Which SNL player never got the chance he/she deserved?
We've talked about the uggos on SNL — but who was let go from the show that should have stayed, or who stayed on the show but never had his or her talents used well?
For instance — I like Casey Wilson, but she never got much to do on the show, so it's hard to tell if she would have been funny.
Michaela Watkins was fired after one season, but she was better than many of the women who'd joined the cast.
Laurie Metcalf may be the ultimate example: one episode and gone.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | April 2, 2018 1:17 AM
|
Terry Sweeney, the gay one.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | October 28, 2015 11:30 PM
|
Laurie Metcalf was lucky to have been let go so quickly. She probably didn't think that at the time, but she went on to have a pretty good career, which is something that not lot of SNL female talents can say.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | October 28, 2015 11:47 PM
|
Terry Sweeney. Did great drag and had excellent timing but homophobia got his shitcanned.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 3 | October 28, 2015 11:48 PM
|
Yeah poor Laure Metcalf WHET her. I'm kidding.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | October 28, 2015 11:52 PM
|
Catherine O'Hara never made it to the air. She walked out when she heard Michael McDonough go on a rant about how the show was a Viking death ship and he was going to take everyone down with it.
Smart move.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | October 28, 2015 11:54 PM
|
Mark McKinney never did much on the show.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | October 28, 2015 11:54 PM
|
Another vote for Terry Sweeney.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | October 28, 2015 11:55 PM
|
Charles Rocket was on an infamously shitty season, but he had comic chops, looks, and talent. It's very sad that his life ended so young.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | October 29, 2015 1:41 AM
|
Rocket got a huge chance. He was practically Doumanian's pet and was the featured player in skit after skit. Even with the opportunity handed on a silver platter, it was Eddie Murphy who took his few moments and ran with it. Proof that great talent can shine even in only a few on air minutes.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | October 29, 2015 1:54 AM
|
Emily Prager was the only cast member billed to never actually appear in a show (she was supposed to be on the same episode as Laurie Metcalf).
by Anonymous | reply 12 | October 29, 2015 1:57 AM
|
Jay Mohr got almost nothing to do, and he is very funny and used to be very attractive.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | October 29, 2015 1:59 AM
|
That Daria girl who was in that Winona Ryder movie. Oh wait, she did get a chance, she just had no range other than Daria.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | October 29, 2015 2:04 AM
|
R14
Janeane Garofalo wasn't the voice of Daria. Unless, you're saying that she reminds of you Daria? If that's the case my apologies in advance for getting what you meant wrong.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | October 29, 2015 2:09 AM
|
Adam Sandler, Chevy Chase, Amy Poehler...
by Anonymous | reply 16 | October 29, 2015 2:13 AM
|
[quote]Jay Mohr got almost nothing to do, and he is very funny and used to be very attractive.
His book "Gasping for Airtime" is interesting — he comes off both as someone who didn't get much of a chance, but squandered the chances he did get.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | October 29, 2015 2:32 AM
|
Terry Sweeney was brilliant as Nancy Reagan!
by Anonymous | reply 18 | October 29, 2015 2:46 AM
|
With a number of very talented comediennes (Metcalf, Watkins, Wilson, etc.) who went nowhere on SNL, how would someone like Jane Curtin had fared if she hadn't been one of the initial cast members. Had she joined in the 80s, would she have made it?
by Anonymous | reply 19 | October 29, 2015 2:46 AM
|
[quote]Mark McKinney never did much on the show.
Yeah he never did much while awful Jim Breuer was given quite a bit of sketch time.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | October 29, 2015 3:24 AM
|
I think Melanie Hutsell probably could have done more than Jan Brady and the sorority sister, but they just weren't writing for women much during that time.
Her Paula Deen fucking slays me every time.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 21 | October 29, 2015 3:33 AM
|
Melanie Hutsell had a decent run, but she deserved better.
Her costars in the "Delta Delta Delta" sketches, Beth Cahill and Siobhan O'Fallon, fared worse, but at least O'Fallon still works. She's on "Wayward Pines" and I think she's one of the producers.
And don't get me started on Ellen Cleghorne!
by Anonymous | reply 22 | October 29, 2015 4:02 AM
|
Nancy Walls who was too fucking hot to be on SNL. She wasn't the best cast member comedically but she was nice eye candy.She did OK for herself and is today, Mrs Steve Carrell.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | October 29, 2015 4:28 AM
|
I agree on Nancy Walls. Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri, and Ana Gasteyer were loved by viewers and Walls wasn't. She is probably glad that she isn't Cheri Oteri right now.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | October 29, 2015 4:32 AM
|
At the end of Casey Wilson's season she did one HYSTERICAL skit about a paraplegic stripper. Very funny! At the time I remember wondering where the hell this lady had been all year long
by Anonymous | reply 25 | October 29, 2015 4:39 AM
|
Hot Rob Riggle never got much to do, but he's done pretty well post SNL.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | October 29, 2015 12:35 PM
|
Casey Wilson is really cute and talented. I don't think she's ever gotten her due. She was good in Happy Endings but it was too big of a cast for her to really be noticed.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | October 29, 2015 12:42 PM
|
[quote]Casey Wilson is really cute and talented. I don't think she's ever gotten her due. She was good in Happy Endings but it was too big of a cast for her to really be noticed.
Casey was my favorite female cast member on Happy Endings. I just started watching The Hotwives of Las Vegas on Hulu. Casey shines on that show.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | October 29, 2015 10:22 PM
|
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was background furniture in almost every scene. Most women were severely overlooked except a precious few cases - until the late 90's.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | October 30, 2015 12:23 AM
|
SNL was never known to write well for African Americans but yet Murphy bucked the trend by his brilliance. Almost all SNL books suggest that when the chance comes to the performers, when/if they jump, they need to show something immediately. If they don't, the writers ignore them and they go to the back burner. Murphy had the worst writing ever on his first season of SNL (an accomplishment) but had the audiences applauding and screaming with his impressions. When the later writing teams came on, everyone wanted to write for him because he could turn any material into a great skit. Women might have never had it very good on SNL but AA's have had it even worse.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | October 30, 2015 1:09 AM
|
Jeff Richards was cute and funny but didn't get much more to do than Drunk Girl
by Anonymous | reply 33 | October 30, 2015 1:47 AM
|
At least we got very small roles in Bridesmaids.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | October 30, 2015 4:54 AM
|
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss was brilliant as a child named Darlene in a sketch with Lily Tomlin's Edith Ann character-unfortunately she was in blackface.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | October 31, 2015 9:29 PM
|
Louis-Dreyfus by her own admission didn't have a signature character that really made her stand out. She's somewhat right but I wasn't such a big fan of hers to be honest. She's been better on episodic TV though. I don't like Seinfeld wither but Ellie, Old Christine and VEEP seem to be more of her wheelhouse.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | November 2, 2015 12:59 PM
|
Robin Duke was on during the Eddie Murphy / Joe Piscopo seasons and always made me laugh.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | November 2, 2015 1:18 PM
|
Christine Ebersole was on for a season and obviously went on to better things. SNL probably wasn't a good fit for her but I can also imagine her working better in the Phil Hartmann-Dana Carvey-Jan Hooks era. She would have made an amazing Sweeney sister.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | November 2, 2015 2:53 PM
|
Harry Shearer actually got two different chances on the show but he's apparently so difficult to work with he quit both times. He's obviously very talented, though, and could have been a solid everyman cast member like Ackroyd, Hartmann and Hader.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | November 2, 2015 3:05 PM
|
I loved Ellen Cleghorne's Joycelyn Elders.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 41 | November 2, 2015 3:43 PM
|
Saturday Night Live is a broken thing. It just doesn't work at a ratio of success/failure that most things do.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | November 18, 2015 3:52 AM
|
If they could have been they would have been, and that's show business baby.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | November 18, 2015 4:05 AM
|
Who is r5 talking about? The guy from the doobie brothers?
by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 18, 2015 4:06 AM
|
r5 was referring to Michael O'Donoghue, a writer and sometime performer in the early seasons of the show. When Dick Ebersol took over the show he hired O'Donoghue back as head writer. O'Donoghue had some radical ideas for the show (he wanted people to refer to him as Reich Marshall) and didn't hid his contempt for any of the cast or other personnel on the show.
[quote]O'Donoghue returned to SNL in 1981 when new executive producer Dick Ebersol needed an old hand to help revive the faltering series. O'Donoghue's volatile personality and mood swings made this difficult: His first day on the show he screamed at all the cast members, telling Mary Gross she was as talented as a pair of old shoes, and forcing everyone to write on the walls with magic markers. This horrified Catherine O'Hara so much that she quit before ever appearing on air. The only one he liked was Eddie Murphy, reportedly because Murphy wasn't afraid of him. According to the book Live From New York O'Donoghue tried to shake things up on that first day by saying "this is what the show lacks" and spray-painting the word "DANGER" on the wall of his office.
When O'Hara left she recommended Ebersol hire fellow Second City alum Robin Duke, who stayed with the show for several seasons..
by Anonymous | reply 46 | November 18, 2015 4:50 AM
|
Forgot the wikipedia link above:
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 47 | November 18, 2015 4:51 AM
|
Looks like he was a bootleg Hunter S Thompson
by Anonymous | reply 48 | November 18, 2015 4:59 AM
|
I agree with people mentioning Casey Wilson. It's still a shame that someone like her was canned quickly. Yet, years that awful Leslie Jones has been on for a few years.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | March 5, 2018 1:00 AM
|
Hey wasn't that Terry Sweeney on American Crime Versace the other day?
by Anonymous | reply 51 | March 5, 2018 1:03 AM
|
RD Jr was on the same season as Sweeney. Considering that we discovered eventually RD Jr is a great actor with a lot of range, I guess he never go much a chance on SNL. What was he doing there anyway? Was he a comedian? Was he just a delicious twink some executive wanted around?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 52 | March 5, 2018 1:06 AM
|
[quote] RD Jr is a great actor with a lot of range. What was he doing there anyway?
He heard SNL had the most coke.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 53 | March 5, 2018 1:11 AM
|
r43 Jim Breuer was a stoner who lasted way longer than he should've because he made the stand-ups on the show laugh off set. He's a much better storyteller than performer.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | March 12, 2018 8:33 AM
|
Surprised Larry David didn't do better as a writer. Maybe his humor wasn't a good "fit." Can't say he hasn't done ok.
I actually think his performance in the Howdy Doody joke on Fridays is hysterical even to this day. All you have to do to get me to crack up is do the "Hello Mr. Doody, right this way Mr. Doody...."
by Anonymous | reply 56 | March 12, 2018 6:55 PM
|
Some performers can't adjust to the show's crazy schedule, hypercompetitive atmosphere and its specific sketch comedy formula. Some of them end up flourishing elsewhere.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | March 12, 2018 7:00 PM
|
To say that Chris Rock flourished elsewhere is quite the understatement.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | March 12, 2018 7:08 PM
|
What’s the “crazy schedule” of SNL (behind the scenes), [R57]?
Do they do everything at night, or...
by Anonymous | reply 59 | March 12, 2018 7:17 PM
|
I thought Abby Elliott had potential. Her Angelina was great. They seemed to be prepping her for big things and then suddenly she was gone.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | March 12, 2018 7:19 PM
|
Larraine Newman was underrated. She was just as talented and versatile as Gilda and Jane, but she refused to do recurring characters. Gilda might not have emerged as the biggest female star from SNL had she only done Roseanne Roseannadanna once or Emily Litella or a number of he characters she created.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | March 13, 2018 9:16 AM
|
[quote]I thought Abby Elliott had potential. Her Angelina was great. They seemed to be prepping her for big things and then suddenly she was gone.
I liked her too. Her Zoey Deschanel impersonation was hilarious.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | March 13, 2018 2:33 PM
|
[quote]What’s the “crazy schedule” of SNL (behind the scenes), [[R57]]?
[quote]Do they do everything at night, or...
They write many of the sketches starting on Tuesday nights and into early Wednesday mornings. Then there is table read of all the sketches and it gets competitive as to what gets picked for the show. Rehearsals can be very long days and some of the pre-filmed sketches are filmed on crazy schedules. The pre-filmed sketch of Kellyanne Conway as the It clown had started filming on a Friday night and didn't wrap until Saturday morning of the show.
When Larry David was an SNL writer he disliked the crazy writing schedule. Past and even cast members have gone on record as saying the show was exhausting at times. Aidy Bryant said something last season about having a 20 hour work day for one pre-filmed sketches.
Jay Mohr's book Gasping for Airtime gives a lot of good insight into the craziness of SNL. He seemed a bit annoyed with the crazy writing schedule. He also mentioned how hosts are given veto power when it comes to sketches and sometimes a host uses that veto power at the last minute. Mohr mentioned how he wrote a sketch when Shannen Doherty was hosting where she played Sean Young. The sketch made it to dress rehearsal and Doherty asked that it not make to the broadcast show.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | March 13, 2018 2:43 PM
|
Terry Sweeney and Ellen Cleghorne get my vote, if we're voting.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | March 13, 2018 7:59 PM
|
It's amazing how many successful people generally flopped as cast members on SNL: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris Rock, Robert Downey Jr, Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, Joan Cusack, etc.
It's either they didn't fit into the mold of the show or there's something very broken at SNL for years. I vote the latter. They seem to be getting their shit together somewhat but they continue to have REALLY unfunny men like Kenan Thompson and Pete Davison on for YEARS - inexplicably.
Wish they would have some sort of public voting system instead of Lorne Michaels consistently running the show off the rails time and time again.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | March 13, 2018 8:08 PM
|
Kenan Thompson is funny but he has been on too long. Pete Davison was OK as the token kid but he's been on too long as well.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | March 13, 2018 8:10 PM
|
Damon Wayans was fired for suddenly on the air playing a supporting part of a cop (a walk-on, really) as an outrageous gay stereotype just to attract attention. He's a talented guy, but he was an incredible asshole and homophobe.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | March 13, 2018 8:27 PM
|
Kenan Thompson is kept on mostly because he's so beloved. Everyone who has worked with him says he's one of the warmest, kindest, most generous people in show biz.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | March 13, 2018 8:28 PM
|
Melanie Hutsell actually got a lot of airtime when she was on the show. She left some hilarious skits behind her that for years lorne Michaels would not release (she left on bad terms, apparently), but now they're on hulu: the many Jan Brady sketches (the best being the Battle of the bands between the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family), "Tori! Tori! Tori!" starring Tori Spelling, and my favorite of all, the Very Special Episode of Blossom.
Michaels said she could only do one thing, which was to play obnoxious tortured ugly girls who mistakenly thought they were normal, but she was so GOOD at it. When they did parody of the Very Special Episode of Blossom aired and they showed her dancing all over the place in the credits, with a hideous prosthetic nose and chin, my boyfriend at the time and I were in absolute tears.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 71 | March 13, 2018 8:35 PM
|
I really liked Melanie Hutsell. She had that one dumb soriority sister character and those sketches were pretty funny. When Hutsell joined SNL, her improv teammate Beth Cahill was hired along with her. Beth seemed to have potential. She was fired after one season.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | March 14, 2018 12:41 AM
|
[quote]Mark McKinney never did much on the show.
I think McKinney was overshadowed by Will Ferrell.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | March 14, 2018 12:50 AM
|
[quote]Kenan Thompson is funny but he has been on too long
I agree with this. I know he did try to leave SNL a few years back. Somehow Lorne Michaels stopped him from leaving.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | March 14, 2018 5:20 AM
|
[quote]Michaela Watkins was fired after one season, but she was better than many of the women who'd joined the cast.
I think being on during the Kristen Wiig era of SNL is what hurt Watkins.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | March 14, 2018 5:28 AM
|
Michaela Watkins owns this thread. She was awesome.
Her Angie Tempura (of bitchpleeeeze.com) still pops into my head, and she did the best Arianna Huffington of anyone.
And she only got, what, 13 episodes?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 76 | March 14, 2018 5:39 AM
|
I hated the way Chris Parnell was treated on the show; Michaels fired him TWICE because he didn't think he was "funny enough" (and Jimmy Fallon *was*?).
by Anonymous | reply 77 | March 14, 2018 5:41 AM
|
Melanie Hutsell was hilarious. Lorne Michaels didn't like her.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | March 14, 2018 5:58 AM
|
Danitra Vance was the ONLY comic actor to make laugh AND cry in the 40+ years of SNL. That Black Girl was brilliant as well as Cabrini Green. I cried when she died
by Anonymous | reply 79 | March 14, 2018 6:14 AM
|
Danitra was so great. Cabrini Green, just wonderful.
She actually quit SNL at the end of the season, she wasn't fired — they were underusing her in too many Garrett Morris-style background parts, playing maids and waitresses. She spoofed it by singing a song called "I Played the Maids," to the tune of Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs."
She and Lovitz would have been held over into the next cast, and she could have had more visibility in her too-short life.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | March 14, 2018 6:23 AM
|
[quote]Melanie Hutsell was hilarious. Lorne Michaels didn't like her.
Was it because of her weight?
by Anonymous | reply 81 | April 2, 2018 12:41 AM
|
Thank you r80, I enjoyed the clarification.
.
r79
by Anonymous | reply 82 | April 2, 2018 1:17 AM
|