The ground-breaking variety show Saturday Night Live first premiered on October 11, 1975, and in the 50 years since, it's featured many hosts, cast members, and musical guests throughout its nearly 1,000 episodes. Because of this, many fans have found it fun to learn about SNL firsts and other records. Who was the oldest host? Who was the first cast member to quit? What record does Alec Baldwin have the distinction of breaking? While we can debate all day which year had the best cast or what sketch is the absolute funniest, below are the undisputed facts about who came first, who stayed the longest, and everything in between.
Gilda Radner was the first member that Lorne Michaels hired.
Kenan Thompson has been part of the cast since 2003. Of his experience, he has said:
Being there a long time, you watch people come and go. So you have to deal with the parting of friendships, that kind of thing. The mourning of the loss of certain people’s presence and all that. So there’s a lot of bittersweet to it.
Laurie Metcalf only appeared in one 1981 episode. She later said:
You know, it seems like a dream because it was so long ago and it was a whirlwind five days I spent in New York. I think it was my first trip to New York ever. I didn’t know anybody and I was put up in a hotel. They put me in a business suit and sent me out on the street with a little mini–camera crew. I was so out of my element; I had no idea what I was doing. But I know that I did it because there is proof, there is footage. When I see that, I realize I was very naïve and brave about it in a way. Like, Okay, you want me to do this? Okay, let’s go.
Leslie Jones was 47 when she joined the cast in 2014.
Anthony Michael Hall was only 17 when he joined the show in 1985. He said of his experience:
To be very honest and candid with you, it was not great - it was a shaky-legs season. I’m grateful for the experience, but I didn’t have a breakout season. I didn’t even have any breakout characters or anything like that.
First Cast Member To Be Born After 'SNL' Premiered: Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson was the first cast member to actually be younger than SNL. He was born in 1978, three years after SNL premiered.
