SNL 15 for 50

Saturday Night Live begins it’s 50th season tonight. To celebrate, I’m going to list my top 15 performers from it’s run.

I don’t watch the show live anymore, although I do catch sketches on YouTube on occasion. In the first five years I was obsessed, and I’ve followed it off and on since.

My list is subjective, and mostly based on who has been the funniest on the show, not what their output has been since. And I tried to avoid being influenced by meeting or photographing the performers.

Will Farrell

Eddie Murphy

Kate McKinnon

Dana Carvey

Kristen Wiig

Bill Hader

Phil Hartman

Bill Murray

Chevy Chase

Mike Myers

Pete Davidson

John Belushi

Chris Farley

Gilda Radner

Dan Aykroyd

Image: My family visited New York during spring break when I was in Grade 12 of high school. I was determined to see the show live, and we managed to get tickets to the rehearsal run. This photo shows the set after the performance. 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC, Saturday, March 20, 1982.