# Who is the single greatest Saturday Night Live cast member? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546 "2020-07-17T03:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/21 "2020-07-17T14:11:02Z")
Phil Hartman was a national treasure and we lost him way too soon. He’s the greatest. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/22 "2020-07-17T14:34:56Z")
In that case I’ll stick with Aykroyd. There is certainly competition but I think he was actually the most versatile of member of the original cast. He didn’t create the same kind of standout characters as Belushi or standout personality as Gilda Radner, but “Jane, you ignorant slut!”, Elliot Mainway, the Bass-o-Matic, “Saaave the liver!”, not to mention Elwood Blue and many impersonations create an incredible portfolio. ETA: Phil Hartman was incredible, his untimely death was an enormous loss. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/23 "2020-07-17T14:39:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > In that case I’ll stick with Aykroyd You can’t forget Fred Garvin. ---
**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 17, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/24 "2020-07-17T14:58:07Z")
I’m leaning toward Eddie Murphy. During his time on the show, he stood out as the star, in a way that no other cast member before or since has done, and it’s quite possible that the show would have died if he had not come along when he did. There are some other cast members that I would at least consider, including Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Amy Poehler, and Kate McKinnon. But not Kevin Nealon. I do like him and think he’s underrated as a cast member, but no way is he the single greatest ever. Kenan Thompson is the single greatest by some measures: he has arguably made a greater total contribution to the show than any other cast member. > **[The quiet brilliance of Kenan Thompson, SNL’s longest-tenured cast member](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/08/28/quiet-brilliance-kenan-thompson-snls-longest-tenured-cast-member/?arc404=true)** > > How the child star grew up to be the indispensable steady hand of "Saturday Night Live." ---
**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:** [July 17, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/25 "2020-07-17T15:13:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Jane Curtin. If not the greatest, certainly the most underrated. There’s no way that original ensemble could have thrived without a generous and unselfish straight man, and she was the only one able or willing to fill that role. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/26 "2020-07-17T15:35:13Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Kenan Thompson is the single greatest by some measures: he has arguably made a greater total contribution to the show than any other cast member. I came in to say Kenan Thompson. In addition to being incredibly funny, he has this amazing ability to reflect back and amplify the audience’s reactions during a scene, to make someone else’s lines even more funny. What a gift. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/27 "2020-07-17T16:47:43Z")
Yeah, I’ve got to go with Phil Hartman, too. But Belushi became a star for the best possible reason: you couldn’t take your eyes off him when he was onscreen. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/28 "2020-07-17T16:55:00Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I came in to say Kenan Thompson. In addition to being incredibly funny, he has this amazing ability to reflect back and amplify the audience’s reactions during a scene, to make someone else’s lines even more funny. What a gift. See that is odd to me. I see him as background, basically a spear-carrier. To me, he doesn’t do anything funny in it’s own right, nothing creative at all. He supports; he keeps it energetic and light and positive, hits his mark and delivers his lines. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/29 "2020-07-17T17:19:18Z")
Ackroyd. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/30 "2020-07-17T19:40:50Z")
I keep going back and forth between Eddie Murphy and Phil Hartman. I think I have to give the edge to Murphy, who stood head and shoulders above an otherwise mediocre cast. Hartman was great, but he had a lot of competition in his cast. (I don’t know, maybe that gives the edge to Hartman…) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/31 "2020-07-17T20:05:28Z")
I voted for Belushi, but honestly- with John, Gilda, and Dan it’s VERY hard to designate a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/32 "2020-07-17T21:06:53Z")
Ackroyd, hands down. Belushi is a very close second. Save the liver! ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/33 "2020-07-17T21:16:41Z")
I totally agree, his whole a lot career has basically been making goofy reaction faces. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/34 "2020-07-17T21:29:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Another old fart, who watched the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players. > > Gilda beats out John Belushi, by a nose, in my book. Another old fart here who’d vote for ANY of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players, especially when SNL really hit its stride around the third season (1977). Personally I’d put John Belushi first, Gilda Radner a close second. Truly the golden years of SNL. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/35 "2020-07-17T21:30:07Z")
I’d have to go with Kate MacKinnon for sheer range. I was a huge fan of the Phil Hartman, Mike Myers years, but honestly I think the cast has never been better than it was in about 2017. The only reason I didn’t pick Cecily Strong as my all time best is MacKinnon is better. In that same cast you also had Vanessa Bayer, Beck Bennett, Aidy Bryant, Sasheer Zamata, Kenan Thompson, Leslie Jones, Michael Che and Colin Jost on Update… damn, that’s a murderer’s row. Bill Hader was phenomenal too. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/36 "2020-07-17T23:16:16Z")
Bill Murray, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/37 "2020-07-17T23:44:07Z")
Greatest _while on the show_, I think I’d have to go with Phil Hartmann. I could probably talk myself into some others but taken in total, it’s Phil RIP. Eddie Murphy in his short time there may have reached the highest heights of comedy. They’ve had a bunch of other awesome utility players, but at the end of the day, when I think of peak SNL I think of Phil. Edit: Ackroyd might be the closest guy to Phil from both a longevity, flexibility and impact. ---
**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 18, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/38 "2020-07-18T00:50:12Z")
Bill Hader was a hell of an impressionist, could give wacky folks a great straight-man role to play off, and had enough sheer damn zaniness of his own to carry a routine — you know, when he wasn’t stealing scenes on game-show-host duty or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/39 "2020-07-18T00:53:38Z")
See, I think Cecily Strong has been criminally overshadowed by Kate McKinnon. I have no idea how much of a role Strong plays in writing the sketches in which she appears, but she is, hands down, the best actress of the bunch. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546/40 "2020-07-18T01:25:57Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > especially when SNL really hit its stride around the third season (1977). Amen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-single-greatest-saturday-night-live-cast-member/915546.md?page=3)