I’ve been watching Saturday Night LIve in some way shape or form since I was 7 years old. I know, that seems a little young, but blame it on my Dad. He started sneaking me into the family room while my Mom was asleep and we would watch the Blues Brothers, Steve Martin and almost anything John Belushi did. By the time I was 11, I was staying up and watching on my own. Socially and politically, it’s hard to think of another show that has had more influence on American pop culture than SNL.
Everyone has their favorites. Whether it’s a character, a particular season or even a certain cast. I’ve decided to list my favorite 25 characters (In no particular order) and here we go….
1. The Continental:
You can’t beat Christopher Walken. He’s like cheese or bacon, he makes everything better. Playing a wannabe international playboy/pervert could have come off weird, but Walken is so good, you come away loving the guy and actually rooting for him to finally land the woman in the satin glove. Wowee, Wow, Wow, Wow!
2. Gumby:
This is one of those characters that automatically worked its way into pop culture within maybe… 5 minutes. Eddie Murphy’s stroke of genius was to play the iconic claymation character as a low rent, foul mouthed, borscht belt comedian. Complete with a instantly memorable catch phrase, “I’m Gumby dammit!!”, this is a true test to the comedy prowess Murphy once had. Unfortunately, due to some legal hokum, I can’t show you a video. Just run out and pick up, The Best of Eddie Murphy SNL, it’s well worth the money.
3. The Blues Brothers:
Though they never actually did sketches on SNL, the iconic Jake and Elwood Blues, were born out of a summer long road trip that Dan Akroyd and John Belushi took. Watching 2 pasty white guys singing R&B standards could have been painful, but the duos love of the music shines through and oozes out of every pore. Pure joy on every level!!
4. Fernando:
Billy Crystal was only on for 1 season, but what an impact he had. This character could have been kind of a throwaway if the wrong person had attempted it. Crystal goes all in and really fleshes him out on every level. Right down to the silky, smooth accent. You know, it’s better to look good than to feel good darling!
5. Stefon:
Bill Hader is one of my favorite cast members…EVER. A crazy talented guy who is also a producer and was a writer on South Park. Stefon is one of those out of left field characters that takes you by surprise. A creepy, fem, over the hill New York club kid seems like a hard sell, but Hader makes him hysterically endearing. The chemistry between him and Seth Meyers really brings the whole thing together.
Who are some of your favorite SNL characters?