# Greatest SNL performer of all? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385 "2010-07-20T19:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/41 "2010-07-24T00:49:22Z")
Phil Hartman gets go to guy for being consistently funny and with the widest range. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin and Darrel Hammond get big props from me being consistently funny. Michael Myers gets a nod for his Austin Powers movies, not for his SNL work. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/42 "2010-07-24T00:53:12Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Chase gets a lot of scorn for bolting after the first season, but I think he’s a big part of the reason the show became as successful as it did so quickly. He was better at physical comedy than he gets credit for (remember his pratfalls at the start of each episode?), his befuddled Gerald Ford was a classic, and he originated Weekend Update! I especially love it when he [trims the White House Christmas tree](http://www.movieweb.com/tv/TE0ZX1467QOP38/HUg3IhliJ6Yejk). ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/43 "2010-07-24T03:38:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I think he has a hard time because he has a reputation of being hard to work with. > > [EW did a whole article about it, actually.](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20192175_20192181_20206354,00.html) I didn’t realize that but he still gets my vote, along with Bill Murray and Martin Short. Will Ferrell is a least favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/44 "2010-07-24T04:24:24Z")
I have to put in a shout for Darrell Hammond. His consistently good impressions of people like Clinton and Jesse Jackson earned him high marks. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/45 "2010-07-24T05:00:15Z")
Eddie Murphy… … C I L L Cill my landlord… Phil Hartman is a STRONG second The Sinatra Group anyone? ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/46 "2010-07-24T07:15:30Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > They had the lingering stink of the Charles Rocket era they had to work against, but I thought that was the best that SNL has ever been. The best part was they had performers, Piscopo especially, who had more than a handful of characters they could do. . Really enjoyed his Tom Snyder. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/47 "2010-07-24T16:39:57Z")
Whoa. Phil Hartman? I like him and all, but the best SNL personality ever? You’ve overlooking Belushi, Murphy, Ferrell, and Farley just because of squishy feelings from a Simspons career? Personally, I’d say it’s Murphy, but if you get all these people together in a room, I think Belushi would dominate the room. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/48 "2010-07-25T02:07:31Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Whoa. Phil Hartman? I like him and all, but the best SNL personality ever? > > You’ve overlooking Belushi, Murphy, Ferrell, and Farley just because of squishy feelings from a Simspons career? I’m figuring Hartman was a better straight man than Belushi or Murphy or Ferrell or Farley. I’m also figuring he was a better impressionist than Belushi or Murphy or Ferrell or Farley. The other guys could, admittedly, each outdo Hartman as The Energetic Laugh-Getter Who Can Carry A Sketch Solo – but Hartman was good _ **enough** _ at that to earn the tiebreaker, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/49 "2010-07-25T02:31:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Belushi. There is nobody else even close. Absolutely. Why are we even talking about this? ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/50 "2010-07-25T13:59:47Z")
Just checking in to note that I’m glad that no one has picked Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, or Horatio Sanz. Because that would be just _way_ too unnerving. ---
**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:** [July 25, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/51 "2010-07-25T17:48:26Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Whoa. Phil Hartman? I like him and all, but the best SNL personality ever? **The Other Waldo Pepper** makes a great case for him. (ETA: Note that the thread title specifies “best **performer** ,” not “best **personality**.”) > [@](#): > > Personally, I’d say it’s Murphy, but if you get all these people together in a room, I think Belushi would dominate the room. One thing you can say for Murphy is that he came the closest of anyone to carrying the show singlehandedly while he was on it. The show might not have survived without him. > [@MTCicero](#): > > Just checking in to note that I’m glad that no one has picked Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, or Horatio Sanz. Adam Sandler wasn’t bad at all. The Denise Show, Canteen Boy, Opera Man, Cajun Man… he did some funny stuff, even if some of it was dumb and silly. And he worked well with some of the other performers that were on at that time (Farley, Spade, Rock). ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385/52 "2010-07-25T18:16:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Adam Sandler wasn’t bad at all. The Denise Show, Canteen Boy, Opera Man, Cajun Man… he did some funny stuff, even if some of it was dumb and silly. And he worked well with some of the other performers that were on at that time (Farley, Spade, Rock). I’ll concede the fact that the [Schmitt’s Gay](http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w31/Mike_Incognito/?action=view¤t=SNL-AdamSandlerChrisFarley-Schmitts.flv) sketch is first rate. And I actually do like Adam Sandler. But he’s certainly nowhere near the upper echelon of SNL performers. (IMO) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-snl-performer-of-all/547385.md?page=2)