Funniest actors

that appeared on

Saturday Night

Live

Funniest actors that

appeared on Saturday

Night Live

Published at Petitcodiac Regional School

June 2016

Contents

Introduction: The show goes on

#5 – Bill Murray

#4 – Will Ferrell

#3 – Adam Sandler

#2 – Eddie Murphy

#1 – Mike Myers

I Thought…

What do you think?

. . .

Television shows, a topic which a lot of us are well aware of,

have been around for a little while. They make their money

off of commercials that pay the television company to show

them on their channel. After that, you the consumer go

ahead and buy the product that is being advertised. Since

that system is working so well, it looks as if there is no end

in sight.

Today, we will be talking about one particular show,

Saturday Night Live. Saturday Night Live first premiered on

television in 1975 and is still going strong. What makes it

different from other shows is the cast. You see, Saturday

Night Live doesn’t really have a plot that is set in stone.

What it does have is a bunch of actors who perform live

funny skits. Over the years, the show has had a huge variety

of cast members who often end up with giant acting

careers.

You, as the reader, are especially lucky. Because on this very

day, I will be answering the question of a generation…

Who are the funniest actors that appeared on Saturday Night Live

Bill Murray

Full name: William James Murray Birth date: September 21st, 1950 Birth place: Evanston, Illonios, United States

Bill Murray, an actor you can rely on when you want a

guaranteed good movie. His sarcastic humor is both

funny and child friendly. He is also the oldest actor on

my list and is popular for movies like “Ghostbusters”

and “Groundhog Day”.

5

Topic

Bill Murray was arrested on his 20th birthday for attempting to smuggle ten pounds of cannabis on an airport.

Quick Fact

In the beginning

Bill Murray Grew up with three sisters

and five brothers, three of which who

are also actors. As a teenager, Bill

worked as a golf caddy to help pay of

his education. He then decided to take

a pre-medical course at Regis

University in Denver which he later

dropped out of.

On SNL

Bill Murray was on Saturday Night Live

from 1977 and stayed for little while

until 1980. During his brief time on the

show, Bill was in a relationship with

former cast member Gilda Radner.

Movies

Being around for a long time, Bill Murray

as starred in some good films along the

way. As mentioned before, some of his

most popular films are “Ghostbusters”

and “Groundhog day”. My personal

favourite is “What about Bob”. Bill also

does voice acting playing the voice of

the famous feline Garfield and Baloo in

2016’s new “Jungle book”.

# 4 3 2 1

Bill is one of the co-

founders of the “Murray

Bros Caddyshack”, a

restaurant located in

Florida formed by him and

his five brothers.

Will Ferrell

Full name: John William Ferrell Birth date: July 16th, 1967 Birth place: Irvine, Calefornia, United States

Will Ferrell, arguably the funniest actor in the eyes

of many. I am really glad to have included him on

my list as he is a very popular actor nowadays. He

has been quite the comedian his whole life as he

was the “class clown” growing up. He has been in so

many hilarious films but some personal favourites

are definitely “Anchor Man” and “Step Brother”.

Keep reading to find out more.

4

Topic

Will Ferrell received a star on the Hollywood

walk of fame in March 26th, 2015.

Take Note

In the beginning

Will Ferrell parents divorced when he

was only 8, but that didn’t stop him

from being a bright, funny individual.

Growing up as the class clown he

thought of grade 3 as a “pivot year”

because he had found out that he

could make his classmates laugh by

pretending to trip and bash his head.

He continued these shenanigans all

the way to college in Irvine where he

was known for pranks and streaking.

On Snl

Before becoming the famous actor he

is now, Will Ferrell was originally a

member of the comedy improve group

“The Groundlings”, which wasn’t very

successful. Luckily for Will, Saturday

Night Live was also struggling at this

time due to lack of actors. Desperate to

find more cast members, they invited

some of “The Groundlings” members

[including Will] to join their show. And

they were glad they did. Will Ferrell

joined SNL in 1995 and was a huge hit

until finally leaving in 2002.

Movies

While Will Ferrell was in a lot of

movies here are some which were

exceptionally great. “Anchorman”,

“Daddy’s Home”, “Step Brothers”,

“Elf”, and “The Other Guys”. He also

played the voice of the blue villain

Megamind.

# 5 3 2 1

In 2007, Will Ferrell and his good friend Adam McKay

started “Funny Or Die”, a website where you can go on

and post or rate funny clips or pictures. It was so

popular, it was converted into a card game.

Adam Sandler

Full name: Adam Richard Sandler Birth date: September 9th, 1966 Birth place: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Adam Sandler, some people may call him immature

and say he needs to grow up, but he’s a hilarious

actor nonetheless. He started his career young with

some classics like “Billy Madison” and “Happy

Gilmore” and is still starring in great films like

“Pixels” and “Blended”. What makes him different

from the other actors on my list is that he also

produces his on movies. And that is why he

deserves the number three spot on my list.

3

Topic

Adam Sandler is currently in a four movie contract with Netflix, The first two movies were

“The Ridiculous Six” and “The Do-Over”.

Quick Fact

In the beginning

Adam Sandler is of Russian

dependence and grew up with his

parents and Brother Scott. He

attended high school in Manchester.

His comedy career all began due to

encouragement from his brother who

urged him on to the stage of a

comedy club. He never turned back

ever since.

On SNL

Adam Sandler was recommended to

Saturday Night Live by fellow comedian

Dennis Miller after witnessing one of

Adam’s comedy acts. Adam Sandler

was first hired as a writer for the show

in 1990, and the following year was

featured on the SNL playing guitar. In

1995, Adam Sandler was fired from

Saturday Night Live.

Movies

Again, this actor has a lot of

outstanding films, but here are a few.

“The Water boy”, “Ridiculous six”,

“Billy Madison” and “Happy Gilmore”.

# 5 4 2 1

As stated previously, Adam Sandler has his own production

company, “Happy Madison Productions”. He formed said

company in 1999 and it produced the majority of his films

since. The company also produces lots of movies starring

actors like Rob Schneider, David Spade and Kevin James.

Eddie Murphy

Full name: Edward Regan Murphy Birth date: April 3rd, 1961 Birth place: New York City, United States

Eddie Murphy is a natural born comedian, and he’s

not afraid to let anybody know. He demonstrates

this in his movies whether he’s playing a witty cop

from Beverly Hills or a very talkative donkey. But is

that enough to give him my number two spot, see

for yourself.

2

Topic

Did you know that Eddie Murphy is the 5th top

paid actor in the United States?

In the beginning

Eddie Murphy’s father, Charles

Edward Murphy died at a young age

and his mother became very ill.

Because of this, Eddie and his brother

were forced to spend a year in foster

care where he developed his sense of

humor.

On SNL

In 1980, Eddie Murphy joined the cast

of Saturday Night Live. In 1984, he

retired from the show, but he played

many characters along the way such as

Gumpy and Mr. Robinson.

Movies

Some of Eddie Murphy’s best movies

are the “Beverly Hills Cop” trilogy, “A

Thousand Words” and as the voice of

Donkey in DreamWorks “Shrek”.

# 5 4 3 1

Like many comedic actors, Eddie

Murphy is also a stand-up

comedian.

Mike Myers

Full name: Micheal John Myers Birth date: May 25th, 1963 Birth place: Scarbourogh, Ontario, Canada

Mike Myers is definitely the funniest actor from

Saturday Night Live. You might know him from the

Austin Powers trilogy, as the partying rocker Wayne

Campbell or even the voice of a Scottish ogre. Mike

has been acting since the age of 2 when he did his

first commercial but it wasn’t until the 90’s when

his career really took off. If you are interested to

find out more about this legend of the comedy

genre and want to know why he made my number

one spot, keep reading…

1

1

Topic

Mike Myers wrote the entire script for the Austin Powers series and by the end of it all, he

played four different characters in the films. Now that’s talent.

Quick Fact

Did you know that Mike Myers holds citizenship to both Britain and the United States?

In the beginning

Although Mike Myers was born in

Canada, both of his parents were

English born. Mike Myers has had

some experience with acting as he

was in commercials since such a

young age. At ten years old, Mike was

in a commercial for British Colombia

Hydro with actress Gilda Radner

playing his mother. A few months

later, Gilda was on a show called

Saturday Night Live. Mike pledged

that one day, he’d be on that very

show.

On SNL

Mike Myers stuck true to his and in

1989, he first appeared on Saturday

Night Live. Mike played several

different characters during his time on

the show, but his undoubtedly most

famous one was the partying rocker

Wayne Campbell who had his own

show filmed in his basement called

“Wayne’s world”. This was so popular

that it had its own film that shared the

same name released in 1991.

Unfortunately, all good things must

come to an end. And in 1995, Mike

Myers retired from Saturday Night Live.

Movies

While Mike Myers didn’t play in a lot

of movies, he sure did have his share

of good ones. The Austin Powers

trilogy and both of the Wayne’s world

films are great examples. He is also

the voice of everyone’s favourite ogre,

Shrek.

# 5 4 3 2

Here are the criteria I used in ranking the funniest actors from Saturday Night Live The actor:

Played some of the most memorable and likable comedic roles. Made an impact on comedy. Experimented. Was just as funny off screen.

I thought…

1. Do you agree with my ranking? If you don’t, try ranking them yourself. Justify your ranking with data. You may use my criteria or you may use your own. 2. Here are other actors I considered: Ben Stiller, Rob Schneider and Chris Rock. Find out more about them. Should they have made my list? Are there others that should be considered?

What do you think?