In order of greatness, blowero, and Eddie Murphy is not at the top with three pages of empty space between him and the next person? Surely you jest.
I forgot my worst cast:
- Adam Sandler
- Colin Quinn
- Jim Breuer
- Brad Hall
- Nora Dunn
- Jan Hooks
- Tim Meadows
- Chris Kattan
- Kevin Nealon
- Molly Shannon
- Victoria Jackson
- Jim Belushi
Weekend update with Colin Quinn.
Jack Handy’s Fuzzy Memories.
That would be Darrell Hammond … but it wasn’t the only funny thing he ever did, IMHO.
I liked Tim Kazurinsky. And Jane Curtin.
My list:
- Phil Hartman
- Jan Hooks
- Jon Lovitz
- Jane Curtin
- Bill Murray
- Chris Parnell (who I’m convinced would be huge if given a chance)
- Nora Dunn
- Eddie Murphy
- Mike Myers
WU: Dennis Miller & Tina Fey
featuring a cartoon by Robert Smigel.
And no shots of the grimacing guitar-playing band leader.
I was judging him based on his work on SNL only, not after. I had to ding him for that lame “I’m Gumby, dammit!” crap.
If we’re counting what people did after they left the show, then I’d add Chris Rock, Jeannene Garafalo, Dennis Miller, and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss to the list.
What else did he do that was funny? He did a passable Clinton imitation, IIRC. I’m sure I’m overlooking something, but I can’t think of anything else he did that stands out.
In the order I think of them (N.B.: I’m a traditionalist):
- Michael O’Donoghue
- John Belushi
- Dan Ackroyd
- Harry Shearer
- Gilda Radner
- Bill Murray
- Phil Hartman
- Al Franken
- Jane Curtain
- Eddie Murphy
- Chevy Chase (just for Weekend Update).
Chase and Curtain for Weekend Update.
None of the above. The show should feature The Land of Gorch. Hot muppet sex trumps everything else. 
Yeah, but Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood, James Brown, Buckwheat, and the Piscopo/Murphy impression of Sinatra and Wonder more than make up for it. Frankly, nothing he has done after SNL has made me laugh as much as the stuff he did on the show.
You make a good case, but I just can’t overlook the classics like Phil Hartman doing Charlton Heston doing Madonna’s book-on-tape: “I love mah vagina”, or the Sinatra Group (I thought Hartman’s Sinatra was every bit as good as Piscopo’s), or Carvey’s George Bush Sr. saying “Not gonna do it - Na Ga Da”, or his uncanny imitation of Johnny Carson, or the McLaughlin group sketch where he cuts everyone off with: “Wrong!”.
How about a 3-way tie for first?
Let me put it to you this way: I briefly considered voting for the Democratic ticket in the last presidential election just so I could continue to watch Darrell Hammond’s masterful impersonation of Al Gore. Will Ferrell’s Bush was OK, but it really paled next to Hammond’s Gore.
Not only Gore, Clinton, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ridge - he also did the hilarious Sean Connery in the Celebrity Jeopardy sketches, the Chris Matthews’ Hardball sketches (done to perfection with the Gore guest host), Jesse Jackson, Ted Koppel and some others. One of the greatest impressionists the show has ever had.
As for the Carvey Bush sketches, blowero, I absolutely HATED them. Carvey was almost never funny as Bush, although many people disagree (I’ve often found that these are the same people who found Chris Farley routinely funny, as well as such dreaded Ferrell-O’Teri teamups like the Cheerleaders and those old lounge singer people - ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH).
Eddie Murphy is the greatest ever! With Phil Hartman next. I will not argue about this.
Word. I can’t stand that guy.
Okay, here goes, I guess.
The cast, in no particular order . . .
- John Belushi
- Gilda Radner
- Dan Aykroyd
- John Lovitz
- Dana Carvey
- Molly Shannon
- Mike Meyers
- Cheri Oteri
- Chris Kattan [but only if he promised never to reprise that
mr. peepers sketch. ugh.] - Jimmy Fallon
- Rachel Dratch
- Darrell Hammond
Honestly, I think that the best Weekend Updates have been done with either Jimmy Fallon/Tina Fey or Dan Aykroyd/Jane Curtin. Maybe they could alternate?
And I really would like the Cartoon with Robert Smigel, just because I love the Ambiguously Gay Duo and Dead Presidents.
I knew I was overlooking something. Yeah, both the Jessie Jackson and Rumsfeld impersonations were brilliant. O.K., Darrel Hammond can bump David Spade on my list.
I don’t know how you could have seen Chris as a Chippendale’s dancer and not laugh, but I guess everyone has their own opinion.
Ugh! Are you kidding? That horrid cheerleader sketch is as far removed from Dana Carvey’s work as “Dogs Playing Poker” is from the Mona Lisa.
As already mentioned, Maya Rudolph is brilliant as the middle-school girl with the obsessive crush. “Oh… Randy… I didn’t even know you were here… today…” And Rachel Dratch is equally brilliant as Sheldon. None of those sketches have them saying anything particularly funny; it’s all in the characters, which is why I think they’re better than their material.
Plus, Maya Rudolph is great as Donatella Versace. And my favorite thing she ever did, the Spanish dwarf midget guy at the Las Vegas daycare area who danced on top of the piano in the giant David Byrne suit to “Popcorn” and kept yelling “Snack time!” Plus, she’s hot.
And for what it’s worth, I loved the Spartan Cheerleader sketches. I just think they did too many of them, hence the backlash.
My dream team of SNL would consist of
- Cheri Oteri
- Tina Fey
and I really, really love SolGrundy’s idea of having Tina sit in my lap while Cheri just runs around like a nut for 90 minutes.
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
Molly Shannon
Cheri Oteri
Mike Myers
Phil Hartman
I gotta get in on this, as a SNL fan since grade school. My parents wouldn’t let me stay up and watch it in the 80s, so I watched it secretly with the sound turned almost off.
In no particular order:
Will Ferrell (personal favorite)
Mike Myers
Darrell Hammond
Bill Murray
Molly Shannon
Eddie Murphy
John Belushi
Gilda Radner
Billy Crystal
Cheri Oteri
Dana Carvey
Ana Gasteyer
WU: Dennis Miller & Tina Fey
Host: Steve Martin
…with a cartoon by Robert Smigel (I love Ambiguously Gay Duo)
As you can see, I really liked the cast from the 90s (Ferrell, Shannon, Oteri, Gasteyer, Hammond). I also like Tracy Morgan, but they don’t give him very much to do. Brian Fellow is a favorite.
Belushi
Akroyd
Radner
Murphy
Murray
Carvey
Meyers
Farrell
Hartman
Short
Curtain
Hammond
I must be the only person in the English-speaking world who thinks Will Ferrell is not funny.
My Dream Team:
Cast:
Phil Hartman
Eddie Murphy
Dana Carvey
Mike Myers
Jane Curtin
Nora Dunn
Gilda Radner
Chris Hammond
Jon Lovitz
Jan Hooks
Weekend Update will be staffed by Norm MacDonald, which means he also gets to do the odd David Letterman schtick, and Tina Fey, because she’s cute.
Guest Host: Tom Hanks, so we can see “Mister Short-Term Memory.”
Musical Guest: The Tragically Hip, of course.