Saturday Night Live Wiki
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Welcome to Studio 8H, our community portal! Here, you can find most of the links to our main pages, such as cast member profiles, important moments in SNL history and our archives of hosts and musical guests.


The Wiki


Interested in editing the wiki? The first place to start is by hovering over "Helping Out" at the top of the screen. The items in that menu will give you some general knowledge of wiki editing.

After that, you may want to check out the style guide, which gives general guidelines on how pages should be laid out. Also, have a quick look at the conduct guide, which details how users should treat one another.

Need an adult? The best person to contact is ZJ2001 (talk page), the active administrator. He can handle anything that requires an administrator.

Note that the pages and talk pages are meant to read like an encyclopedia. If you want to have a discussion about SNL, check out the forums. That's also the place to go for general discussions regarding the wiki.

Quick links

To-do

  • Many episode articles need edited to be brought in line with the new color-coded system. Episodes from seasons 37-39 are also done with the sketches listed in one section and the cast listed by sketch. It makes a lot more sense for the cast to be separate than the sketches (which is the current standardized style).
  • Category:Cast Members who Hosted isn't grammatically correct; could use renaming.
  • Special:UnusedFiles Many unused photos, most of which are fair use and shouldn't remain unused.
  • Change the main page slider to multiple photos for each option, via the "choose" tag.
  • I'm keeping an eye on a series of bugs with the welcome bot, user:Wikia. It hasn't been welcoming IPs (I've welcomed a couple manually), and it briefly logged itself out and started welcoming as user:127.0.0.1. Most recently, it welcomed a user and attributed the edit to my account, though I didn't make that edit (link). I've contacted Wikia about that last one since mismatches between edits and user names is a pretty major problem.

History of the wiki



Saturday Night Live


See also: What's SNL?

Creators / Executive Producers

  • Lorne Michaels - Co-Creator, Executive Producer: 1975-1980, 1985-present (Seasons 1-5, 11-present)
  • Dick Ebersol - Co-Creator, Executive Producer: 1981-1985 (Season 6 ep. 13-Season 10)
  • Jean Doumanian - Executive Producer: 1980-81 (Season 6 eps. 1-12)

Current Cast

Main article: Cast

Notable Tenures

SNL has been the home to many great talents and some have been on the series for an amazing period of time. Though there have been many great comedians on the series for nearly 50 years, few have been on for 10 seasons or longer. Here is a (short) list of those who did and those who broke the record:

Also, SNL has been the home of some comedians for a very short time. Here are those who have the record shortest tenure:

In Memoriam

A tribute to those involved with SNL who passed away. Posted next to each person's name is the year of their death.

Announcers

Fill-in announcers

History

Myths

Saturday Night Live has seen many notable myths and confusions spread throughout its history.

Louise Lasser as host

It is often repeated that Louise Lasser was banned after a horrible performance, which included racing away from the monologue to lock herself in her dressing room. This rumor is mostly true, except for one fact: the dressing room scene was staged. Upon closer inspection, the cast's interaction with Lasser through the closed door is rehearsed and it would have been impossible to hear Lasser through the door if the sound department had not made arrangements beforehand.

However, while the dressing room sketch was pre-written, it was based upon her behavior during the week. She had been difficult to work with and high on drugs; at one point, she crawled into Lorne Michaels' office on her hands and knees. While it is the dressing room sketch that many remember, the proof of her behavior comes from what is not in the series - Louise Lasser. As a means of keeping the show going, most of her sketches were cut; we only see her live in one sketch (which features her alone, talking to a dog), the opening monologue, a second (rambling) monologue, and two pre-taped pieces.

Chevy Chase's injury

It was said on the series, in the second episode of the second season, that Chevy Chase was injured in the previous episode. The injury was not real; it was scripted. This rumor is often stretched to say this was the only time an ambulance was needed to take someone away during a show.

The immediate proof of this comes from the episode in which Chase was supposedly injured, the September 18, 1976 episode. The final sketch of the series is a large dance number, with host Lily Tomlin singing, called the "Antler Dance." Chase can clearly be seen dancing along with the rest of the cast, proving that he not only hadn't been rushed away, but was not suffering from any serious groin injury.

In reality, Chase was already planning his exit when the second season was starting. He had never signed a contract as an actor, only as head writer, and was not willing to sign an actor contract. With Chase such an integral part of the show, singularly handling both the opening line and Weekend Update, some sort of transition was needed. Missing two episodes and returning for a few proved the best way to try out other cast members in the opening sketch and Update desk, and a fake story about an injury was the perfect backstory to explain being away while still being credited.

Charles Grodin as host

It is often repeated that, while hosting in Season 3, Charles Grodin stopped the series several times to question the material, as well as showing up late. All of it was scripted.

His late appearance to the opening is the easiest to explain. Had he really been late, he would not have known where the live cameras were; the odds would be almost astronomical for him to walk in the live shot. In addition, a missing host would not trigger the cameras to be aimed at cast members having a real conversation about the missing host; something would be put forward to kill time (likely an extra sketch that had been cut after dress rehearsal).

Later, Grodin does appear to stop two sketches- a Belushi samurai sketch (Samurai Dry Cleaners) and a sketch featuring the bees. The previous lampooning of the bees should have been a tipoff that the sketch wasn't real; but upon watching the scene, Grodin is noticeably reading his supposedly ad-libbed lines from a cue card. During the Samurai Dr. Cleaners sketch, he both asks Gilda Radner questions about the scene, and appears to start reading Belushi's cue cards. However, Radner and Belushi's responses are more calm than actors reacting to an actual problem- as the Milton Berle episode shows, actual ad-libs cause the cast members to stumble, usually causing the show to grind to a halt. The fact that Radner and Belushi react with little difficulty shows Grodin's actions were rehearsed.

In reality, the fact that Grodin would write such breakings of the fourth wall should come as no surprise. He frequently pretends to have issues spring up on show appearances- he pretended to argue with Johnny Carson more than once, pretended to take a cell phone call on-air while talking to David Letterman, and complained to Jon Stewart about his treatment backstage when appearing on The Daily Show.[1] In fact, Grodin has since stated that he specifically wrote the interruptions for his SNL appearance because improvising would be impossible, and learning the sketches would be more difficult due to their ever-changing nature.[2]

Memorable Moments

  • The First Episode (October 11, 1975)
  • Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel reunite on SNL (October 18, 1975)
  • "Word Association" with Chevy Chase & Richard Pryor (December 13, 1975)
  • Ron Nessen hosts SNL, President Ford introduces show (April 17, 1976)
  • Saturday Night's alright for drinking: Kris Kristofferson live and hammered (July 31, 1976)
  • Chevy leaves the series; The Band makes its last television appearance together (October 30, 1976)
  • SNL's infamous Mardi Gras special -- There is NO FLOAT! (February 20, 1977)
  • Elvis Costello stops "Less Than Zero", jolts into "Radio, Radio" (December 17, 1977)
  • Chevy Chase and Bill Murray's pre-show fistfight (February 18, 1978)
  • Limo For Lame-o: Al Franken mocks NBC boss Fred Silverman (May 10, 1980)
  • End of an Era: Lorne Michaels leaves, as does the rest of "The Not Ready For Prime Time Players" (May 24, 1980)
  • Who Shot CR? Charles Rocket wants to know who the f*** did! (February 21, 1981)
  • Dick Ebersol takes over SNL (April 11, 1981)
  • John Belushi comes back for a non speaking cameo; FEAR grips Studio 8H (October 31, 1981)
  • John Belushi, dead at 33 (March 5, 1982)
  • The Audience Speaks: Andy Kaufman is voted off the show (November 20, 1982)
  • Andy Kaufman dies (May 16, 1984)
  • Lorne Michaels takes back SNL with teen power (November 19, 1985)
  • FUCK! The Replacements get hammered (January 18, 1986)
  • Burn, baby, burn!: The Finale Fire (May 24, 1986)
  • Lorne returns SNL to greatness with new cast of talent (October 11, 1986 )
  • Gilda Radner dies of Ovarian Cancer the year after she is scheduled to host SNL (May 20, 1989)
  • Andrew "Dice" Clay hosts SNL, Nora Dunn & Sinead O'Connor protests the show (May 12, 1990)
  • Where the fuck this chicken come from -- I thought I ordered ribs! The Time on SNL (October 20, 1990)
  • Sinead O'Connor rips up a picture of the Pope, LIVE on SNL (October 3, 1992 )
  • Some Of You Aren't Washing Your Ass Properly: Martin Lawrence's notorious monologue about feminine hygiene (February 19, 1994)
  • Hey, Hey, My, My: 8 days after Kurt Cobain is found dead, Pearl Jam give him a tribute (April 16, 1994)
  • GET OFF THE SHED! Another new cast (September 30, 1995)
  • Bulls on Parade: Rage Against The Machine lets the flags fly, protest Steve Forbes (April 13, 1996)
  • Pamela Anderson Lee lets it all hang out, sort of (April 19, 1997)
  • Chris Farley returns to host; dies 2 months later (Hosted October 25, 1997; Died December 18, 1997]])
  • Norm MacDonald forced off Weekend Update (January 10, 1998)
  • Phil Hartman killed by his wife, who kills herself (May 28, 1998)
  • Christopher Walken has a fever, and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL! (April 8, 2000)
  • The Wedding that wasn't: Tom Green and Drew Barrymore to get married on SNL, Drew gets cold feet (publicity stunt or not?) (November 18, 2000)
  • Mayor Giuliani says its time to be funny after 9/11 (September 29, 2001)
  • Adrien Brody "wigs out" (May 10, 2003)
  • Ashlee Simpson caught lip-synching (October 23, 2004) (video)
  • Colin Farrell had fun hosting SNL, I shit you not! (December 11, 2004)
  • System of a Down on SNL? FUCK YEAH! (May 7, 2005)
  • "That Man Just Yawned!": Arctic Monkeys call out an audience member; drop their instruments and walk-off stage (March 11, 2006) (video)
  • Jenny Slate fuckin' loves you (September 26, 2009)
  • SNL remembers the Sandy Hook shooting, and Samuel L. Jackson forgets the FCC (December 15, 2012) (video of the Sandy Hook memorial opening) (video of Jackson's slip)
  • The cast of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy reunite and sing with One Direction (December 7, 2013)
  • Melissa McCarthy wants someone to watch her shit and Seth Meyers leaves SNL (February 1, 2014) (video)
  • Donald Trump hosts SNL, while running for president (November 7, 2015)
  • Kate McKinnon (as Hillary Clinton) sings "Hallelujah" while playing the piano (November 4, 2016)
  • The show airs live coast-to-coast for the very first time (April 15, 2017.
  • Kristen Stewart accidentally slips an F-bomb during her monologue (February 4, 2017)
  • Sam Rockwell says the F-word during the "Science Room" sketch (January 13, 2018). In the same episode, Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost said the word "shithole" in reference to then-President Donald Trump's comments about "shithole countries" despite NBC asking him to say "s-hole." Both incidents were censored for the West Coast broadcast of the show.
  • During the goodnights, in which he was musical guest, Kanye West goes off script, while wearing a MAGA hat, to make a pro-Trump speech (September 29, 2018.
  • Pete Davidson, while roasting the 2018 U.S. election candidates on Weekend Update, he said that Dan Crenshaw (a Navy veteran who lost his eye during the war), looked like a hitman in a porno movie, and then remarked, "I'm sorry. I know he lost his eye in a war, or whatever." (November 3, 2018). Davidson apologized to Crenshaw the next week, who appeared on Update alongside Pete and made jokes at Pete's expense (November 3, 2018).
  • Adam Sandler hosts SNL for the first time since he left the show (May 4, 2019).
  • On September 12, 2019, the night before SNL planned to announce the three new cast members hired for the 45th season, several offensive remarks made by incoming cast member Shane Gillis were made public. They showed Gillis in a podcast, using racial slurs against Asian people, making derogatory references to the food they eat, and discussing his frustration with their inability to learn English, later referring to it as "good racism". Early in 2019, he called Democratic presidential nominee Andrew Yang a "Jew Chink". Gillis responded to the backlash with what Vox and The Huffington Post characterized as a non-apology. Four days later, on September 16, a spokesperson for Michaels announced that Gillis had been removed from the cast.
  • Eddie Murphy hosts SNL for the first time in 35 years (December 21, 2019).
  • Due to COVID-19, the show moved to a new format, titled "Saturday Night Live At Home", closes out the final 3 episodes of season 45 (April 11 - May 9, 2020).
  • For the start of season 46 (October 3, 2020), the show returns to Studio 8H for the first time since the shutdown.
  • Elon Musk hosts SNL on May 8, 2021. During said episode, in a sketch titled "Gen Z Hospital" that played on popular Internet phrases, derived from African-American Vernacular English was met with criticism by Twitter users calling the show out for poking fun at it. Sketch writer Michael Che responded on Instagram on May 10 writing: "I've been reading about how my 'gen z' sketch was misappropriating AAVE and I was stunned cause what the fuck is 'AAVE'? I had to look it up. Turns out it's an acronym for 'African American vernacular english.' You know, AAVE! That ol' saying that actual black people use in conversation all the time...look, the sketch bombed. I'm used to that. I meant no offense to the 'aave' community. I love aave. Aave to the moon!"

Banned List

This is a list of performers / comedians who have been banned, or are rumored to have been banned, from ever againappearing on SNL. These people range from one-time hosts (Lasser, Berle, etc.) to regular guests (Kaufman) to former cast members who returned to host multiple times (Chase). The date posted beside their name denotes the day they were banned, and if they have a certain amount of years beside their name, either their ban was lifted (Elvis Costello) or they have since died. Names in bold note people and bands whose bans are still in effect.

It's important to note that SNL has rarely made announcements when people were banned. Much of SNL's history of bans is rumor and speculation; many scripted performances have been confused for ad-libbing by the audience. Some of those listed below are rumored to have been banned, but it is possible or even likely that no such ban ever existed. Descriptions are given below; also see the "Myths" section above.

  • Louise Lasser, (July 24, 1976) who hosted at the end of the first season on July 24, 1976, was the first host banned by the producers. Lasser was said to be going through personal problems at the time and was reportedly nearly incoherent throughout the broadcast. It should be noted that her locking herself in her dressing room was scripted, not an unscripted occurrence as has been rumored, but the idea for the sketch came from Lasser's actual behavior during the previous week. This episode was such a disappointment to producer Lorne Michaels that it was also not repeated on NBC, although it has appeared in syndication since 1981.
  • Charles Grodin, (October 29, 1977) has supposedly never been asked back to host after his hosting in October of 1977. This famously rumored ban is one that is likely only a rumor; while many viewers believed Grodin was stopping the show to complain about the sketches, his lines were quite obviously scripted.
  • On December 17, 1977, Elvis Costello (December 17, 1977) (video) - 12 Years (returned 1989) performed as a last-minute replacement for the Sex Pistols, who were unable to obtain passports. NBC and the show's producer Lorne Michaels didn't want the band to perform "Radio, Radio", since the song protests the state of the media. The band defied them by beginning to play their song "Less Than Zero", stopping, with Costello telling the audience that there was no reason to do that song, and telling the band to play "Radio, Radio" instead. It infuriated Michaels because it put the show off schedule, and the band were barred from performing again.
    • Elvis Costello holds the distinction of being the only person to return to SNL after being banned.

Awards

2014 American Comedy Awards

  • Saturday Night Live in the category "Comedy Series"
  • Vanessa Bayer and Kate McKinnon in the category "Comedy Supporting Actress — TV" for their work on SNL
  • Bill Hader in the category "Comedy Supporting Actor — TV" for his work on SNL
  • SNL Alums Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler, and Andy Samberg for projects in which they've participated since leaving SNL

2014 Emmy Award nominations

  • Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Kate McKinnon
  • Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series: Tina Fey and Melissa McCarthy
  • Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series: Jimmy Fallon and Louis C.K.
  • Outstanding Directing For A Variety Series
  • Outstanding Variety Series
  • Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special
  • Outstanding Lighting Design
  • Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
  • Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics
  • Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series
  • Outstanding Art Direction For Variety, Nonfiction, Reality or Reality-Competition Programming
  • Outstanding Musical Direction[3]

References

  1. The Awkward, Hostile, and Absolutely Hilarious Late Night Appearances of Charles Grodin
  2. Interview with The AV Club: "I just got the idea that that would be funny, that I didn’t know it was live, that I had just come in from New York, and then I say, “This is live?” They asked me to do it again, but I chose not to, because I can do two things: I can learn a script, or I can improvise. But you can’t improvise there, because it’s all done to time, and you can’t learn a script, because they’re changing it, changing it, changing it, so you’re pretty much forced to read teleprompters, and I just didn’t want to do it again."
  3. SNL Tumblr: Congrats to our Emmy Nominees!
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