# Cecily Strong Exits SNL **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [December 18, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753 "2022-12-18T23:07:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/1 "2022-12-18T23:07:27Z")
I’m a little surprised no one has brought this up yet. [Last night was Cecily’s final appearance on SNL,](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/18/1143933392/cecily-strong-leaving-saturday-night-live) after ten years. I had hoped she’d go part-time, but at least stay on through the rest of the season. The cast gve her a big goodbye at the end of the show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VvTmjdhBRVs/maxresdefault.jpg "Blue Christmas - SNL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvTmjdhBRVs) ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/2 "2022-12-18T23:54:59Z")
I noticed that too, also a bit surprised at the lack of comment. She was one of the stronger SNL performers. The new folks, especially Sarah Sherman show a lot of promise but Cecily will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/3 "2022-12-19T01:03:09Z")
It’s a shame they didn’t make more of an effort to send her off with a strongly written episode. I also have some hope for the newer cast members and think that she was great and will be missed. Still eleven years is a good run and it was widely publicized that she was finishing off sometime during this year. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/4 "2022-12-19T03:10:37Z")
Note that she apparently wanted to leave after this episode because she is now the female cast member with the most episodes, one more than Kate McKinnon. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/5 "2022-12-19T14:30:53Z")
Wasn’t she missing from a lot of last season’s eps due to appearing in plays? If not, she certainly _belongs_ on Broadway. I hope she has an amazing career. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/6 "2022-12-19T14:46:06Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > It’s a shame they didn’t make more of an effort to send her off with a strongly written episode. You just saying that because she hails from your town? 😉 She had been one of my faves, but over the past couple of years, I felt she was gravitating to the loud, brash characters - like Judge Pierre, or the character on this week’s Weekend Update. I hadn’t realized she had been on the show that long. My wife and I just started watching SNL again a maybe 5 years ago. I always wonder what folks’ plans are when leaving a gig like this. No idea what the economics are, but it seems there are far fewer ex-SNL cast members whose fame grows, than those who seem to vanish. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/7 "2022-12-19T16:01:21Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > The cast gve her a big goodbye at the end of the show. She also got a goodbye on Weekend Update, which is how I first became aware that this would be her last show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ysjMZrFTpjQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Weekend Update: Cathy Anne Says Goodbye for Now - SNL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysjMZrFTpjQ) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/8 "2022-12-19T16:03:58Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I always wonder what folks’ plans are when leaving a gig like this. > **[WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Every cast member of 'SNL'](https://www.insider.com/where-are-they-now-snl-cast-members-2019-7?amp)** > > Cecily Strong is the latest long-time "SNL" star to leave the sketch show. Her last show was on December 17. They seem to mostly have gigs. Some doing quite well. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/9 "2022-12-19T16:11:20Z")
One of SNL’s all time greatest performers. Immensely versatile and funny. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/10 "2022-12-19T16:45:53Z")
She was my favorite by far! She cracked me up with every role she played. She’ll be missed but I wish her well. I did watch the first season of her show _Shmigadoon_. It was ok. I hope she gets something better. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/11 "2022-12-19T16:53:13Z")
Is this the first time that SNL has said a formal goodbye to a cast member in the middle of a season? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/12 "2022-12-19T17:30:54Z")
Thanks for the link. I found that interesting. A couple thoughts: -MAN - a lot of folk have been on the show. Many I didn’t recognize, and many others I knew from other work, whom I’d never associated w/ SNL. -During the first half of the run, they seem to have gone through A LOT more cast members than more recently - with more 1-yr for just the least couple of years. -I didn’t count, but it seemed like there were more 1 yr and 4+ year folks, than 2-3 years. Seems if folk make it, they stick around for a while. Of the short-tiers, some just vanished b/c they didn’t work out. Others departed quickly for other pursuits. -Does it seem like an unusually large number of former cast members have died? -Like I said, I have no idea of the economics of much of show biz. It seems like veterans on SNL make pretty decent coin for a job that affords them off time to pursue other work. Would be tough to give up a regular paycheck… -I agree some are doing quite well, but I’m not sure it is more than 50% of the \>4 year folk. Like I said, interesting link. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/13 "2022-12-19T17:32:55Z")
You might as well ask why someone like Shelley Long, David Caruso or Suzanne Somers would leave a lead role in a successful series for an uncertain future. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/14 "2022-12-19T19:56:53Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > She had been one of my faves, but over the past couple of years, I felt she was gravitating to the loud, brash characters - like Judge Pierre, or the character on this week’s Weekend Update. I love her Judge Pirro but she’s great in just about everything she did on SNL, I thought. Maybe not Weekend Update so much (she was OK, but it seemed like she wasn’t really happy doing it), but just about everything else. She’s a pretty good singer as well. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TEbtOSXmY0c/maxresdefault.jpg "Weekend Update: Jeanine Pirro on the Mexico–United States Border - SNL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEbtOSXmY0c) I did think it was a bit odd that she gets the goodbye. I remember Kristen Wiig got to dance with the cast while Mick Jagger sang to her but it doesn’t seem like cast members usually get an onstage farewell. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/15 "2022-12-19T20:47:30Z")
When did it become an SNL thing to have a big, tearful on-air goodbye to departing cast members? Nothing against Cecily (always liked her), but I don’t think anyone would put her on any top-ten lists for the show. But did they do this sort of thing for Belushi or Chase or Ferrell or Radner? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/16 "2022-12-19T20:49:41Z")
The show has been on for nearly fifty years; one or two things may have changed in that time. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/17 "2022-12-19T20:54:08Z")
Who’s going to spit all over Colin Jost now?! ![](https://i0.wp.com/media0.giphy.com/media/h7Fw5zlbMDpLFATMWE/giphy.gif) Oh wait, I forgot that he’s married now. I’m sure he has that covered. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/18 "2022-12-19T21:02:38Z")
Definitely not the norm for all cast members but she had been there for 11 years, and had the most episodes for a female cast member. Some people just don’t show up the next season and others get a very special send-off. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/19 "2022-12-19T21:09:15Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Nothing against Cecily (always liked her), but I don’t think anyone would put her on any top-ten lists for the show. But did they do this sort of thing for Belushi or Chase or Ferrell or Radner? Hmmm…I might. I mean I would consider her miles better than Chase (never a big fan and I did watch the original cast as a kid) or Ferrell (limited range) for versatility alone. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753/20 "2022-12-20T01:13:36Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > But did they do this sort of thing for Belushi or Chase or Ferrell or Radner? I think the decision to leave (or be fired) used to be made between seasons so there wasn’t the opportunity for onscreen goodbyes. The first one I remember was for Phil Hartman on the Season 19 finale. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecily-strong-exits-snl/976753.md?page=2)