38 ‘SNL’ Characters Who Carried the Show (And Hosts Who Almost Ruined It)

Some of the biggest home runs and strikeouts in ‘SNL’ history
38 ‘SNL’ Characters Who Carried the Show (And Hosts Who Almost Ruined It)
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Since former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was one of the lackluster hosts in question, we feel comfortable going with that tried-and-true baseball analogy of home runs and strikeouts. Apologies to the plethora of sports-hating nerds reading this right now, but even when describing sketch comedy, you have to admit that the analogy is spot-on.

Today, we went for a very bipolar list of SNL moments. The cast members who stole the show with one big home run of a character, and the hosts who struck right out. Some swung for the fences, and some just kind of stood there. Either way, they didn’t get on base. Again, sorry nerds. But hey, of all the sports, baseball does offer a lot in the stats department!

The Cheerleaders

OTERI KNEW THEY HAD A HIT WHEN SHE SAW A FRIDGE MAGNET FEATURING THE CHEERLEADERS FERRELL/OTERI SPART ART CRACKED.COM I WAS A CHEERLEADER IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I WOULD STOMP MY FEET AND CLAP WHILE WAITING FOR MY TURN, SAYS OTERI. AND THEN WILL STARTED DOING IT REALLY SERIOUSLY. THEY TURNED IT INTO A SKETCH, DECIDING THAT THE DUO'S SPARTAN SPIRIT WOULD GREATLY SURPASS THEIR CHEERING TALENT.

Cheeseburger Cheeseburger

NO BREAKFAST, ONLY CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER BELUSHI/ACKROYD CRACKED COM WRITER DON NOVELLO WAS INSPIRED AFTER GOING TO THIS BILLYGOAT TAVERN JUST TO HEAR THE GUYS GOING 'CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER CHEESEBURGER. WE HAD A LIVE GRILL , THEY WERE REALLY MAKING CHEESEBURGERS. NOVELLO GOT ONE OF THE GOOD OFFICES AFTER THE SKETCH TOOK OFF.

David S. Pumpkins

DAVID S. PUMPKINS ANY QUESTIONS? TOM HANKS GRAGKED.COM THE SKETCH WAS WRITTEN IN LATE- NIGHT DESPERATION. I THINK NAMES AND SUITS ARE FUNNY, SAYS MIKEY DAY. I JUST REMEMBER THINKING, DAVID PUMPKINS. HE'S GOT PUMPKINS ON HIS SUIT. IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE COUPLE'S QUESTION: WHY ARE THEY HERE? THE WRITERS' ANSWER: THIS GUY'S WEIRD AND WE'RE ONBOARD.

Delicious Dish

GASTEYER'S SNLAUDITION INCLUDED DELICIOUS DISH GASTEYER/SHANNON CRACKED COM GASTEYER BASED THE SKETCH ON PUBLIC RADIO SHOWS 'THE SPLENDID TABLE' AND 'GOOD FOOD.' HER SECRET TO TALKING LIKE AN NPR HOST? JUST TAKE YOUR TIME BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO REALLY NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYONE INTERRUPTING YOU, EVER. HER PARENTS LOADED UP ON THE BEN & JERRY'S 'SCHWEDDY BALLS' EDITION.

Angel — Every Boxer’s Girlfriend

SHE'S TAKING THE KIDS TO HER SISTER'S ANGEL - EVERY BOXER'S GIRLFRIEND HEIDI GARDNER CRACKED COM IT WAS WHEN THAT JAKE GYLLENHAAL RACHEL MCADAMS MOVIE CAME OUT, SOUTHPAW. IN THE PROMO, SHE SAY 'YOU'RE NOT THE FIGHTER, I'M THE FIGHTER.' I'M LIKE 'I THINK AMY ADAMS SAID THAT TWO YEARS AGO IN THE FIGHTER.' AND THEN YOU GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM AND IT'S THE SAME SCENES, EVERY TIME. I JUST GOT EXCITED.

Emily Litella

THE EVOLUTION OF EMILY LITELLA GILDA RADNER CRACKED.COM THE OH, THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT. NEVER MIND ENDING WAS CUTE FOR ABOUT A YEAR, SAYS WRITER ALAN ZWEIBEL. BUT НЕ AND GILDA WANTED TO TRY SOMETHING NEW. ON LITELLA'S NEXT APPEARANCE, JANE CURTIN ATTACKED, CALLING HER AN INSULT TO THE INTEGRITY OF JOURNALISM. EMILY LITELLA'S ONE-WORD REPLY: BITCH.

Nathan Thurm

DENY, DENY, DENY WAS THE KEYTO NATHAN THURM MARTIN SHORT CRACKED.COM THERE WAS A HEAD OF MAKEUP THAT YEAR, SAYS SHORT. YOU'D SAY, 'MARION, I LOOK A LITTLE PALE DON'T I?' AND SHE'D SAY, 'I KNOW THAT. YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW THAT? I'M A MAKEUP ARTIST, I WOULD KNOW THAT.' SHE ALSO CHAIN-SMOKED. SHORT PUT A WIRE IN HIS CIGARETTE so THE ASH WOULD NEVER FALL OFF.

Target Lady

TARGET LADY WAS BASED ON AN ACTUAL... TARGET LADY KRISTEN WIIG Fan oz OX Fan CRACKED.COM WIIG CREATED THE CHARACTER FOR THE GROUNDLINGS. SHE DIDN'T LEAVE WHILE SHE WAS CHECKING ME OUT BUT IT WAS JUST HER VOICE, SAYS WIIG. THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING EGGY ABOUT IT. LIKE SHE HAD EGGS IN HER THROAT. NO WORD ON WHETHER SHE ATE HALF AN ALMOND FOR ENERGY.

Two Wild And Crazy Guys

BEWARE THE BULGES OF TWO WILD AND CRAZY GUYS MARTIN/ACKROYD CRACKED.COM STEVE HAD THIS CHARACTER, THE CONTINENTAL GUY, SAYS ACKROYD, AND I HAD THE 'SWINGING' CZECH WHO WAS TRYING TO TALK LIKE AN AMERICAN, TRYING TO HAVE THE ACCENT, THE CLOTHES. so WE TOOK HIS CONTINENTAL GUY AND MY CZECH GUY AND WE FUSED THEM INTO THE CZECH BROTHERS.

Goat Boy

JIM BREUER HATED GOATS BUT BECAME GOAT BOY JIM BREUER CRACKED.COM THE WHOLE GOAT BOY CHARACTER STARTED OUT BECAUSE I PRETENDED I HAD TOURETTES, BREUER CONFESSES. WE'D GO INTO A BAR AND I'D ASK FOR A <BLEET>WEISER. CUE MORE GOAT NOISES. THE BARTENDER WOULD PAY FOR BEERS IF BREUER AND HIS BRAYING FRIENDS WOULD DRINK OUT OF SIGHT IN THE CORNER.

D*ck in A Box

HEY GIRL, IT'S FROM THE HEART- IT'S A D*CKIN A BOX SAMBERG/TIMBERLAKE CRACKED.COM WE GREW UP WITH THAT '90S R&B SOUND so WE HAD THIS IDEA ABOUT GUYS WHO WERE STILL STUCK IN THAT ERA, SAYS TIMBERLAKE. THEN IT WAS 'HOW DO YOU GET AWAY WITH THEM BEING IDIOTS?' THE BEST WAY WAS FOR THEM TO BE AS GENUINE AS POSSIBLE ABOUT THE GIFT THEY WERE GIVING BUT NOT TOTALLY AT FULL WIT.

Mango

AN EX + A DOG + AN ORLANDO STRIPPER = MANGO CHRIS KATTAN CRACKED COM ONE INSPIRATION WAS AN ANGRY RUSSIAN GIRLFRIEND WHO WOULD SHOUT KATTAN, I KILL YOU! A SECOND WAS KATTAN'S DALMATION, WHO PERFECTED A COY, OVER-THE- SHOULDER GLANCE. THE MONIKER 'MANGO' CAME FROM A STRIPPER KATTAN OGLED IN ORLANDO--HE JUST LIKED THE DANG NAME.

What’s Up With That?

A THEME SONG OBSSESSION LED TO WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? KENAN THOMPSON CRACKED.COM HE JUST CAN'T STOP SINGING IT, THOMPSON SAYS ABOUT HIS IDEA FOR DIONDRE COLE. I FEEL LIKE IF WE MADE THE MOVIE VERSION, IT WOULD HAUNT HIM WHILE НЕ WAS SLEEPING AND SH*T. '''THAT CHARACTER HOOK, PAIRED WITH A PREACHER'S SUIT AND A JHERI CURL, LED TO ONE OF SNL'S LONGEST RUNNING CHARACTERS.

Steven Seagal

STEPHEN SEAGAL APRIL 20, 1991 CRACKED.COM Arrogance + humorlessness = universal acclaim as worst host of all time. The cast nearly revolted and threatened to do a no-host show.

Lance Armstrong

LANCE ARMSTRONG OCTOBER 29, 2005 CRACKED.COM The wooden Armstrong spent most of the show making fun of allegations that he was a lying cheat. Turns out he actually was a lying cheat.

Martin Lawrence

MARTIN LAWRENCE FEBRUARY 19, 1994 CRACKED.COM Only East Coast viewers saw Lawrence's unedited monologue, a bit about oral sex and feminine hygiene that was full of enough improvised profanity to earn a spot on Lorne's Lifetime Ban List.

Michael Phelps

MICHAEL PHELPS SEPTEMBER 13, 2008 SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE CRACKED.COM Critics say he looked pained to be there. His Michael Phelps Diet sketch featuring a cameo from Subway's Jared Fogle hasn't aged well.

Lindsay Lohan

LINDSAY LOHAN MARCH 3, 2012 CRACKED.COM Lohan was OK in her first few tries at host, but her 2012 appearance was full of missed cues and fumbled lines. If it was an attempt to rehab her tabloid image, it failed.

Milton Berle

MILTON BERLE APRIL 14, 1979 Saturday Night Live CRACKED.COM Lorne: I knew we were heading for disaster from minute one. Besides begging for a standing ovation during his monologue, Berle also used his dressing room to reveal himself to writer Alan Zweibel. He just takes out this - this anaconda. It was enormous.

Nancy Kerrigan on SNL

NANCY KERRIGAN MARCH 12, 1994 GRACKED.COM Time Magazine called Kerrigan's hosting gig a supremely awkward performance. At least she didn't get kneecapped.

Paris Hilton

PARIS HILTON FEBRUARY 5, 2005 CRACKED.COM Unbelievably dumb and so proud of how dumb she is, according to Tina Fey. She's a piece of s---.

Adrien Brody

ADRIEN BRODY MAY 10, 2003 CRACKED.COM Brody went completely off-script introducing musical act Sean Paul, appearing in fake dreadlocks and affecting an offensively bad Jamaican accent. Buh-bye, Brody.

Chevy Chase

CHEVY CHASE Night FEBRUARY 15, 1997 Live CRACKED.COM A fistfight with Bill Murray wasn't enough to get Chase banned as a host. That would be his 1987 stint when, according to Will Ferrell, he asked a female writer if maybe you could give me a handjob later.

Donald Trump

DONALD TRUMP NOV 7, 2015 CRACKED.COM SNL caught a lot of flack for featuring Trump in this run-up to the 2016 election. It was rough, says Taran Killam. It was not enjoyable at the time and something that only grows more embarrassing and shameful as time goes on.

Frank Zappa

FRANK ZAPPA OCTOBER 21, 1978 hb Live CRACKED.COM Не deliberately delivered his monologue in a stilted, hey everybody, I'm reading cue cards! style, enraging both the cast and Lorne Michaels.

January Jones

JANUARY JONES NOVEMBER 14, 2009 CRACKED.COM In the awkward first sketch, on live television, Jones looked around and asked Which camera? The night didn't get much better from there.

Justin Bieber

JUSTIN BIEBER FEBRUARY 9, 2013 CRACKED.COM Bill Hader had no trouble naming SNL's worst-behaved host. It was Bieber. Не was in a bad place. Maybe he's in a better place. But back then ... it was rough.

Debbie Downer

DOWNER RACHEL DRATCH CRACKED.COM I was on vacation in Costa Rica, and when I told someone that I was from New York, they asked, 'Were you there for 9/11? The conversation froze. The name Debbie Downer is now listed in the dictionary as a name for someone who constantly makes others feel bad.

Californians

CALIFORNIANS FRED ARMISEN CRACKED.COM Whenever he returned from the west coast, Armisen would discuss L.A. directions with castmates Bill Hader and Kenan Thompson. The inane talk about best driving routes became a running Californians joke, though Armisen says he doesn't mind the Cali traffic.

Da Bears

DA BEARS ROB SMIGEL Smigel cooked up the Super Fans from two tasty ingredients: The Sportswriters on TV, a Chicago-based roundtable discussion, and the overweight, mustachioed, Old Style-swigging fans he'd see at Cubs games. Bonus: Sunglasses meant Smigel could easily read cue cards without learning his lines.

Drunk Uncle

DRUNK UNCLE BOBBY MOYNIHAN CRACKED.COM Moynihan spent hours on a sure-fire sketch about a suit salesman, the best character in SNL history. Colin Jost asked for a quick Update bit -- Drunk Uncle was whipped up in 15 minutes. Suit Salesman bombed and Drunk Uncle appeared 10 more times.

Gilly

GILLY KRISTEN WIIG CRACKED.COM One inspiration for Wiig's Gilly was a childhood perm she got for a wedding, accidentally tinted red by a bottle of Sun-In. Another was a weird, pulled-back smile that Wiig and SNL co-writers believed warranted its own character.

Stefon

STEFON BILL HADER CRACKED.COM One inspiration for writer John Mulaney was an email from a club promoter. Part of the pitch? Rooms full of broken glass. Hader was also inspired by a whispery local barista who lived on the Lower-Lower East Side.

The Bees

THE BEES BELUSHI ET AL CRACKED.COM One of the show's first notes from meddling network execs: Cut the bees. Lorne Michaels responded by inserting the Bees into nearly every episode of Season One, making them the show's first recurring characters.

Sprockets

SPROCKETS MIKE MYERS CRACKED.COM Myers based Deiter, the avant- garde talk show host, on a Toronto waiter who provided questionable service. Не would be taking your order, and then it would be like, your order has become tiresome. And he would bolt and leave, and never come back.

Church Lady

CHURCH LADY DANA CARVEY CRACKED.COM Carvey developed the Church Lady as a way to deal with demonic hecklers during his 1980s stand-up comic days. He'd shut them down wiith a combination of condescension and patronizing. Patronizing is funny.

The Ladies Man

THUNDRE THE MAN TIM MEADOWS CRACKED.COM Meadows worked in a liquor store during high school. Would-be womanizers swaggered in, hoping to boost their romantic prospects with a bottle of Courvoisier. The ladies men inspired Meadows to create Leon Phelps.

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