MAIN Television Saturday Night Live

"Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

Hosting Saturday Night Live is an honor and practically a right of passage for most actors, actresses, or singers in today's business.

It is place where they can stretch their limits and abilities and try new genres. Not a big deal usually for most people in the show business industry except when hosting this particular sketch comedy show.

What makes Saturday Night Live so unique is that it has always been recorded live which means there are no second takes or any edited bloopers to laugh at later. The natural brilliance of the musical guests, the celebrity hosts, and the members of the cast shines through in the spur of the moment ad-libbing banter that can only be found here.

Saturday Night Live has run since October 11, 1975 and is still going strong. "Saturday Night Live" was recently inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters.

Famous SNL Alumni

Becoming a regular member of the cast is practically becoming part of history. Many now-famous actors and actresses such as John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Paul Shaffer, Joe Piscopo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short, Damon Wayans, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Dennis Miller, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Conan O'Brien, Ben Stiller, David Spade, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, Norm MacDonald, and Tina Fey got their start on Saturday Night Live.

Memorable Skits

Some of the skits that have been the most popular are known to those who might not even watch SNL. Who hasn't heard of Wayne's World (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey), The Church Lady (Dana Carvey), Pat (Julia Sweeney), Mango (Chris Kattan), Matt Foley the Motivational Speaker (Chris Farley), The Coneheads (Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin,and Laraine Newman), The Spartan Cheerleaders (Cheri Oteri and Will Ferrell), The Festrunk Brothers (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd), Roseanne Roseannadanna (Gilda Radner), Stuart Smalley (Al Fanken), Buckwheat (Eddie Murphy), Hanz and Franz (Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey), Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon)?

In 2005, NBC renewed SNL's contract through 2012 so this list is bound to only get longer.

So far SNL has won 18 Emmy Awards and been nominated for more than 80. The show continues to entertain millions of viewers each week. SNL is broadcast live from NBC's famed Studio 8H in New York City's Rockefeller Center. There is quite a following of fans, like Louis Klein, who have hardly ever missed a show.

SNL is a variety show. Political satires, celebrity impersonations, sexual innuendos, sometimes downright strange humor...whatever makes you laugh you will probably find it on Saturday Night Live.

Saturday Night Live - Find out who the next host and musical guest will be. The official site where you can find the complete cast list and get bios on everyone. View crisp, clear still photos from different episodes along with feature video clips. Interesting trivia that all die hard fans need to know.

TV.com - Saturday Night Live - A brief summary of show and cast list. Bios, actor/actress trivia, photos, and episode recaps.

IMDB.com - Saturday Night Live - Great photos and bios of current and recurring characters. Some trivia, more quotes, and viewer comments.

Saturday Night Live - Complete history of the famous live show, complete cast listing, great links, and trivia from Wikipedia. Find out what it takes to make an episode of SNL by reading the breakdown of daily activities.

BBC Guide to Comedy - SNL - History of SNL with a complete listing of all cast members.

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