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.
I especially love it when he trims the White House Christmas tree.
I didn’t realize that but he still gets my vote, along with Bill Murray and Martin Short. Will Ferrell is a least favorite.
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.
Eddie Murphy… … C I L L Cill my landlord…
Phil Hartman is a STRONG second The Sinatra Group anyone?
Really enjoyed his Tom Snyder.
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.
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.
Absolutely. Why are we even talking about this?
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.
The Other Waldo Pepper makes a great case for him. (ETA: Note that the thread title specifies “best performer,” not “best personality.”)
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.
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 sketch is first rate.
And I actually do like Adam Sandler. But he’s certainly nowhere near the upper echelon of SNL performers. (IMO)