‘Saturday Night Live’: 145 Cast Members Ranked

Era: 1985-1986

Robert Downey Jr. is a comic genius. Making him unfunny stands as SNL’s most towering achievement in terms of sucking. How do you fuck up a sure thing like Downey? He’s funny in anything. I mean, dude was funny in Weird Science. He was funny in Johnny Be Good. He was funny in Iron Man. But he met his Kryptonite, and it was SNL, where he spent the 1985-1986 season sucking up a storm. His greatest hit? A fart-noise debate with Anthony Michael Hall. In a perverse way, the Downey Fail sums up everything that makes SNL great. There are no sure things. No rules. No do-overs. No safety net — when you flop on SNL, you flop big. And that’s the way it should be. The cameras roll at 11:30, ready or not. Live from New York — it’s Saturday Night.

Era: 1975-1976

Strange but true: The Muppets were first-season cast members. But not the funny Muppets — a dark and grumpy version, starring a lizard named Scred. Jim Henson hated the “I’m Scred and you’re not” gags. So he left to start The Muppet Show. Too bad — Gonzo and Belushi would have made quite a team.

Era: 1995-1998

Like Jay Mohr, except more of a “This asshole again? No, that one” type.

Era: 1986-1992

America had six seasons to wonder how the one-joke, baby-talking ninny ate up so much time on SNL, and nobody ever did figure that out. The best thing VJ ever did was show up on the 25th-anniversary special as an audience member and ask, “I was just wondering — whatever happened to me?”

Era: 1980-1981

It’s so weird to think that Gottfried was ever young — or that he wasted a year of his youth bombing out on SNL. He wasn’t really Gilbert Gottfried yet — he was just a morose-looking hippie kid with a ‘fro that seemed to wilt by the minute. The best you can say for his SNL gig is it helped turn him into the bitter madman we know and love today.

Era: 1995-2000

All the Remote Control alum needs for his comedy style is to hang out and be himself, yet SNL required him to wear a tie and read cue cards. “Weekend Update” was so spectacularly wrong for his skill
set, especially his hoarser-by-the-minute croak, you barely noticed how hackity-hackity-hack the jokes were. Maybe that was the point.

Era: 1993-1998

Macdonald clearly thought he was hilarious, and that counts for something — confidence is essential for a “Weekend Update” anchor. Unfortunately, he was just a Dennis Miller clone with no mullet and no jokes. Stare into the camera a little longer, Norm; maybe it’ll get funnier.

Era: 1985-1986

Normally you can stick Randy Quaid into anything and make it funnier, but “normally” doesn’t mean beans on SNL, especially not that Godforsaken 1985-1986 season. Let’s just say, in the immortal words of Cousin Eddie: The shitter was full.

Era: 1980-1981

Like baseball’s Moonlight Graham, they were cast members for one episode — without making it into any of the sketches. Rated leniently for not sucking.

Era: 1993-1995

Even in a crowded cast, Mohr still managed to stand out for his amazing “This asshole again?” power. His 2004 book, Gasping for Airtime, was an admirable chronicle of how inept he was on SNL.

Era: 1980-1981

Bit players in the “Saturday Night Live ’80” replacement crew, which is like riding the bench for the Bad News Bears.

Era: 1980-1981

One of the saddest SNL crash-and-burn stories. Rocket had the misfortune to host “Weekend Update” during the doomed “Saturday Night Live ’80” season, which meant he took most of the heat. His man-in-the-street “Rocket Report” segments were solid, but his “Update” got hammier and more off-key, and he got fired after saying “Who the fuck did it?” on the air, with a cocky grin on his face. He died tragically in 2005.

Era: 1980-1982

He went from being “the guy nobody noticed on SCTV” to “the guy nobody noticed on SNL,” taking over the Joe Piscopo-type role whenever Piscopo needed a bathroom break.

Eras: Dan Vitale (1985-1986); Ben Stiller (1988-1989)

Officially cast members for a few weeks in the Eighties. Vitale was forgotten until Marc Maron dug him up for a WTF podcast. Stiller’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Eras: Christine Ebersole (1981-1982); Ann Risley (1981-1981); Robin Duke (1980-1984)

Talented players who came and went without getting a real chance.

Eras: Jerry Minor (2000-2001); Rob Riggle (2004-2005); Finesse Mitchell (2003-2006); Jeff Richards (2001-2004); Paul Brittain (2010-2012); Dean Edwards (2001-2003)

So many bros got lost in the shuffle in the 2000s.

Era: 1985-1986

Before he blew up on In Living Color, he added his name to the “Briefly Sucked” files on SNL. Haaaated it!

Era: 1975-1979

National Lampoon’s evil genius helped define SNL behind the scenes — scripting nihilistic venom for Chevy Chase was like Robert Towne writing for Jack Nicholson. But he was no performer, so his onscreen “Mr. Mike” schtick — bearded stiff poses as a decadent dandy — has dated badly. And, sorry, but it’s hard to take his “comedy is a baby-seal hunt” routine when you’re looking right at that poignant cry-for-help baby seal of a comb-over.

Era: 1985-1986

What a career of crazy highs and tremendous lows. What other actor on Earth could play Bill Gates, Whitey Ford and Mutt Lange? Going from The Breakfast Club to SNL probably seemed like graduation, but it was more like a year of detention.

Era: 1991-1992

In her sole season, she snagged a three-second close-up in the credits — times 20 episodes, that’s a solid minute, which must’ve been 90 percent of her screen time. Went on to play Björk’s prison guard in a Lars von Trier film, proving anything is possible.

Eras: Nancy Walls (1995-1996); David Koechner (1995-1996); Laura Kightlinger (1994-1995); Morwenna Banks (1994-1995); Fred Wolf (1995-1997); Melanie Hutsell (1991-1994)

Mostly bit players trapped in the god-awful years after the big Myers/Hartman/Sandler exodus. The SNL equivalent of Marcy Playground or the Primitive Radio Gods.

Era: 1994-1997

Another comedy star with his own . . . look, people. You’re already famous. So stay the hell away from “SNL.” It’s a homeless shelter, not a spa. It’s for lonesome newbies who have no other hope. The Billy Crystal Scenario happened exactly once. You’re so welcome!

Era: 1994-1995

Another comedy star with his own thriving career joins the cast of . . . wait, what the fuck was wrong with these people? They never heard of Randy Quaid?

Era: 1994-1995

A comedy star with her own thriving career joins the cast of SNL. What could go wrong?

Era: 1993-1994

Yeah, no surprise SNL had no clue what to do with her — she barely appeared in her entire season. For years afterward, she went abysmally wasted in Hollywood until finally she got famous by writing her own show, Jesus Is Magic, flaunting her distinctive “I was raped by a doctor, which is a bittersweet experience for a Jewish girl” humor. Best SNL rebound of all time!

Era: 1985-1986

SNL’s long history of failing to do right by black women begins here. (Well, it probably begins with Garrett Morris as Tina Turner.) Vance got such shoddy treatment from the writers it became a joke in itself when she sang the Barry Manilow parody “I Play the Maids.” She died in 1994.

Era: 1975-1976

The token old guy in the original cast, left behind when Michaels figured out it was funnier to dress young guys as old guys.

Era: 2008-present

He’s an uncle and he’s drunk. Got it. Saving grace: His brilliant Chris Christie imitation.

Era: 1982-1985

Well, somebody had to play Walter Mondale. Kroeger’s other highlight: Donny Osmond to Louis-Dreyfus’ Marie, as they sang a duet that turned into a full-on make-out session.

Era: 1979-1982

More of a writer than a performer, Bill’s big brother was still years away from his most memorable screen turn, in Wayne’s World. (“He blows goats. I have proof.”)

Eras: Cheri Oteri (1995-2000); Chris Kattan (1996-2003)

These two go together somehow, since they made a perfect couple as the Zimmermans. The ultimate theater kids, always trying so goddamn hard. They get full marks for originality — they were fearless in their pursuit of quirky characters. But they sure did repeat themselves (that Mango! those cheerleaders!), and they were incapable of dialing it down a notch, so once you got sick of them, you never went back to being un-sick.

Era: 1985-1986

Future Academy Award-nominated star in “year wasted not getting any love from SNL” shocker!

Eras: Noël Wells (2013-2014); Beck Bennett (2013-present); Tim Robinson (2012-2013); Michael Che (2014-present); Mike O’Brien (2013-2014); Kyle Mooney (2013-present); Leslie Jones (2014-present); Colin Jost (2014-present); John Milhiser (2013-2014); Sasheer Zamata (2014-present); Pete Davidson (2014-present); Aidy Bryant (2012-present); Jon Rudnitsky (2015-2016); Mikey Day (2016-present); Alex Moffat (2016-present) and Melissa Villaseñor (2016-present)

The 2012-2017 rookies are a huge pileup of nervous kids, thrown into the cast and basically auditioning on the air. It’s SNL as a reality-show competition, where the prize is a gig at SNL. It’d be mean and unfair to rate them at this point, particularly since most would have to set themselves on fire to get onscreen. (A few are gone already.) Best of luck, gang. Remember, bombing on SNL is often the dawn of a beautiful career.

Era: 2008-2012

The first player to be the daughter of an ex-player, Chris Elliott, and the granddaughter of a guest, Bob Elliott of the legendary radio duo Bob and Ray. Damn good Sarah McLachlan impression.

Era: 1986-1991

He did proto-Daily Show commentary during the Dennis Miller-era "Update," and later ended up on the beta Daily Show during the Craig Kilborn years.

Eras: Michael McKean (1994-1995); Harry Shearer (1979-1980, 1984-1985)

Just filling in the Spinal Tap bingo card — neither David St. Hubbins nor Derek Smalls ever found his Stonehenge at 30 Rock.

Era: 1990-1994

Sweeney spent most of her time playing Pat — a sniffling, allegedly androgynous cretin — which was bad news for her and worse news for the rest of us. It's hard to think of a more universally dreaded recurring SNL character. (Pat was so feared by 1992 that it took only one cameo in a video for then-hot band Ugly Kid Joe to kill their career.)

Era: 2009-2010

SNL is already a footnote in her story — her superb film Obvious Child dropped last year to wide acclaim. She had a rough first night — in a sketch where she said "frickin' " over and over (maybe not the smartest idea to toss at a rookie), she slipped and said "fuckin'." Seth Meyers gallantly put his arm around her for the "good nights," but it was her only season.

Era: 1980-1981

A flicker of hope in the "Saturday Night Live '80" debacle, with a sharp Valley Girl mall-chick character named Vickie. Matthius and Vickie both deserved better.

Era: 2013-2014

Raised 10 bonus notches for his Twitter joke when he got the ax: "Fired from New York, it's Saturday night!"

Era: 1983-1985

Consistent mediocrity is rare on SNL — it eventually crosses the line into "grudgingly good" or "mega-irritating." He might have been SNL's most reliable mediocrity, and as such he should be honored. He peaked as a blowhard bigot interviewing Louis-Dreyfus about Jewish culture in the talk show "Know Your Neighbor" ("Suppose my gas gauge is on empty, but I make it 40 miles to the Exxon station — can I get an eight-day holiday for that?") — a high point for both of them.

Era: 2008-2009

A brief SNL pit stop on her way to deserved stardom in Happy Endings and Marry Me. Who could forget her paralyzed stripper, Dusty Velvet? That sketch alone earns Wilson a spot north of the Jim Belushi Canyon.

Era: 1984-1985

Imported to do "Update" from his own HBO show, Not Necessarily the News, which suited him better.

Era: 1991-1995

The only black woman in the 1990s cast, except — what a shocker — she never got any substantial roles to play. Her Queen Shaniqua talk show wasn't enough to get her over. After SNL, she moved on to star in her own WB sitcom, the well-titled but ultimately doomed Cleghorne! And yet it seems appropriate that Cleghorne appeared in the opening credits on the sidewalk, trying to hail a taxi that never arrived.

Era: 2008-2009

She didn't stay long, but she made an impression as celebrity blogger Angie Tempura from BitchPleeze.com.

Era: 1982-1984

The finest Pete Best impression in SNL history. Always likable as the superpreppy "Update" news anchor, Hall has been married to Julia Louis-Dreyfus since 1987, which (1) earns him the Golden Sponge lifetime achievement award, and (2) must hold the record as SNL's all-time least-catastrophic romance.

Era: 1980-1984

The second banana to Eddie Murphy, which is like being the second-most-famous dude in the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The Sinatra "I Love Rock 'N Roll" medley sure holds up, though.

Eras: Terry Sweeney (1985-1986); Mary Gross (1981-1985)

SNL's twin Nancy Reagans. Sweeney, the first out cast member, had an abrasive edge that sometimes hit the mark, and Gross was more polished — she also shone as Alfalfa and (especially) Mary Tyler Moore. Both were years ahead of their time.

Era: 1977-1980

The mellower half of Franken and Davis — his perpetual college-stoner boyishness was a key part of the early show's identity. He always looked like one of the kids in the audience. He also did a killer Keith Richards imitation. Before he died of cancer in 2012, he wrote one of the best SNL memoirs, the excellently titled 39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss.

Era: 1991-1992

SNL really blew it letting this firecracker get away. Cahill had a few show-stealing turns as Denise Swerski, Miss Southside of Chicago and daughter of George Wendt in the Bears "Superfan" skits. ("She's got a real Mrs. Ditka quality!") Whenever Cahill appeared, people asked, "Who the hell is she? And when is she coming back?" But she barely ever did, because (1) Victoria Jackson got all the blond-bimbo roles, and (2) SNL had nothing else for women to do.