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(#9) Joan Cusack
- 56
1985 - 1986
Saturday Night Live is not a friendly place for the quirky and unique and Cusack had no luck in standing out during her one year run. Almost immediately after leaving SNL, she picked up a role in the hit film Broadcast News. She also appeared alongside her brother, John, in several films, including Say Anything, High Fidelity, and Grosse Pointe Blank and picked up two Oscar nominations for Working Girl and In & Out. She has had successful voice acting roles in the Toy Story franchise and a recurring role on the U.S. version of Shameless.
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(#16) Randy Quaid
- 68
1985 - 1986
Before Quaid became the rambling, oft-arrested sensation of late, he was an Oscar nominee with an impressive list of credits, including The Last Picture Show, Midnight Express, National Lampoon's Vacation, and The Last Detail (for which he got that Oscar nom). His one year on SNL wasn't bad, with Quaid turning up to play all sorts of authority types. But it was an odd year and the cast was a mish-mash of players that never seemed to gel.
Post SNL, Quaid worked solidly and turned in fine performances in Independence Day and Brokeback Mountain. But over the years, something happened and Quaid hasn't been the same since. He's sought asylum in Canada, claiming that he and wife Evi are being pursued by several evil forces. -
(#4) Damon Wayans
- 58
1985 - 1986
Wayans was feeling the usual Saturday Night Live repression he switched up his role without telling anyone and played a straight cop as an effeminate character. Wayans had had some roles in film, most notably Beverly Hills Cop, and had been doing standup for a while but he was not into the way things ran at Saturday Night Live. His onscreen mutiny earned him a quick firing by Lorne Michaels.
Wayans would find his own path after landing on In Living Color. He gave us "Homey the Clown," "Men on Films," My Wife and Kids, Waynehead, and a talented son, Damon Wayans Jr.
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(#3) Michael McKean
- 71
1994 - 1995
McKean came from a musical family (his father was the founder of Decca Records) and already had full and healthy career before he joined the cast. He was an icon from his popular role as Lenny on Laverne & Shirley. McKean did his best to inject some class and comedy into a dismal era at Saturday Night Live.
But alas, the show was too crowded and fractured to do McKean any good. He went on to better things with long time pals and collaborators Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, working on various film and musical projects. Besides that work, McKean has worked steadily in film and on TV. He joined the cast of Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan’s Better Call Saul in 2015.
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(#7) Chris Elliott
- 58
1994 - 1995
Elliott, like a lot of his one-year Saturday Night Live cast mates, already had a career when he got sucked into the abyss. He hated his year on SNL and seemed unconcerned at how he was going over with the audience. Elliott was always fine with playing the oddball, the weirdo, and the slightly off-center characters.
It took leaving the show before he found his feet again with Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, and recurring roles on popular TV shows. The current era appreciates Elliott's brand of humor and he's found a new fan base with roles where audiences get him, including Adult Swim’s Eagleheart and Schitt’s Creek. He’ll also live on forever in Groundhog Day and Cabin Boy.
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(#12) David Koechner
- 56
1995 - 1996
Koechner used his one year well at Saturday Night Live, introducing audiences to his surrealistic good ole boy characters and making a life long friend (and future costar) in Will Ferrell. Koechner brought an everyman element to Saturday Night Live sketches and also knew when to get weird but NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer wanted him gone. Koechner also had no trouble telling writers and producers no.
After SNL, he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and starred in The Naked Trucker Show. Koechner is also known for his role as Champ Kind in the Anchorman movie franchise and voice work on American Dad!
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Whether it is Oscar or the presidential campaign, Saturday Night Live is your best choice. Too many A-list comedy stars have started their career on Saturday Night Live. When it comes to the 16 winners of the Mark Twain Award, the highest award in the American comedy industry so far, there are 4 winners who have appeared in Saturday Night Live cast.
Outstanding cast members do not necessarily have to stay in SNL forever. In the past few years, some actors have left for various reasons and are increasingly accepting new projects. The random tool introduced 22 best SNL cast Members who only stay one season.
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