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After the brutally unfunny debut of Saturday Night Live last weekend, we thought it was a good time to remember that this show has wavered between periods of greatness and painful droughts throughout its 33 years. To commemorate the men and women responsible for the former, the staff at Paste voted on the 10 Best Male and Female Saturday Night Live Cast Members. First the men...
10 Best Saturday Night Live Male Cast Members
10. Dana Carvey (1986 - 1993)
“Could it be... Satan?”
He was Hans of Hans and Franz and Wayne’s sidekick Garth, and his impersonations of George H.W. Bush became more iconic than the president himself—“Not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent.” But he will always be best remembered as The Church Lady from “Church Chat.”
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It's bad enough that you have a fat guy who only makes fat jokes over the most talented fat comedic actor of all time. You have Mike Meyers over Dan Ackroyd and Bill Murray?!
Let me get this straight. You're putting the guy in Love Guru over the guy in Lost In Translation? The worst actor ever to think he's a good enough actor to play four characters in the same movie?
Every Mike Meyers character was funny the first time, then annoying the next hundred times he did the exact same jokes, and he mugs to the camera worse than Fallon.
Chevy Chase was rarely funny on his one year on SNL or thereafter. His imitation of Jerry Ford was a joke. He gave good fake news, but that was about it. Bill Murray was likewise overrated. Conversely, to his wicked Carter and Nixon add Dan Akroyd's send up of Bob Dole. "Pat Robertson, if you have a direct line to God, you heal my withered hand, here, and, hell, I'll vote for you." Akroyd also co-wrote many of the skits from the early years. His pitchmen send-ups were pitch-perfect. His comedic talent is virtually unmatched in the history of SNL. Only Eddy Murphy and Mike Myers can match the breadth and depth of his comedic creativity. I'd rate Murphy, Myers, and Akroyd 1,2, and 3. Some would swap in Belushi for Akroyd. I always thought Belushi was overrated, but perhaps it was the drugs that got in the way of his talent. Or was it his imitation of Syd Caesar's samurai? He was great in The Blues Brothers, but that's post-SNL. Dana Carvey was also a creative force to be reckoned with. I'd put him at 5 behind Murphy, Myers, Akroyd, and Belushi. The non-cast member with the greatest impact on the show was Steve Martin. When he co-hosted, it was magic. Maybe he should be No. 1, with Muprhy, Myers, Akroyd and Belushi rounding out the top 5. Yeah. That's better.