From Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase to Eddie Murphy , Adam Sandler , Will Farrell and Tina Fey , just to name a few , Saturday Night Livehas launched the careers of many celebrated comedian and performers . But for every cast phallus ( or writer ) who breakouts fromSNLand attain superstardom , there are plenty of others who failed miserably during their tenure on the show . Whether it ’s the live formatting , the fact that the show is a sketch clowning , or the pressure to be queer on command , many mass who make it toSNLdon’t come through . And what is interesting is that many the great unwashed who crashed and burned as mold members ofSNLwent on to be major stars in other avenues – be it motion picture , television , or stand - up comedy . Here is a inclination of 10 stars we all get laid who recovered after bomb miserably onSNL .
10. Larry David
Today , Larry David is one of the most successful and richest the great unwashed in Hollywood . He not only co - created the classic sitcomSeinfeldwith Jerry Seinfeld , but also created and starred in his own tremendously successful showCurb Your Enthusiasm . However , long before Larry David became a multi - millionaire succeeder , he was a struggling writer onSaturday Night Liveduring the 1984 - 85 season . Larry David has said publically that he was pitiful working onSNL , and that it was one of the worst experiences of his life . His committal to writing for the show was so bad , evidently , that he only succeeded in stick one of his sketches on air – and it was the last sketch performed on the last episode of that season . What ’s unusual is that Larry David wrote forSNLduring one of the show ’s most memorable seasons . The 1984 - 85 time of year was the one where heavy hitters such as Billy Crystal , Christopher Guest and Martin Short joined the cast . There were gross ton of memorable skits and moments from that season but sadly , none of them were written by Larry David .
http://blog.corbis.com/january-creative-research-normal-is-the-new-normal/ reference : corbis.com
9. Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans is the patriarch of a comedy dynasty and remember fondly as the creative force behind the 1990s study comedy seriesIn Living Colour . However , before he triumphed with his own originative pursuits , Damon Wayans struggle for one season as a mould fellow member onSNL . Damon had the misfortunate to be part of the infamous 1985 - 86 cast of SNL , which is widely regarded as the worst vomit the show ever featured . It featured a routine of weird molding choices such as Randy Quaid , Anthony Michael Hall , Joan Cusack , and a few other illustrious people who are mention further on in this list . However , most of the cast of the 1985 - 86 season were not “ comedian ” in the everlasting sensation of the full term and the interpersonal chemistry among them just did n’t make . The entire cast , let in Damon Wayans , was burn after one season , paving the way for a new and more successful cast the next year that featuredSNLlegends such as Dana Carvey , Jon Lovitz , Dennis Miller , and Victoria Jackson .
http://cavemancircus.com/2025-05-22/17-backstories-to-why-actors-and-actresses-were-written-out-of-tv-shows/ Source : cavemancircus.com
8. Paul Shaffer
We all recall Paul Shaffer as David Letterman ’s long - time band leader and sidekick . But before he hitched his estate car to the recent night king , Paul Shaffer serve as both bandleader and form member on SNL ’s 1979 - 80 season , the show ’s 5th . Paul Shaffer has the note of being the only member of theSNLband to also be sport in the show ’s drollery skits . However , Shaffer cursorily clear that his endowment lie with music and not adumbrate comedy , as his attempt at transitioning to being aSNLcast member were not well - receive . This was another weird full point inSNLhistory , as the 1979 - 80 season was the one powerful after superstar original plaster bandage members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi leave alone to concentrate on their movie careers . do-or-die to keep things rolling , SNL God Almighty and producer Lorne Michaels enlisted the help of writers such as Al Franken and Paul Shaffer to join the cast and perform in sketches . This did not go over well with anyone , especially the consultation .
http://holidayfilmreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/03/saturday-night-live-mardi-gras-special.html informant : holidayfilmreviews.com
7. Gilbert Gottfried
He ’s not the full-grown star in the man , but Gilbert Gottfried is a well - know comedian who is distinguished by his unequaled , raspy articulation and the role of Iago the parrot in the Disney ’s animatedAladdinfilms . However , at the start of his career , Gilbert Gottfried was a seldom - used chip player onSNLduring the 1980 - 81 time of year endure up against heavyweights such as Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo . Shy and intimidate by the rest of the cast around him , Gilbert Gottfried keep the ticking and voice he ’s known for today largely in check the few times he was actually view onSNL . He did however manage to develop one popular resort character on the show , Leo Waxman , the host of the fabricated program “ What It ’s All About . ”
http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211/137-gilbert-gottfried-20150211 Source : RollingStone
6. David Koechner
Who is David Koechner , you require ? He ’s a comedian and character actor best be intimate for playing Champ Kind in theAnchormanmovies opposite superstar Will Ferrell . Hes also known for his recur office as objectionable salesman Todd Packer on the TV showThe Office . However , David Koechner first met Will Farrell when the two operate together onSNL . Koechner was a cast member on the show during the unmemorable 1995 - 96 time of year , which was the season after the shows producers cleaned house and fired Adam Sandler , Chris Farely , etc . Koechner struggle onSNL , bring out only a couple of memorable character . He had to watch as fellow newbie Will Farrell went on to be a breakout star on the show . Nevertheless , things do work out for David Koechner due to his friendship with Farrell and the brief fourth dimension he spent onSNL .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRqtsKJVthk beginning : Youtube
5. Sarah Silverman
Comedians bed her and she has attain achiever with her own telly show and piece of work in movies such asWreck It RalphandSchool of Rock , but before she reach that winner , Sarah Silverman struggled mightily during the 1993 - 94 season ofSNL . lease as both a author and casting penis , Silverman only lasted 18 weeks before getting fire . Her only memorable appearance onSNLwas during a Weekend Update section that air in early 1994 , in which she represent a news newspaperman report on her own pap smear . Sarah Silverman has since line the atmosphere onSNLas “ cutthroat ” and said the whole experience with the broadcast made her gun - unsure and apprehensive about show business . as luck would have it , she seems to have bounced back just fine .
https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/sarah-silverman-15401 Source : NBC
4. Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller is a huge movie maven today and had a lot of winner with his own Emmy award - winning form TV syllabus , The Ben Stiller Show , that publicize on HBO in 1992 - 93 . Yet before all the success and wealth , Ben Stiller spend a hard year onSNLin 1988 - 89 as one of the show ’s featured players . Stiller set up it unmanageable to shine onSNLwhen next to cast members such as Mike Myers and Phil Hartman . He was rarely used on the program and left after less than a full season to pursue his own interest . However , Ben Stiller did care to appear in one meaningful skit while a cast member onSNL : He and Mike Myers appeared on Weekend Update to leave a hilarious recapitulation of the movieRain Man .
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/the-evolution-of-ben-19981112 Source : RollingStone
3. Chris Rock
Chris Rock did not altogether flare out onSNL . He last on the show for three seasons , from 1990 to 1993 . However , his time onSNLwas very difficult and Chris Rock never stand out . His one memorable character was the black rotatory Nat X , and he had a couple of good Weekend Update segments . However , Chris Rock`s picture of citizenry such as Michael Jackson fell flavorless and he never reach the success that his fellow cast penis at the time – Adam Sandler , David Spade , Rob Schneider and Chris Farley – enjoy . Chris Rock has say that the sketch comedy format that required him to play different character was not his strong lawsuit and he never feel altogether comfortable onSNL . It was n’t until Chris Rock went out on his own and did stand - up comedy that he happen his vocalization and a legion of fans .
http://www.hippowallpapers.com/chris-rock Source : hippowallpapers.com
2. Zach Galifianakis
Believe it or not , Zach Galifianakis of theHangovermovies and resist - up drollery fame work as a writer onSNLvery briefly in 2000 . Legend has it that Galifianakis was called in at the end of the 1999 - 2000 season ofSNLto masking for a writer who left the show in a seeing red . Galifianakis had antecedently auditioned to be an actor on the show and when he was subsequently scream in to be a author he wrongly arrogate it would lead to him being sport on tune . Instead , he ended up editing handwriting for the last two episodes of the season before leaving in disenchantment . Galifianakis explained the whole matter to Howard Stern , saying , “ I was uncomfortable because I thought I ’d get hired to be onSNL . Then I make there , and they were like , ‘ No , you ’re pen for Molly Shannon . ’ I was like , ‘ Oh , okay . I did n’t actualise that . ' ”
http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/zach-galifianakis-louis-cks-clown-comedy-headed-fx-20140828 Source : RollingStone
1. Robert Downey Jr.
Before he was Iron Man , an Avenger , or a 1980s teen heartthrob , Robert Downey Jr. was a member of theSaturday Night Livecast during the doomed 1985 - 86 season . Only 20 - year - old at the time , Downey was part of a mixed bag cast that failed to resonate with viewers or critics . He was fired along with the repose of the cast after only one season on the show . A season in which Robert Downey Jr. pass most of his time palling around with fellow casting member and friend Anthony Michael Hall . The two would afterward star together in the 1988 football game comedyJohnny Be Good . However , the sketch comedy format and alive tape recording ofSNLdid not suit Robert Downey Jr. or roleplay to his durability . His most memorable vignette onSNLwas one called “ Suitcase Boy , ” which , commit us , was not actually that memorable .
http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211/141-robert-downey-jr-20150211 Source : RollingStone
