Saturday Night Live, NBC's long-running sketch comedy variety series, has thrived on the air for nearly 50 years, winning several Emmy awards and the hearts of viewers time and time again. It's a beloved American institution that's not only given joy and laughter to the masses but has also jump-started the careers of numerous well-known and legendary performers, from Eddie Murphy to Tina Fey.
While there have been several other cast members who never got the same recognition for their time on the show, many of them still managed to find success in other areas despite not popping in Studio 8H. As a matter of fact, there happens to be quite a few really famous names that many fans probably forgot ever on SNL cast members in the first place.
Sarah Silverman (1993-1994)
While mostly known for her off-color and taboo stand-up on stage, Sarah Silverman has also manged to score a few on-screen hits with films like School of Rock and Wreck-It Ralph. There is no doubt however, that absolutely none of that success would've been possible without her big break on SNL.
Silverman lasted only one season, and while her sketches aren't exactly remembered by fans as some of the show's best, she has given audiences plenty of other material in the years since to make up for it. She later returned happily to the show as a guest host in 2014, nearly 20 years after her last appearance.
Gilbert Gottfried (1980-1981)
The late Gilbert Gottfried had one of the most easily recognizable voices in comedy, but the humble beginnings of his on-screen career did not look very bright. When Lorne Michaels briefly left the position as SNL showrunner in 1981, several cast members were fired and replaced with new unknown talent, with Gottfried being one of them.
Gottfried's season has been often regarded as the show's worst, and while and he rest of the cast tried their best, the absence of Lorne Michaels' influence left a very noticeable hole in its quality. Fortunately for Gottfried, the outrageousness of his stand-up and memorable roles such as Iago in Disney's Aladdin have managed to outshine the flop of SNL's sixth season.
Joan Cusack (1985-1986)
When Lorne Michaels made his return to the show in the eleventh season, one of his first moves was to reshuffle the cast, hiring a group of performers who weren't necessarily comedians. One of these performers was Joan Cusack, and while she had previously appeared in comedic films like Sixteen Candles with her brother John, it became clear that, like most of the new cast, sketch comedy was not her forte.
Her run on SNL may not have been a success, but it certainly did not hurt her career. Her film career continued to gain momentum afterward, voicing Jessie in the Toy Story sequels and even earning two Academy Award nominations for her respective roles in Working Girl and In & Out.
Damon Wayans (1985-1986)
Many may remember Damon Wayans' work in sketch comedy from his days on In Living Color, but his brief stint as an SNL cast member is what truly helped to jump-start his career. Unfortunately, the comedic ambitions of the Lethal Weapon star were far too great for his own good, as he was fired nearly halfway through the season for going off script and improvising during a live sketch.
Lorne Michaels has long been known for how seriously he takes the show's production, and Wayans' unplanned improvisation did not sit well with him. Despite his firing and frustrations with the lack of creative freedom and screen time he received, Wayans has often been considered to be one of SNL's best Black cast members.
Ben Stiller (1989)
Out of all who have ever graced the SNL stages, Ben Stiller currently holds the record for shortest time ever held as a cast member, having only participated in 4 episodes. Stiller hardly appeared in any live sketches, instead opting to write and star in a few short films that played in-between sketches, similar to Albert Brooks and The Lonely Island.
Unfortunately, the producers weren't willing to compromise with Stiller's stage fright and he was fired almost immediately. Given how popular SNL's prerecorded shorts have become over the years, along with Stiller's directorial successes like Tropic Thunder and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, fans can only wonder what might've been had he stayed onboard.
Jenny Slate (2009-2010)
Within the last few years, Jenny Slate has racked up quite a few impressive credits on her resume, but shockingly, her brief time on SNL did not appear to be a promising start. During the show's live broadcast Slate accidentally dropped an F-bomb during her debut sketch, "Biker Chick Chat", a slip-up that left a dark cloud hanging over the rest of her appearances on the show, and leading many fans to believe it was the reason for he firing.
Contrary to popular belief, Slate wasn't fired from the show for the accidental F-bomb, but simply because she wasn't clicking with the show in general. Luckily, she has since managed to move far beyond the incident, with major success on other shows and with films like Zootopia and Everything Everywhere All At Once being among some of Jenny Slate's best roles.
Anthony Michael Hall (1985-1986)
Fresh off the success of two classic John Hughes films, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, at age 17, Anthony Michael Hall became the youngest cast member in the history of the show. In an attempt to avoid type-casting and show off his range, Hall took the opportunity and ran with it, trying out a few recurring characters and celebrity impressions such as Art Garfunkel and Robert F. Kennedy.
Much like most of the cast roster for season eleven, his time on the show was short-lived and was fired at the end of the season. Regardless of that, if his role as the antagonist of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands serves as any indication, it would seem that Hall's attempt of breaking away from the stereotypical geek role was a qualified success.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1982-1985)
For decades, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been regarded as one of the funniest women in television. But before Veep's Selina Meyer and Seinfeld's Elaine Benes, she spent three seasons on SNL, with such recurring characters like televangelist April May June and teenage "Weekend Update" correspondent Patti Lynn Hunnsucker.
Louis-Dreyfus has proven the strength of her comedic sensibilities time and time again throughout the years, but her time on the show sadly hasn't been as widely remembered or as well-regarded as others. She has since hosted the show three times, so it's nice to know that she holds no grudges.
Robert Downey Jr. (1985-1986)
Most people now associate Robert Downey Jr. with Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, which often leads them to forget his early years in comedy as one of the greatest teen movie stars of the '80s. It's easy to why Lorne Michaels would believe he'd make a good cast member, but the weak reaction to season eleven's new cast would later prove him otherwise.
Despite his dedication to the position and his undeniable chemistry with fellow "Brat Pack" member, Anthony Michael Hall, Downey Jr. just didn't quite feel like a proper fit for the show. Still, it's fun to visit his old sketches and see the early peaks of the trademark sarcasm and quick wit that he's brought to many of film roles in the years since.
Jim Henson (1975-1976)
As the creator of such beloved properties as Sesame Street and The Muppets, Jim Henson was without a doubt one of the most brilliant creative minds of the 20th century. Unfortunately, however, his attempt to appeal to a more mature audience than that of his child-oriented programming by joining SNL didn't go as well as he had hoped. His contribution to the show's first season consisted of a recurring sketch with puppet characters titled "The Land of Gorch".
The sketches sadly failed to connect with the audience, but they had an even harder time connecting to the writers, and both Henson and his crew were booted from the series. While Henson himself never performed on the show again, several Muppets and Sesame Street characters have since made numerous guest appearances through opening monologues and "Weekend Update" segments.