only one ended with a contestant scoring positive points. In the Drew Barrymore/Garbage episode (1999), Nicolas Cage (Jimmy Fallon) finished with 8 dollars.
- #110
Among the fifteen total "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, Tom Hanks was the only celebrity to parody himself, in the Will Ferrell/Green Day episode (2009).
- #111
Seventeen U.S. presidents have been parodied on the show, nine of them while in office: * George Washington - Dennis Miller, Russell Brand, Nate Bargatze * Thomas Jefferson - Robert De Niro, Eric Slovin * James Madison - Rachel Dratch, Chris Parnell * Abraham Lincoln - Joe Piscopo, Terry Sweeney, Michael McKean, Darrell Hammond * Theodore Roosevelt - Kenan Thompson * Franklin D. Roosevelt - John Belushi, Harry Shearer, Tim Kazurinsky, Bill Hader, Mikey Day * John F. Kennedy - Dan Aykroyd, Joe Piscopo, Billy Crystal, Randy Quaid, Jon Hamm * Richard Nixon - Dan Aykroyd, Tony Rosato, Joe Piscopo, John Turturro, Darrell Hammond * Gerald Ford - Chevy Chase * Jimmy Carter - Dan Aykroyd, Joe Piscopo, Dana Carvey, Michael McKean, Darrell Hammond * Ronald Reagan - Chevy Chase, Harry Shearer, Charles Rocket, Joe Piscopo, Randy Quaid, Robin Williams, Phil Hartman * George H. W. Bush - James Downey, Dana Carvey, Fred Armisen * Bill Clinton - Phil Hartman, Michael McKean, Chris Elliott, Darrell Hammond, Dana Carvey, Beck Bennett * George W. Bush - Will Ferrell, Chris Parnell, Darrell Hammond, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis * Barack Obama - Fred Armisen, Jay Pharoah, Chris Redd * Donald Trump - Phil Hartman, Darrell Hammond, Taran Killam, Alec Baldwin, John Cena, James Austin Johnson * Joe Biden - Kevin Nealon, Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, Jim Carrey, Alex Moffat, James Austin Johnson, Dana Carvey Hammond played the most presidents (6), followed by Piscopo (5), Carvey (4) and Aykroyd, McKean and Hartman (3 each). Bush, Obama and Trump all appeared as themselves.
- #112
SCTV (1976) once did a parody called "Thursday Night Live."
- #113
Donald Trump is the only President to appear on the show before running for office — even in politics.
- #114
Rob Huebel auditioned twice to join the cast.
- #115
Five cast members were credited in only a single episode: George Coe (1975), Tom Schiller (1980), Alan Zweibel (1980), Laurie Metcalf (1981) and Emily Prager (1981).
- #116
Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond are the only cast members to appear in all fifteen "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches.
- #117
Cast members who became famous after their time on the show include Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr.
- #118
In Utah, the show aired on KUTV, a CBS affiliate until 1995, then on KUCW, a CW affiliate until 2013. Since 2013 it has aired on KSL, Salt Lake City's NBC affiliate (owned by the Mormon church).
- #119
Because the show had its best period largely during its first five seasons (1975-1980) and was considered a major sensation in the 1970s, it was often confused in its own time with the musical film Saturday Night Fever (1977), which was also a sensation. Some of the connections are: * There was once a sketch titled "Samurai Night Fever" that parodied the film. * Denny Dillon appeared in 'Fever' and was a regular on this show (in fact, she appeared in the show's third episode two years before 'Fever' was released). * Other 'Fever' cast members John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney and Fran Drescher each appeared on this show at least once. Travolta actually hosted. * The famous group Kool & The Gang performed one of the 'Fever' songs and once appeared on this show as a musical guest.
- #120
John Belushi's brother Jim and Bill Murray's brother Brian Doyle Murray appeared on the show; Jim Belushi eventually became a regular cast member years after Belushi's death. Both Jason and Justine Bateman also appeared on the show.
- #121
Kali Hawk turned down the opportunity to join the cast.
- #122
According to longtime writer James Downey, Bill Maher was nearly the Weekend Update anchor before Norm MacDonald was chosen.
- #123
Because it is recorded in New York City, many cast members were born in the city (in any of the five boroughs): Chevy Chase, George Coe, Al Franken, Alan Zweibel, Eddie Murphy, Gilbert Gottfried, Matthew Laurance, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Robert Downey Jr., Joan Cusack, Terry Sweeney, Damon Wayans, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, Ellen Cleghorne, Michael McKean, Chris Elliott, Colin Quinn, Tracy Morgan, Jimmy Fallon, Dean Edwards, Abby Elliott, Colin Jost, Michael Che and Pete Davidson.
- #124
Thomas Middleditch auditioned for the show.
- #125
In the recurring "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch, Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond parodied Alex Trebek and Sir Sean Connery, respectively. Coincidentally, the real Trebek and Connery died in 2020 just eight days apart.
- #126
Alex Trebek personally approved Will Ferrell's parody of him in the recurring "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch. He made a special appearance in the cast during Ferrell's final sketch, in the Winona Ryder/Moby episode (2002).
- #127
Across the fifteen total "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, the "Potent Potables" category was chosen only once, in Saturday Night Live: 40th Anniversary Special (2015).
- #128
The five oldest hosts in the show's history: Betty White (88) - Betty White/Jay-Z (2010) (hired to host after a Facebook petition); Miskel Spillman (80) - Miskel Spillman/Elvis Costello (1977) (winner of the "Anyone Can Host" contest); Ruth Gordon (80) - Ruth Gordon/Chuck Berry (1977); Mary Palin (80) - Michael Palin and his mother/Motels (1984); Steve Martin (77) - Steve Martin and Martin Short/Brandi Carlile (2022).
- #129
The five youngest hosts in the show's history: Drew Barrymore (7) - Drew Barrymore/Squeeze (1982); Macaulay Culkin (11) - Macaulay Culkin/Tin Machine (1991); Fred Savage (13) - Fred Savage/Technotronic (1990); Jodie Foster (14) - Jodie Foster/Brian Wilson (1976); Malcolm-Jamal Warner (16) - Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Run-DMC (1986).
- #130
Reese Witherspoon hosted Reese Witherspoon/Alicia Keys (2001), the first episode to air after September 11, which premiered just two weeks and four days after the tragedy. Lorne Michaels praised her work: "I've always had great admiration for her at that time. There were a lot of people saying, 'I don't think you can go on.' We've faced this many times before, but you have to find a way to do it. I knew it was very, very important that we come on." Witherspoon reflected, "It was a lot of responsibility for a 24-year-old," and recalled how Michaels approached her, saying, "He said, 'I really need you to come. I really need this. Rudy Giuliani will be here. All the firefighters will be here. Paul Simon will sing. I just want you to go out and do something light and tell America that we need to laugh again, that you can't feel this way. We have to regain the national spirit.'" Witherspoon would not host again for another fourteen years, until Reese Witherspoon/Florence + the Machine (2015).
- #131
Jane Curtin later starred alongside Susan Saint James, who was married to Dick Ebersol, in the sitcom Kate & Allie.
- #132
The show's 20th season was perceived as suffering from poor writing, but it is mostly remembered for the large number of cast members who either quit or were fired that season. Those who left included Morwenna Banks, Janeane Garofalo, Ellen Cleghorne, Chris Elliott, Chris Farley, Laura Kightlinger, Michael McKean, Jay Mohr, Mike Myers, Kevin Nealon and Adam Sandler.
- #133
Of the fifteen total "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, only two did not feature Darrell Hammond as Sir Sean Connery: the John Goodman/Jewel (1997) and Matthew Perry/Oasis (1997) episodes. In both sketches Hammond appeared as other celebrities, Phil Donahue and John Travolta respectively.
- #134
Across the fifteen total "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, three celebrities were parodied multiple times: Sir Sean Connery (Darrell Hammond), Burt Reynolds (Norm MacDonald) and Bill Cosby (Kenan Thompson). Thompson's second appearance as Cosby came in the Daily Double Video on Saturday Night Live: 40th Anniversary Special (2015).
- #135
Frankie Muniz was offered the chance to host in 2000, but he turned it down because he was already set to co-host the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2000 (2000), where he would meet Amanda Bynes, whom he was in love with at the time. Had Muniz accepted, he would have been one of the youngest hosts in SNL history.
- #136
The 2010s were the first decade in the show's history in which Steve Martin did not host at least once.
- #137
Chevy Chase was injured on set during the show's first episode. While he recovered, he was absent from the next two episodes.
- #138
In the show's controversial 6th season, then-new cast member Eddie Murphy was mostly relegated to background roles. However, he was one of the few cast members who was genuinely popular with audiences at the time. Murphy and Joe Piscopo were the only performers whose contracts were renewed for the series' 7th season.
- #139
After his single stint as guest host, Frank Zappa was banned from ever appearing on the show again. Following several arguments with the regular cast members during rehearsals, Zappa deliberately gave a terrible performance as host purely to spite them.
- #140
Early in the series' 7th season, Christine Ebersole performed a rendition of the ballad "Single Women." Among the audience was the singer Dolly Parton, who liked the song and decided to work on her own cover version of the ballad. Parton's version reached the top 10 on the Billboard Country Music chart.
- #141
In the series' 6th season, Charles Rocket appeared in more sketches than any of the season's other male performers. The series' showrunner, Jean Doumanian, had picked him as the season's most likely breakout star. Audiences were somewhat less enthusiastic about his parody versions of game show hosts and roving reporters. Rocket was eventually fired over the negative publicity caused by his accidental use of profanity during a sketch parodying soap operas. The press portrayed the incident as a clear violation of broadcast standards, although the FCC rules of the time did not prohibit profanity in programs marketed only to adult viewers.
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