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Kristen Wiig Creates Extremely Memorable Characters

Kristen Wiig didn’t originally plan to audition for SNL. Her manager encouraged her to submit an audition tape. She debuted in season 31, shortly after they received her tape.

Wiig helped SNL transition into an era where it can dominate YouTube. Her impersonations and high-energy characters encouraged viewers to watch certain sketches if they couldn’t watch full episodes. 

Gilly

Video by Saturday Night Live

One of Wiig’s fan-favorite characters is Gilly. Gilly is a mischievous school girl who continually pranks her teacher. In 2009, Gilly headlined a special SNL Christmas episode called: SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas. 

Sue

Video by Saturday Night Live

Sue was a recurring character that Wiig played throughout her time at SNL. Sue is a nervous, excited woman who becomes overwhelmed at the idea of any surprise announcement or party, and thus ruins the surprise for everyone. Her many catch phrases include: "I really love surprises!", "Ohhhh myyyy Goddddd!", "I'm so freakin' excited!" 

In a 2011 “The New York Times” magazine article by Susan Dominus, Lorne Michaels charmingly names Wiig as one of the “top three or four” performers to ever be on SNL. Michaels also said he appreciates her “quiet contentment”, which is the opposite of her on-camera persona. Read the full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/magazine/mag-01wiig-t.html. 

Kristen Wiig is someone SNL fans will always know. She’s charming, smart and knows how to get laughs. She’s one of my favorites. 

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Tina Fey’s Master Ability to Catch Lighting in a Bottle

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It’s interesting to note, that originally, Tina Fey struggled at SNL. She was hired because she knew the show’s 1997 head writer, Adam McKay.

Fey began to feel more comfortable when she understudied for a few cast members and began performing on-camera. She was eventually offered the position of head writer in 1999. She made history as SNL’s first female head writer.

In 2004, Fey and Amy Poehler became the first two female co-anchors on Weekend Update. For that, Fey made history again. Fey is often regarded as one of Lorne Michael’s favorite. 

Weekend Update

Video by Saturday Night Live

In Rolling Stone's February 2015 ranking of the then 141 SNL cast members, Fey was ranked third, (behind John Belushi and Eddie Murphy). They credited her with "salvaging 'Update' from a decade-long losing streak," and "slapping SNL out of its late-nineties coma." Read the full article at https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/saturday-night-live-all-145-cast-members-ranked-146340/.

Sarah Palin

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For the 2008 presidential election, SNL unveiled Fey’s impersonation of Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin. Fey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.

Fey and Poehler are an unstoppable team. On SNL, they had a chemistry that made for huge laughs. The pair went on to host the Golden Globes in 2013, 2014 and 2015. 

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“SNL” Was Only the Beginning for Eddie Murphy

Photo by NBC

Eddie Murphy joined the cast of SNL in the early 1980s. He joined the cast in an unorthodox manner. Murphy called the show’s talent manager and begged him for an audition. Ironically, when he was cast, he was exactly what the show needed. 

SNL survived its five year Lorne Michaels-free period only because of Murphy. He is one of the the most boundary-pushing and raw cast members the show has ever had. Yet, Murphy isn’t most-known for his time at SNL, but rather for his post-SNL Hollywood career.

Mr. Robinson (a parody of Mr. Rogers)

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Murphy played recurring character Mister Robinson throughout his time on the sketch show. The sketches were parodies of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, a PBS show where Fred Rogers taught life lessons to children. In Murphy’s version, everything was a lot darker. 

Gumby  

Video by Saturday Night Live

Eddie Murphy’s Gumby is an SNL classic. Gumby’s catch line, “I’m Gumby, dammit!”, one of the most iconic SNL tag lines.

Justin McElroy, a journalist/ranker of stuff, says, “Murphy not only made the biggest impression on SNL, he did so in one of the shortest time span for any major cast member ever. He was 19 when the show began, yet he said “Live from New York” in his 6th episode, was in the main cast by his 8th and did Mr. Robinson in his 11th.”

He adds, “Unlike anyone else, Lorne Michaels was never his boss and he hasn’t returned for countless cameos, so his place in the never-ending SNL myth-making machine is somewhat downplayed.” 

Check out the rest of McElroy’s SNL ratings on his blog: https://justinmcelroy.com/2015/02/15/ranking-every-snl-cast-member-using-math-and-presidents/. 

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Bill Murray Had Revolutionary Visions for His Comedy

Photo by NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Bill Murray joined the cast of SNL in 1977, following Chevy Chase’s departure. At that point, the NBC sketch show was already two seasons in and had a pretty decent following. However, like Murphy, Murray is credited with saving the show during a period of crisis. 

Murray is highly respected within the SNL community. After he left the show, he stared in a number of NBC produced films and regularly returned to appear in sketches. 

Nick The Lounge Singer:

Photo by NBC via Getty Images

Nick The Lounge Singer was one of Murray’s most recurring characters at his time at SNL. He would sing a popular song with different lyrics to an audience. His last name changed according to the sketch he was in. So, if he was performing at a prison, his name would be Nick Slammer. 

In SNL’s 40th reunion, Murray reprised this role. Nick sang “Jaws” to a packed studio 8H. Watch a Nick The Lounge Singer sketch here: https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/nick-the-lounge-singer-sings-star-wars-theme/2956866. 

His Refreshing Approach To Get Laughs:

Video by Saturday Night Live

Bill Murray was not afraid to stray from the typical SNL format. In one sketch, he addresses the audience directly, apologizing for being new to the show and for not being funny. 

His unprecedented work at SNL set him up for a successful career in movies. He went on to star in films such as Caddyshack (1980), Ghostbusters (1984) and Groundhog Day (1993).

Murray is notorious for bringing a little craziness with him. I’m a big fan of Murray’s. I think he has a great eye for the sweet-spot comedy: funny, goofy, and heartwarming. 

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The One and Only Gilda Radner

Photo by NBC/Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Gilda Radner was the first person to ever be hired for SNL. She was a revolutionary comedian and ground-breaking woman. Lorne Michaels, SNL’s creator and executive producer, built the entire season one cast around her. 

Michaels did not make a mistake in following his instinct for great talent by using Radner as the show’s takeoff point. Aside from her star-power and team-oriented mentality, Radner went on to create some of the most iconic SNL sketches. 

Roseanne Roseannadanna

Photo by CNN.com

Roseanne Roseannadanna was a recurring character Radner played on Weekend Update. Roseannadanna was the Weekend Update consumer affairs reporter who always went off on an intense tangent while reading a letter. 

The segment would end with Roseannadanna describing a bodily function and  the news anchor cutting her off. Here’s a link to one of her Weekend Update interviews: https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-roseanne-roseannadanna-on-smoking/3506794. 

Emily Litella

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Emily Litealla was another Weekened Update character Radner played. Litealla couldn’t hear. She would get all worked up over a topic and then realize she misheard the topic.

A classic example is when the news anchor says to her, "That's death penalty, Ms. Litella, not deaf...death." She’d just reply, "Oh, that's very different, never mind!" Watch the full Weekend Update interview here: https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-w-emily-litella/n8618. 

“She showed her soul”, Alan Zweibel, SNL writer and Roseanne Roseannadanna segment creator, says. "People related to her. Yeah, she was on television, but she had questions about guys, questions about being out there in the world as a woman. She was very revealing. There were very few secrets that she withheld from the public. It's like the audience knew her."

Gilda Radner is one of the most famous women to have ever come out of comedy. She’s credited as being most of the modern women in comedy’s inspiration. She’s also mine. 

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What “Saturday Night Live” Means to Me

30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10111 where SNL is shot in Studio 8H. 

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an extremely influential American sketch comedy television show. Over the course of its 44-season run, SNL has created a lot of iconic content and launched a lot of comedian’s careers.

Since 1975, the show has had over 151 cast members. It was difficult to pick just five people, out of the plethora of talented cast the show has to choose from, but after much consideration, I realized it wasn’t about labeling the five people I choose as the “greatest”, it’s simply about their amazing work.

SNL is all about poking fun at the stupidity in who we are as humans, what separates us as humans, and the world we as humans live in. Those themes are satirized in sketches and the cast members bring those sketches to life.

Photo by SNL The Exhibition

I have been a fan of SNL for as long as I can remember. In the picture above, you can see Chevy Chase and me doing Weekend Update. 

When I was in New York City a few years ago, I begged my dad to take me to the SNL Exhibition where I took the above photoshopped photo. Just kidding, it’s real!

I love comedy and I appreciate all that SNL and SNL’s cast members have done for comedy. This blog is a place where laughter is encouraged and the work of extraordinarily-talented individuals is celebrated.

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The Chicago River only stays green for about 24 hours. However, the newly-returned sun stays long after the river returns to its original color. 

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With the warming of the Chicago temperatures, approximately 400,000 people attend this event each year. The Michigan Avenue Bridge, 333 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601, always fills up with excited spectators wearing green.

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Shoreline Sightseeing not only provides a vessel for the dyeing of the river, they also offer a morning river cruise for locals. The cruise includes Irish-themed giveaways, Irish drinks, and St. Patrick’s Day trivia.

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Bridget Purdy, 22, a senior at Columbia College Chicago says, “I come to watch the river get dyed every year with my friends. Watching the river turn green is magical and it’s exciting, too, because I know Spring is coming and I won’t have to suffer in the cold much longer.”

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Due to the massive amounts of people this event draws, the Chicago Police Department ropes off designated areas for spectators along the Chicago Riverwalk. People must arrive early if they want a close-up viewing spot.

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The river is dyed by four plumbers on board a Shoreline Sightseeing vessel. It takes 25 pounds of powered dye for the river to turn green.