TV: Biggest star who came out of Saturday Night Live (appeared on at least 2 seasons)

[HolyGhost]

I have added 2 seasons to the question as Robert Downey Jr did one year and has been reportedly voted the worst cast member of all time and even he plays down his time on the show.

So removing RDJ from the question. Who is the biggest star to come out of SNL? We are at nearly 50 years and lots of people have come and gone via the show.

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[Raging Bull]

Eddie Murphy? or Sandler I'd say.

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

adam sandler
eddie murphy
chris rock
tina fey
mike myers
will ferrell
john belushi
chris farley

 

[Chili]

One of Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal or Bill Murray. John Belushi could have had a great future too.

Edit: I see Billy Crystal was only on SNL for one season. He was an established tv star beforehand as well (Soap). 'Boy, I hate when that happens.'

 

[Primary Assist]

Will Ferrell or Bill Murray realistically. Ferrell is still an A Lister as far as comedy is concerned - that type of longevity is pretty much unheard of in comedy. Of course I could say the same about Sandler, but the difference is that he's also the producer of his big movies.

Eddie Murphy may have risen to the highest heights but he had a really sharp decline (wow it sounds like I'm describing a HoFer on the main boards). Looking back I also don't think his movies have aged as well, but maybe we will be saying the same about Will Ferrell in a few years.

Tina Fey is way up there as well, but she was never really a movie star compared to someone like Ferrell

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Murphy for biggest peak but Murray for total career and longevity.

 

[McGarnagle]

Adam Sandler probably has made the most money of anyone, followed by Murphy and Murray. But Eddie Murphy probably had the highest peak.

The two seasons minimum rules out Chevy Chase, who deuced after a year and a half.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a case here as well.

 

[SepticFish]

I was curious to see who actually has the biggest box office total and started looking up some of the big names. It gets a little tricky if you want to count minor roles and cameos, but either way, Eddie Murphy is still number 1 thanks to the Shrek films. He totals 6.6 billion as a lead actor and 7.2 for all appearances. Sandler would be #2 as a lead actor. If you count all appearances, Will Ferrell would jump up to 2 with Bill Murray 3 and Sandler 4th.

 

[Babe Ruth]

My opinion: Eddie Murphy.. Will Farrell.. then I'd add Mike Myers. And I think Myers' stuff is very cemented to the 9os so it won't age as timeless/well.
But between Austin Powers & Wayne's World, he was huge for about a decade.

 

[VMBM]

Off-topic, but I find Eddie Murphy to be a strange dude; somehow totally passionless, seems to be doing what he does only for money — or that's the impression I've gotten when listening to his interviews etc. Maybe that's why a lot of his work hasn't aged so well, and there have been many quieter years in his career. What a start for his movie career, though; Trading Places and the first Beverly Hills Cop especially. Of course he had quite a (commercial) resurrection with the Nutty Professor films in the late 1990s/early 2000s, but since I'm not a big fan of fart/poop humour, it's hard to appreciate those.

I'd agree that he had the biggest peak of them all, although John Belushi wasn't probably far off. Eddie Murphy is also one of those strange guys (along with e.g. Tom Cruise) who don't seem to age much, looks-wise.

 

[EpochLink]

Julia Louis-Dreyfus should be up there with the likes of Bill Murray, Edie Murphy, Will Ferrell.

 

[archangel2]

I was curious to see who actually has the biggest box office total and started looking up some of the big names. It gets a little tricky if you want to count minor roles and cameos, but either way, Eddie Murphy is still number 1 thanks to the Shrek films. He totals 6.6 billion as a lead actor and 7.2 for all appearances. Sandler would be #2 as a lead actor. If you count all appearances, Will Ferrell would jump up to 2 with Bill Murray 3 and Sandler 4th.

the problem by going off of box office is the fact in the 80/90's tickets were pretty much half the price.

Top Lifetime Adjusted Grosses

www.boxofficemojo.com

To give some idea of prices vs tickets sold 2020 report

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Gotta be Bill Murray or Will Ferrell.

 

[DaaaaB's]

I was curious to see who actually has the biggest box office total and started looking up some of the big names. It gets a little tricky if you want to count minor roles and cameos, but either way, Eddie Murphy is still number 1 thanks to the Shrek films. He totals 6.6 billion as a lead actor and 7.2 for all appearances. Sandler would be #2 as a lead actor. If you count all appearances, Will Ferrell would jump up to 2 with Bill Murray 3 and Sandler 4th.

I don't think many people watched Shrek because of Eddie Murphy.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Off-topic, but I find Eddie Murphy to be a strange dude.
I'd agree that he had the biggest peak of them all, although John Belushi wasn't probably far off. Eddie Murphy is also one of those strange guys (along with e.g. Tom Cruise) who don't seem to age much, looks-wise.

Good post.
I concur with you, Murphy is probably the most famous SNL alum, and my gut instinct on Murphy (the human being) is probably similar to yours.

But I actually think Mike Myers had the single highest peak of popularity, with Austin Powers. Murphy's fame has been a much longer, steadier burn tho.
The (anecdotal) reason I submit Myers.. I was working in a beach town the summer the second Austin Powers dropped ('99 I think). And there was Myers sh*t everywhere, in every tourist trap. Dr Evil shirts, Powers shirts, everyone was doing mini Me impressions, finger to the corner of their mouths etc. Myers was huge. And I do remember the fame of Axel F, etc.. but never seemed as rampant as the Austin Powers stuff for a summer or two.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I honestly forgot about Myers (I think because so much of his financial success is voice work and heavily disguised/makeup).

My argument for Murray is that he's kinda done it all. Inflation adjusted, Ghostbusters is the biggest movie staring an SNL alum. (Not counting Downey Jr. who as was already acknowledged technically counts but no one really regards him as such). He's got at least another 2-3 Hall of Fame comedies that were big hits (Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, maybe Stripes depending on your feelings). Money-wise he also is in several of the Ghostbusters sequels, Charlie's Angels and Space Jam. None of which are great, but all of which made some money.

He's got an Oscar nomination for Lost in Translation and was a very strong contender a few other times (Broken Flowers, Rushmore). He's certainly a respected actor if not for full-blown drama, but at least for a fair amount of sad-comic-drama roles.

He's also an ace supporting player memorably popping up in everything from Tootsie to Ed Wood to Wild Things to Zombieland to Little Shop of Horrors to nearly all of Wes Anderson's movies.

On top of all this, he's pretty much always been a relevant person from SNL to today. There have been small lulls, but he's never really gone away and he's never gone that long between financial and/or critical hits.

I think Murray has measurable success but also longevity and respect.

You could make similar arguments for Sandler and to a lesser extent Ferrell. The catch I see with Sandler is that while his comedy was/is(?) popular, I don't know that it's ever been respected. Though his occasional dramatic work is on par with if not better than Murray's. Ferrell's best comedies are definitely more respected than Sandler's, but he doesn't really do any drama. Lately he seems to be happy in that Murray-esque "I'm just going to pop up in this supporting role for 10 minutes" sorta mode.

Julia Louis Dreyfus is a good call too. She's probably on the Mount Rushmore of TV for the last 30 years or so. But she doesn't have that much of a movie career to speak of (though she's great in her ongoing work with Nicole Holofcener and I guess TBD on her ongoing MCU role.)

 

[McGarnagle]

What about accomplished comedian Chris Kattan, whose works have been called by critics everything from shit to f***ing shit?

 

[VMBM]

Adam Sandler has been mentioned. I haven't studied any figures, but somehow I've got an impression that he is/was more of a superstar in America rather than universally, unlike Murphy and some others. I think some of his movies did well in Europe too, but I never got the feeling that he was a massive star here. Could be wrong, though.

 

[Raging Bull]

What about accomplished comedian Chris Kattan, whose works have been called by critics everything from shit to f***ing shit?

Explain to the folks at home who Chris Kattan is.

 

[McGarnagle]

Explain to the folks at home who Chris Kattan is.

Nah, he's a good guy

 

[#37]

Sadly, I think the answer is Jimmy Fallon. I know... I know... I know. I 'never' got him and just assumed he was someone's nephew. How he has a career is amazing to me. However, being the host of the Tonight Show has a certain gravitas to it.

 

[DaaaaB's]

Sadly, I think the answer is Jimmy Fallon. I know... I know... I know. I 'never' got him and just assumed he was someone's nephew. How he has a career is amazing to me. However, being the host of the Tonight Show has a certain gravitas to it.

He basically became a talk show host because he failed as a movie star. I don't think he's even in the conversation.

 

[End on a Hinote]

I have added 2 seasons to the question as Robert Downey Jr did one year and has been reportedly voted the worst cast member of all time and even he plays down his time on the show.

So removing RDJ from the question. Who is the biggest star to come out of SNL? We are at nearly 50 years and lots of people have come and gone via the show.

I watched some SNL skits on YT during the RDJ and Anthony Michael Hall stint. Ho boy, were they bad. Hard to believe there were seasons worse than the ones today, especially during the golden area of 80's comedy.

I'd say Will Ferrell has got to be the most successful post-SNL career.

Also, how about Keenen Thompson being the most successful PRE-SNL career?

 

[Rpenny]

I watched some SNL skits on YT during the RDJ and Anthony Michael Hall stint. Ho boy, were they bad. Hard to believe there were seasons worse than the ones today, especially during the golden area of 80's comedy.

I'd say Will Ferrell has got to be the most successful post-SNL career.

Also, how about Keenen Thompson being the most successful PRE-SNL career?

as he enters his 21st year on the show? now that is nuts

 

[Neutrinos]

Murphy for biggest peak but Murray for total career and longevity.

After Groundhog Day, Murray wasn't really starring in a lot of roles as a leading man though

Murphy's been getting top billing for over 4 decades now