98 Fun Facts About SNL

SNL airs live on NBC and, since the 2021–22 season, simultaneously on which streaming service?

Peacock's live simulcasts came months after SNL streamed Elon Musk's May 2021 episode live on YouTube to international viewers.

From which 30 Rockefeller Plaza studio has SNL been broadcast since 1975?

Studio 8H was the home of Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra; when NBC converted it to television in 1950, the orchestra's broadcast concerts moved to Carnegie Hall.

How does a typical SNL cold open end?

"Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" was first said by Chevy Chase in 1975, right after Michael O'Donoghue's teacher dropped dead of a heart attack and John Belushi's student copied him.

Which comedian hosted the very first SNL episode on October 11, 1975?

George Carlin hosted that premiere, which also booked a young Billy Crystal, but Crystal's act was cut and he didn't appear until later that season.

What was SNL's original 1975 cast nicknamed?

The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players name poked at ABC's rival Howard Cosell variety show, whose three-person comedy troupe was billed as the Prime Time Players.

As of 2025, who is the longest-serving cast member in SNL history?

Kenan Thompson, a cast member since 2003, said in 2013 he would stop playing Black women in drag until SNL hired Black women for the cast.

Which Chicago improv theater produced SNL's John Belushi, Chris Farley and Tim Meadows?

The Second City took its self-mocking name from A. J. Liebling's derisive New Yorker articles about Chicago.

Which two SNL cast members created the Blues Brothers?

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi first sang the blues on SNL in January 1976 dressed as bees, two years before the Blues Brothers debuted in black suits.

Wayne and Garth host their public-access show Wayne's World from a basement in which Illinois town?

Aurora, Illinois is Wayne's World's hometown; Garth's halting voice and tech-nerd streak came from his actor's older brother, Brad.

In the More Cowbell sketch, Christopher Walken's producer oversees which band's session?

Blue Öyster Cult's recording session cracked up the cast, and Jimmy Fallon, playing the drummer, couldn't stop laughing on air.

Which flamboyant SNL nightclub guide told Update about clubs that had "everything"?

Stefon's voice came from a barista Bill Hader knew, and co-writer John Mulaney kept changing his cue cards right before air to make Hader break.

Which actor holds the record for hosting SNL the most times?

He took the record from Steve Martin, and later won an Emmy for his recurring Donald Trump.

Tina Fey returned to SNL in 2008 to play which real politician?

Sarah Palin was the target, and "I can see Russia from my house" was a line written for the sketch and spoken by Fey as Palin.

Which clay children's-TV character did Eddie Murphy reinvent as a morose, cigar-chomping cynic?

Gumby, created by Art Clokey in the 1950s, enjoyed a real-world comeback in the 1980s after the SNL parody.

Which host's December 1990 SNL episode introduced the Five-Timers Club sketch?

Tom Hanks was hosting for the fifth time, and the club sketch welcomed Paul Simon too, though Simon had actually hosted only four times.

Which SNL character's 2004 Disney World breakfast sketch made nearly everyone on camera break?

Debbie Downer grew out of a Costa Rica vacation where Rachel Dratch's small talk froze after someone asked if she'd been in New York for 9/11.

Which future TV star, then an SNL writer, created Chris Farley's van-dwelling motivational speaker Matt Foley?

Bob Odenkirk wrote Matt Foley for Chris Farley, who named the loud, hapless speaker after a real friend of his, a soft-spoken Catholic priest.

The Church Lady, host of Church Chat, was a signature character of which cast member?

Dana Carvey based the Church Lady on women from his childhood church who kept track of everyone's attendance.

Under what title did SNL premiere in 1975, since ABC already had a Howard Cosell show with the later name?

NBC's Saturday Night became Saturday Night Live only after ABC cancelled Cosell's show and NBC bought the rights to the name.

Which comedian replaced Cecily Strong beside Colin Jost at SNL's Weekend Update desk in 2014?

Michael Che had just left SNL's writing staff for a brief Daily Show correspondent stint when he was brought back to co-anchor Update.

Which 2005 SNL Digital Short about smuggling cupcakes into a Narnia matinee helped put YouTube on the map?

Lazy Sunday drew five million YouTube views within days, but NBC Universal then had YouTube pull the bootleg copies along with hundreds of other NBC clips.

In 1992 Sinéad O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while performing which Bob Marley song?

"War" was the song, with some lyrics rewritten to call out child abuse, before she tore up the pope's photo and told viewers to "fight the real enemy."

Which singer did a brief jig and walked off SNL's stage when the wrong pre-recorded vocal track began playing?

Ashlee Simpson's plan to lip-sync was news to Lorne Michaels, who said he would never have allowed it had he known.

Who was the first woman to host SNL, on the fourth episode in 1975?

Candice Bergen went on to host five times, and she has since returned in cameos to welcome newer Five-Timers such as Emma Stone.

As of 2025, which musician is SNL's most frequent musical guest, with more than a dozen appearances since 1992?

Dave Grohl drummed with Tom Petty on SNL in 1994, then turned down Petty's offer to join the Heartbreakers and started Foo Fighters instead.

Which SNL announcer voiced the opening credits from 1975 until his death in 2014?

Don Pardo officially retired and moved to Arizona, but Lorne Michaels asked him to stay on, and he kept announcing SNL until his death.

Which SNL star played Roseanne Roseannadanna, whose catchphrase was 'It's always something'?

Gilda Radner later made It's Always Something the title of her 1989 memoir about her fight with ovarian cancer.

Which comedian joined SNL's cast in 1977 to replace Chevy Chase, who had left during season 2?

Bill Murray later came to blows with Chevy Chase backstage in 1978, when Chase returned to host the show.

The Coneheads first appeared in a 1977 episode hosted by which consumer advocate?

Beldar (Aykroyd), Prymaat (Curtin) and Connie (Newman) claimed to be from France; the 1993 film brought them back.

Which producer took over SNL for the 1980-81 season after Lorne Michaels and the original cast left?

Jean Doumanian lasted less than a year before NBC replaced her with Dick Ebersol, who had helped develop the show in 1975.

Norm Macdonald was removed from the Update desk allegedly over jokes about which friend of NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer?

O. J. Simpson was a close friend of Ohlmeyer, and in 1999 Macdonald came back to host SNL and used his monologue to joke about being fired.

In Celebrity Jeopardy!, Darrell Hammond tormented the Alex Trebek parody as which actor?

Sean Connery, in Hammond's hands, was Trebek's arch-nemesis, forever needling him with crude jokes about Trebek's mother.

In 1996 Rage Against the Machine hung inverted US flags on their amps to protest which guest host?

Steve Forbes, a 1996 Republican presidential candidate, was hosting; stagehands pulled the flags just before the song, and the band was sent home after one number.

Which then-unreleased track did Elvis Costello switch to mid-song on Saturday Night Live in December 1977?

Radio Radio replaced the planned 'Less Than Zero' against his label's wishes, and SNL didn't have Elvis Costello back until 1989.

Which Brat Pack star joined SNL's cast for the 1985-86 season?

Anthony Michael Hall was 17, one of the fresh faces Lorne Michaels hired because he wanted actors who weren't reverent toward the old show.

Which 1979 SNL host was banned after upstaging the cast and staging his own standing ovation for 'September Song'?

Milton Berle's episode was kept out of reruns for over two decades because Lorne Michaels felt it brought the show down.

Nora Dunn and Sinéad O'Connor boycotted a 1990 SNL episode over which host?

Andrew Dice Clay's episode aired on a five-second tape delay so NBC could cut anything offensive.

Which 80-year-old grandmother won SNL's 'Anyone Can Host' contest and hosted in December 1977?

Miskel Spillman won the contest over four other finalists, including South Dakota's sitting governor, Richard Kneip.

Which Justin Timberlake SNL Digital Short won the 2007 Emmy for Original Music and Lyrics?

Dick in a Box aired on NBC with its title word bleeped, but the network posted the uncensored version online, beyond the FCC's reach.

Which future film composer was SNL's first musical director, from 1975 to 1980?

Howard Shore, later the Lord of the Rings composer, is credited with jokingly suggesting the name the Blues Brothers to his friends.

Which SNL cast member hosted the December 1982 Christmas show when scheduled host Nick Nolte fell ill?

Eddie Murphy's Buckwheat was later 'assassinated' in a mock news bulletin, shot as he left 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Which anchor had the longest solo run at the Update desk, six years ending in 1991?

He opened with 'Good evening, and what can I tell ya?' and signed off 'That's the news, and I am outta here!' before scribbling on his script.

Who joined Tina Fey at SNL's Weekend Update desk in 2004, forming its first two-woman anchor team?

Amy Poehler later went into labor on a Saturday show day in October 2008 and had her baby that evening.

What was the name of the monkey that Mike Myers's Dieter kept mentioning in the Sprockets sketches?

Klaus's owner Dieter was headed for the big screen until Mike Myers walked away from the Sprockets film in 2000, and Universal sued him.

Which novelty song did Steve Martin perform on the April 1978 SNL that debuted the Blues Brothers?

King Tut followed Steve Martin's on-air complaint that commercializing the touring Tut exhibit with trinkets and T-shirts was a national disgrace.

In 2001, who became SNL's highest-paid cast member at $350,000 a season?

Will Ferrell still left the cast after the 2001-02 season, going on to star in films such as Old School.

Which head writer's 1985-95 tenure is the longest in the show's history?

Michaels had suggested him as a possible replacement back in 1980; he later co-wrote the SNL50 special.

Who played Lorne Michaels in the 2024 film Saturday Night?

Gabriel LaBelle met Lorne Michaels only briefly, after an SNL taping, because director Jason Reitman steered him away from the present-day man.

As of 2025, which act is the only group to be both host and musical guest of the same SNL episode?

The Rolling Stones' double duty opened SNL's fourth season, with Mick Jagger dropping into a 'Tomorrow' sketch as Tom Snyder tried to copy his moves.

Charles Rocket was 'shot' in a 1981 SNL spoof of which primetime soap's famous cliffhanger, then swore on air?

Dallas star Charlene Tilton was hosting; within weeks NBC put SNL on hiatus, replaced the producer and let Rocket go.

Which pop star opened SNL's 2025 50th-anniversary special singing 'Homeward Bound' with Paul Simon?

Sabrina Carpenter joked she wasn't born when Simon first sang it on SNL with George Harrison in 1976, and neither were her parents.

Toonces, the cat who could drive, always ended his sketches how?

The punch line was always 'See, I told you he could drive! Just not very well!', followed by stock footage of the car going over the edge.

Which late-night host's 1974 request to pull weekend reruns opened the slot that SNL filled?

Johnny Carson wanted his weekend reruns saved to air on his vacation days, and NBC's Dick Ebersol built the new show with Lorne Michaels.

Which SNL sketch inspired a 2011 limited-edition Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor?

Schweddy Balls: the flavor was already in stores when the parents' group One Million Moms protested its name.

In an SNL sketch, what were Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze auditioning to become?

Chippendales dancers: the judges praised Chris Farley's dancing but still picked Swayze's character for his better body.

Which Queen song do Wayne and Garth head-bang to in the car in the film Wayne's World?

Bohemian Rhapsody: the 1992 car scene sent the song back up the US chart to No. 2, higher than its original 1976 peak.

At SNL's Olympia Café, what did customers who asked for fries get instead?

Chips: writer Don Novello said he based the diner on Chicago's Billy Goat Tavern.

Which SNL character is a Catholic schoolgirl who dreams of stardom?

Mary Katherine Gallagher often answers by acting out overly dramatic scenes from TV movies.

In 1976 Lorne Michaels went on air at SNL to offer which band $3,000 to reunite?

The Beatles nearly took him up on it: John Lennon and Paul McCartney were watching together that night and considered going to the studio to claim their share, but were too tired.

Which actress hosted SNL in 2010, at the age of 88, after a Facebook campaign demanded it?

Betty White won an Emmy for the episode. The fan campaign began after her Snickers advert became a hit, and it made her the oldest person to host the show.

Which future daytime talk-show host was only seven years old when she hosted SNL in 1982?

Drew Barrymore was booked on the strength of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, released that summer, and became the youngest person ever to host the show.

Paul Simon sang 'Still Crazy After All These Years' on SNL in November 1976 dressed as which bird?

A turkey costume was the gag for the Thanksgiving-week show, and Simon stopped halfway through the song to complain to Lorne Michaels about the outfit.

Which future Marvel star spent one season in SNL's cast in 1985–86 before being dismissed?

Robert Downey Jr. was 20 when he joined a rebuilt, younger cast; after a season of poor ratings and harsh reviews, he and most of the newcomers were let go.

Which SNL writer of 1984–85 got one sketch on air and later returned as Bernie Sanders?

Larry David angrily quit partway through the season, then turned up for work two days later as if nothing had happened. His one sketch aired at 12:50 a.m.

Which SNL performer, the man behind self-help guru Stuart Smalley, became a US senator?

Al Franken won his Minnesota seat in 2008 by just 312 votes out of nearly three million, a result settled only after a months-long recount.

In 1982 SNL viewers voted by phone to ban which comedian from ever appearing on the show again?

Andy Kaufman lost by about 195,000 votes to 169,000 after a wrestling routine angered the audience, and the show's producer left his fate to a live phone poll.

Which Canadian comic was turned down for SNL's cast in both 1980 and 1985?

Jim Carrey reached sketch television anyway through In Living Color in 1990, and thirty years later played Joe Biden on the show that had kept turning him down.

Melissa McCarthy made surprise SNL visits in 2017 as which White House press secretary?

Sean Spicer saw his briefings sent up four times that year; he called the sketches funny but suggested McCarthy dial it back. She won an Emmy for hosting the show that spring.

Which comedian, dismissed from SNL's cast in 1995, came back to host for the first time in 2019?

Adam Sandler closed that 2019 episode with a tribute to Chris Farley, the friend NBC had dismissed alongside him 24 years earlier.

Which future sitcom star joined SNL's cast in 1982, aged 21, as its youngest woman up to then?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus left Northwestern University in her junior year to take the job, and in 2006 became the first woman from the cast to return as host.

Which SNL cast member of 1998 to 2004 went on to become host of The Tonight Show?

Jimmy Fallon planned to stay only three years, but agreed to three more when he was handed the Weekend Update desk, which he shared with Tina Fey.

Which SNL star of the 2000s later won Emmys as the relentlessly upbeat football coach Ted Lasso?

Jason Sudeikis first played Lasso in 2013 adverts for NBC Sports' Premier League coverage, where the American was put in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.

Which high-school comedy film did SNL's Tina Fey write in 2004, with Lorne Michaels as its producer?

Mean Girls grew out of a parenting guide, Queen Bees and Wannabes; since the book had no story, Fey built the plot from her own high-school days.

Which SNL alum, the daughter of singer Minnie Riperton, won an Emmy for playing Kamala Harris?

Maya Rudolph is named in her mother's hit 'Lovin' You': near the end of the song, Riperton repeats her daughter's name.

Which 2011 comedy film earned SNL's Kristen Wiig an Oscar nomination for co-writing its screenplay?

Bridesmaids began when producer Judd Apatow, impressed by Wiig's small part in Knocked Up, asked whether she had a script idea of her own.

Dressed as Hillary Clinton, Kate McKinnon opened an SNL episode singing which Leonard Cohen song?

Hallelujah carried a double weight that night: it was the first show after Clinton's election defeat, and Cohen's death had been announced two days earlier.

Which puppeteer created 'The Land of Gorch', a recurring adult puppet skit, for SNL's first season?

Jim Henson feared being typecast in children's television after Sesame Street, but he clashed with SNL's writers and the puppets lasted a single season.

Which SNL star, nicknamed 'Glue' by his colleagues, also voiced Troy McClure on The Simpsons?

Phil Hartman earned the name by holding the show together and helping his castmates shine; Bill Clinton was his best-known impression.

Which comedian joined SNL in 2014 at age 20, the first cast member born in the 1990s?

Pete Davidson was one of the youngest performers the show had ever hired, and he stayed for eight seasons before leaving in 2022.

Which comedian had his sketch cut from SNL's first episode in 1975, then joined the cast in 1984?

Billy Crystal spent a single season in the cast, where his smarmy talk-show host Fernando became a sensation, and later hosted the Academy Awards nine times.

Which future Zoolander star wrote for SNL and appeared as a featured performer in 1989?

Ben Stiller was offered the job after the show aired one of his short films in 1987, and he later developed the male model Derek Zoolander with an SNL writer.

Which comedian left SNL's cast in 1993 and soon appeared on the rival sketch show In Living Color?

Chris Rock had planned to leave anyway and was effectively fired; that autumn he made six guest appearances on the other show.

Which member of SNL's 1970s house band went on to lead David Letterman's band for 33 years?

Paul Shaffer played in the house band from 1975 to 1980, then joined Letterman in 1982 and composed the theme tune for Late Night.

Which SNL star of the 1970s later won back-to-back Emmys for the sitcom Kate & Allie?

Jane Curtin stayed with the show until 1980, and in 1993 she reprised her alien mother Prymaat for the Coneheads film.

Which day of SNL's week is given over purely to writing, often right through the night?

Tuesday writing may not even begin until 8 p.m., and the cast reads the finished sketches aloud at a round-table meeting the following afternoon.

Ron Nessen, who hosted SNL in April 1976, was the White House press secretary to which president?

Gerald Ford was in the middle of an election race when his spokesman took the stage, making Nessen the first political figure ever to host the show.

Which future late-night host did Lorne Michaels hire as an SNL writer in January 1988?

Conan O'Brien spent that year's writers' strike staging an improv revue in Chicago with two SNL colleagues, and shared the staff's writing Emmy in 1989.

Which future My Wife and Kids star was fired from SNL for improvising during a live sketch?

Damon Wayans was let go partway through the 1985–86 season, and later said he had wanted to be fired, frustrated by his lack of screen time and creative freedom.

Which SNL cast member played Barack Obama from 2008 until Jay Pharoah took over the role?

Fred Armisen shared a Peabody Award with the cast for their 2008 election satire, and went on to co-create the sketch series Portlandia.

Which stand-up was fired from SNL in 1994 before any sketch she wrote had made it to air?

Sarah Silverman has said she was not ready for the job, and that being fired knocked her confidence for a year but that nothing could hurt her after it.

Which NFL quarterback hosted SNL on his 31st birthday in March 2007?

Peyton Manning had just led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI, where he was named the game's most valuable player.

Which comedy trio, with Andy Samberg among its members, made SNL's Digital Shorts?

The Lonely Island formed in Berkeley, California, and reached the show after a writing job at the MTV Movie Awards, whose host recommended them to Lorne Michaels.

Which Los Angeles improv troupe counts SNL's Laraine Newman and Kristen Wiig among its alumni?

The Groundlings supplied a founding cast member: Lorne Michaels asked Newman to join the show after producing a Lily Tomlin television special.

Which SNL cast member played both Tommy Flanagan, the Pathological Liar, and Master Thespian?

Jon Lovitz earned an Emmy nomination in each of his first two years, and has called his time on the show the most memorable of his career.

Which comedian took over SNL's Weekend Update in 1998 after Norm Macdonald was fired?

Colin Quinn had joined in 1995 as a writer and performer, and he kept the anchor's chair until he left the show in 2000.

Which co-writer of The Graduate hosted SNL ten times between 1976 and 1980?

Buck Henry was once injured on the forehead by a castmate's katana during a samurai sketch, and in 1977 became the first person to host five times.

Which SNL writer made the 'TV Funhouse' cartoons and voices Triumph the Insult Comic Dog?

Robert Smigel joined the writing staff in 1985, when Lorne Michaels returned to run the show, and his cartoons usually satirise public figures and popular culture.

Which producer ran SNL from 1981 to 1985, between Lorne Michaels's two spells in charge?

Dick Ebersol left in 1985 to concentrate on his own production company, then rejoined NBC and produced its coverage of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.