Clown, prison inmate Oswald Bates, and superhero Handi-Man - all of which made SNL look downright stale.Ĭomedic style: Low-key hilarity Greatest sketch: “Good Morning Bronx”ĭespite arriving with credentials as a mainstay of the influential comedy troupe Second City, Minor didn’t get much of a chance to flex his acting and writing chops. He became a founding cast member of his brother Keenan’s landmark ’90s sketch comedy series In Living Color, depicting revolutionary characters like Homey D. Wayans was shown the door after that fateful episode (only his 11th overall), but he had the last laugh in the long run. “They weren’t letting me do things that he would do. ![]() “I came to learn it was Lorne Michaels’ way of protecting me from looking like I was trying to be the next Eddie Murphy,” he said in 2015. Monopoly” sketch, in which he went off-book to play a routine straight cop as a cartoonishly effeminate gay man.ĭecades later, Damon Wayans reflected on the creative stifling that led to his decision. Angered by what he saw as brazen disrespect, the funnyman rebelled during the now-infamous “ Mr. ![]() Monopoly”Īside from having the unenviable task of filling the shoes of megastar Eddie Murphy, who’d departed two seasons prior, Wayans’ sketch ideas were routinely rejected by Lorne Michaels. Unfortunately, Hudson’s stint - largely spent as a bit player - reflects the undervalued experiences of most of the Black women who have been cast for the series.Ĭomedic style: Subversive Greatest sketch: “Mr. In “ Apartment Building Confrontation,” she proved she could hold her own against rising star Eddie Murphy in a straight-faced battle of the dozens. But she shined in rare moments during her featured player run, best amongst them “ Bad Clams,” a bizarre sketch with SNL OGs Garrett Morris and Gilda Radner in which a married couple forces comedy legend Lucille Ball to eat rancid shellfish. And, as always, it’s live from New York.Ĭomedic style: Understated Greatest sketch: “Bad Clams”Īs the first Black woman to be hired by Saturday Night Live, Hudson faced double the obstacles. It’s a tough, tragic, wild, joyful, hilarious history. Superstar trajectories began there, and too many remained in obscurity there - which is why it’s so fitting to highlight and rank every Black Saturday Night Live cast member. Still, Black SNL performers have delivered some of the show’s iconic moments of the past four-plus decades. The gag is, of course, that there were no Black women on staff to step up (and, hell no, Kenan wasn’t available). The show’s issues with diversity have been so publicized that a self-mocking 2013 sketch actually leaned into it, with guest star Kerry Washington forced to portray first lady Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, and Oprah Winfrey all in the same sketch, mid-scene costume changes and all. In all, only 20 of the 153 total performers to appear on Saturday Night Live in its 45 seasons have been Black. ![]() ![]() You already know some the names of the Black SNL alumni who found breakout success - Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph - but much respect is due for unsung pioneers like Yvonne Hudson, Danitra Vance, and the aforementioned Morris. The answer, too often, was no.įor Black cast members, life on SNL in many ways parallels the Black American experience: While many others enjoy long, mediocre careers, our triumphs arise from a combination of defiance and sheer genius. “Anything for Garrett?” SNL creator and boss Lorne Michaels would ask during routine 3 a.m. While cast members like John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase enjoyed the spotlight in many sketches, Morris found himself typecast in flagrantly stereotypical roles, or left out altogether. When the sketch comedy show first hit the airwaves in 1975, critics and audiences heralded it as a counterculture breakthrough - but as Morris admitted in the 2017 documentary Live From New York!, he struggled to fit in with the majority-White cast and felt like he was denied opportunities to shine. “I felt robbed.” That’s how Garrett Morris summed up his tenure as a Saturday Night Live performer.
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