I liked when she was “Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Talked To At A Party,” but that kind of bit gets old quickly. I think it was her first recurring character, but I could be wrong.
From what I’ve read, the salaries on SNL aren’t very big for modern show business. The sheer number of cast members hold the total down. And the writers probably outnumber the cast.
Gossip on the street puts Strong’s salary as a veteran at $25,000 per episode, or a mere half million a year. Considering that a million for a movie is loose change these days, she could double her salary by a nice part in a movie Or in a good supporting role on a tv series. If she decided to go to Broadway, she could easily make a million in a year for a play that lasted that long.
SNL is designed to be a launchpad. That’s why everybody who gets famous leaves it for movies, where the pay is exponentially greater.
Yeah - like I said, I’m ignorant of the show biz economics. A guaranteed several hundred $K struck me as decent coin, and I have no idea what non-stars earn from TV/film. And I’m pretty skewed by my greater familiarity with musicians, who generally make considerably less.
According to some sources I just checked, the average actor makes $56,763 per year and the average musician makes $57,257 per year. Other sources give different figures for each of those. This apparently assumes that these numbers are each for people who make their living on these jobs. The problem is that there are always many more people in each profession who are strictly part-timers.
Yeah - it is challenging to figure out such things. There is acting and acting, music and music. A lot more community theater actors than Broadway/TV/film. And even with music, someone can make decent coin from theater or studio work.
I’m really ignorant of the economics of either. Just personally know several incredibly talented and hard working musicians who make significantly less than I do driving a desk.
Was at an INCREDIBLE bluegrass concert last week with a friend of mine on bass. I added up the house and figured it was somewhere around $2k to be divided 5 ways. Strikes me as a tough way to make a living.
I’ve seen her in several commercials recently…don’t know long that could last, but I’m sure the money is better (given her celebrity) and the work a fraction of that required on SNL.
I listen to Conan O’Brien’s podcast (I’ve been a fan of his since his original talk show was new) and he has spoken extensively of his years as a writer on SNL and has also had many guests who were writers and actors from SNL on his show.
What I took away from it is that SNL is an insane meat grinder. Many people have said that it’s the hardest environment they’ve ever worked in. Writers are always competing to get their material on the air and actors are competing to get lines and stage time. You are expected to practically live at the studio, work late hours, give up your social life, and fight for your career every day. And then you have to deal with the personalities of celebrity guests and produce things every week to be performed live in front of the world.
It’s brutal and savage and exhausting, and yet look at how many great careers come out of there. Once you’ve made it there you have been through one of the highest pressure jobs in show business and survived. You learn so much and make connections that will set you up for life. As tough as it is, I’ve never heard anyone say they regretted it.
The fact that Strong has been there for so long and done so well says a lot for her. I wish her luck and hopefully she leverages her time there into a great career the likes of Eddie Murphy, Jimmy Fallon, or Will Ferrell. Rather than, say, Dana Carvey.
Another podcast that really gets into the nitty gritty of the show is Fly on the Wall, hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade. About half their guests are SNL alumni.
I think Dana plugged that on Conan’s podcast. I like Dana, thanks for reminding me of that. 
My wife listens to a lot of podcasts (I prefer to listen to music), but on longer drives she’ll put in podcasts she thinks I will like. She has recently put in a couple of the Carvey & Spade episodes and I did enjoy them (oddly, one of them was when Conan was on). And yes, it seems being a writer or performer on SNL would be rough!
Cecily will be missed. I always enjoyed her in any skit she was in.
I am a fan of Fly on the Wall but if you want to get really mad about pay inequities listen to the one with Ellen Gleghorne as she compares what she earned on the show compared to Dana and David.
Not enough trains and automobiles to get all those Martin and Candy pairs home for the holidays.
Stranger
Maybe if she became famous enough for people to remember her name is spelled Cleghorne, her salary would have been higher.
I liked Ellen Cleghorne well enough, but I don’t think anyone was watching the show because of her. The only reoccuring character of hers I can remember is Queen Shanequa.
Back in 1979 no one knew SNL would become a cultural staple.
I’d put her on the all time top ten list.
There are lots of rankings of SNL cast members that you can find online. Here’s one that ranks her 20th. It would take a long time for me to go through all of the different rankings that you can find online to average them out to sake where Cecily Strong is on average:
Who are the other 9? Because I assume you’d include her contemporaries McKinnon and Keenan as well, which leaves only 7 other spots?
Ok, Kenan, why have you been on SNL for almost twenty years? Still waiting for that sequel…?
Goodburger 2: Is A Meat Patty Something Or Nothing?
eta: I thought I was kidding, but according to Kenan&Kel, it’s going to happen!
Kenan Thompson is really talented and, looking at his filmography, has done a bunch of movies but never it seems as the lead. And there was a recent attempt at a sitcom centered around him as the lead but it didn’t last. He may be smart enough to realize that being the longest-serving cast member on SNL is the best role for him.
Note that Kenan Thompson is one of the few cast members who’s appeared in more episodes than Cecily Strong. Kate McKinnon has been in one less episode than Cecily Strong. Darryl Hammond was a cast member from 1995 to 2009. I don’t know how many episodes he did. He then came back as the announcer in 2014, replacing Don Pardo as the announcer, and has remained as the announcer since then. Seth Meyers spent 13 years as a cast member. Fred Armisen and Al Franken each spent 11 years as a cast member. I don’t know how many episodes they did during that time, so I don’t know if they have did more or less episodes than Cecily Strong.