# Choose the WORST member of the SNL cast - EVER! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2000, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104 "2000-12-05T06:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/21 "2000-12-05T18:11:24Z")
I found Cleghorne, Cheri Oteri, and Chris Rocket pretty unfunny but Melanie Hutsell takes the prize. She was a vacuum from which no comedy escaped. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/22 "2000-12-05T18:14:06Z")
I found Cleghorne, Colin Quinn, Cheri Oteri, and Chris Rocket pretty unfunny but Melanie Hutsell takes the prize. She was a vacuum from which no comedy escaped. I think this is who you’re referring to, Enderw23. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/23 "2000-12-05T18:42:38Z")
My second post was the “director’s cut” comments. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/24 "2000-12-05T19:16:52Z")
All this talk of the worst SNL cast members and no one has mentioned **Tim Kazurinski**? (Talentless _and_ annoying.) All this talk of the best SNL cast members and no one has mentioned **Bill Murray**? (His nerd character alone should be enough to win him the title.) ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/25 "2000-12-05T19:28:45Z")
I was going to go with Nora Dunn, but then I remembered one cast member whose mere appearance meant that we were guaranteed five minutes of absolute laugh-free viewing: A. Whitney Brown. Not even anyone in the studio audience ever laughed at his “observations,” none of which was clever or insightful. Can’t argue with those who said Dennis Miller, though. The best Dennis Miller moment was when Dana Carvey did his Dennis Miller impersonation right next to Miller. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/26 "2000-12-05T19:30:48Z")
Either bad or very unnotable: [ul] [li]Colin Quinn - He sucked on Remote Control; worse on SNL[/li][li]Terry Sweeney - drag queen who did Nancy Reagan imitation[/li][li]Pamela Stephenson - all I remember of her (besides her trying to grab a hotdog in the title sequence) was where her tits were dancing/moving around while she did an editorial about her tits.[/li][li]Denny Dillon[/li][li]Robin Duke[/li][li]Gail Matthius[/li][li]Ann Risley[/li][li]Andy Kaufman - Bugged the @!#?@! out of me on “Dick Van Dyke Show”[/li][li]Cheri Oteri - Cheerleader skit burned her out in my mind[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/27 "2000-12-05T19:34:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > All this talk of the worst SNL cast members and no one has mentioned **Tim Kazurinski**? (Talentless _and_ annoying.) Talentless? What are you talking about? He went on to a brilliant career as the unabomber! What? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/28 "2000-12-05T19:43:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enderw23 \* > \*\*She had one facial expression: homo erectus. \*\* This is surely one of the best, funniest insults of an actress I’ve ever seen. I’m still giggling. **nineiron** , I forgot who A. Whitney Brown was until you reminded me that he was the dork who did commentaries on Weekend Update. Why the hell was he on the show? The same could be said, to a slightly lesser degree, of Al Franken, who was both untalented and irritating AND adds the extremly irritating trait of being a rabid political partisan, which is never funny in a comedian. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/29 "2000-12-05T20:14:56Z")
Al Franken may not be much of a performer, but he and Tom Davis wrote for the show in the early years, long before they ever appeared on camera. Some folks may just need to stay behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/30 "2000-12-05T21:29:16Z")
Colin Quinn ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/31 "2000-12-05T23:32:23Z")
I would have to agree with many of the above. Melanie Hutsell, A. Whitney Brown, Colin Quinn, plus many other names I fail to even recognize as I was probably busy washing my cat whenever they came on. One name I MUST put on here however: Jim Bruer (sp?) The next funny joke/skit this guy performs will be his first. Whoever told this guy to pursue a career in comedy should be the target of a class-action lawsuit by the American public. I would rather be dragged across af field of broken glass by my nutsack than endure another of his “goat-boy” sketches. The saddest thing about this is that he was a “feature” performer on SNL. Most of the others mentioned were bit players (for good reason). ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/32 "2000-12-06T01:36:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by plnnr \* > \*\*Al Franken may not be much of a performer, but he and Tom Davis wrote for the show in the early years, long before they ever appeared on camera. Some folks may just need to stay behind the scenes. \*\* Al Franken is a good writer, but heck, his “impersonation” of Paul Simon (the other one, not Art Garfunkel’s ex-wife) was a pain in the neck. And don’t even get me started on Stuart Smalley! I cannot believe they did an entire movie with the character, **Stuart Saves His Family**. ---
**Author:** ![frodosteve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e19adc/32.png) [@frodosteve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frodosteve)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/33 "2000-12-06T02:09:28Z")
Hall of Shame = Charles Rocket Denny Dillon Brad Hall Martin Short Terry Sweeney Anthony Michael Hall Billy crystal Melanie Hutsell (I am a little less familiar with some from the past few years) ---
**Author:** ![Ace\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Ace\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Face)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/34 "2000-12-06T05:07:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uniball \* > Al Franken is a good writer, but heck, his “impersonation” of Paul Simon (the other one, not Art Garfunkel’s ex-wife) was a pain in the neck. And don’t even get me started on Stuart Smalley! I cannot believe they did an entire movie with the character, **Stuart Saves His Family**. \*\* Gotta disagree. I thought his impersonation of Senator Simon was spot-on (monotone “…and that’s why I wear…the bow tie.”). I liked Stuart, too – great parody of the maudlin, Deepak Chopra self-help crap that was popular at the time. But I have no intention to see the movie. Pretty much all SNL spin-off movies by definition suck (ok, except maybe the Blues Brothers). I second the nomination of Gilbert Gottfried. What exactly is this man’s talent? Oh yes – he has an annoying voice. And? Well, he has an annoying voice… ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/35 "2000-12-06T05:31:54Z")
Let’s play a game of “Flymaster sets himself up to be flamed”, shall we? Worst: Dan Aykroyd Bill Murray John Belushi Gilda Radner and, worst ever: Steve Martin. All of these people are comic GENIUSES off of SNL. Murray, Aykroyd, and Martin have made some of the funniest movies ever. Belushi WAS the funniest college movie of all time. Radner was…well…eh. But I’ve never enjoyed any of these 5s work on SNL. Personally, I don’t get the whole “Original or near original cast was best” argument, myself. For my money, 92ish (Hartman, Carvey, Meyers, Spade, Rock, Farley, Nealon, Sandler, et al) was by far the best. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/36 "2000-12-06T05:41:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ace Face \* > \*\*I second the nomination of Gilbert Gottfried. What exactly is this man’s talent? Oh yes – he has an annoying voice. And? Well, he has an annoying voice… > \*\* It worked pretty well as the parrot from Disney’s **Alladin**. But that was all. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/37 "2000-12-09T10:40:29Z")
**Flymaster** wrote > [@](#): > > Let’s play a game of “Flymaster sets himself up to be flamed”, shall we? > > Worst: > > Dan Aykroyd > Bill Murray > John Belushi > Gilda Radner > > and, worst ever: > Steve Martin. I’m speechless. Surely in this discussion, I would’ve assumed these would be in the indisputably cool category. Especially Steve Martin. Eye of the beholder, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/38 "2000-12-09T13:16:21Z")
Worst: Melanie Hutsell Terry Sweeney Anthony Micheal Hall Charles Rocket Chris Farley Rob Schneider David Spade Chris Farley Colin Quinn Best: Phil Hartman Darrell Hammond Jan Hooks Bill Murray Question: Why are Harry Anderson and Andy Kaufman contained on this list? They were never cast members. They were ‘guest comedians’. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/39 "2000-12-09T16:29:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LateComer \* > **How could anybody look through this list and pick anybody not on the 1980/1981 list?** The 80-81 season and the 85-86 season were sort of the “lost seasons”, when cancellation seemed just around the corner. Lots of mighty bad performers in each. Still, every now and then you got a good, funny skit, like Lovitz, Quaid and Griffin Dunne on the serious-issue talk show, “You Can Pick Your Friends, You Can Pick Your Nose, But You Can’t Pick Your Friends’ Noses.” Dunne’s finger kept creeping toward Quaid’s face…that show also had one of my favorite game show parodies, “You Bet Your Finger!”, on which the guillotine kept malfunctioning. (“What do you think is the problem there, Brian?” “Looks like gravity, Bob.”) Terry Sweeney was probably the most useless member of the cast, but that’s really hard to evaluate, since all he did was play either a gay guy, Nancy Reagan, or Joan Rivers. My personal pick for “most unfunny” would have to be Kevin Nealon. He did a few funny things, but more often he was just annoying, and there were a few skits that were just unforgiveable. Take the game show “Comedy Killers”, which just reeked of his touch. A whole skit about things that aren’t funny? And he thought this was a good idea? He gets my vote for “worst newsreader”, as well. (although Fallon is showing promise in this area) As far as favorites: I always thought Christopher Guest was sadly overlooked. He is one talented, funny dude. ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104/40 "2000-12-09T19:18:26Z")
By far, Colin Quinn is the worst. He is not funny at all, and he can barely read. I think the most under-appreciated is Jay Mohr. He was just a part of the cast during a dry spell of sorts, and he didn’t get a chance to shine. I’ve you’ve ever seen his stand-up, you’ll understand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-the-worst-member-of-the-snl-cast-ever/44104.md?page=3)