It’s been nearly 50 years since the first episode of Saturday Night Live aired. Originally titled Saturday Night on NBC, SNL first aired on October 11, 1975, and has remained the gold standard in sketch comedy on television ever since.
Seven actors played the entire first season. They became known as “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” and are immortalized in Jason Reitman’s new film “Saturday Night,” which tells the story of the minutes leading up to the show’s first episode. left behind the name.
In honor of the new movie and SNL’s 50th season, see what the original cast has been up to since appearing on the show.
chevy chase
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Chevy Chase, the first cast member to host Weekend Update, returned to SNL for the second season, but left midway through. Although Chase’s time on the show was short, he won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 1976 for outstanding acting and outstanding writing. Chase returned as host of the show eight times between 1978 and 1997.
Chase, now 80 years old, continued his acting career in both television and film after SNL ended. On the big screen, he appeared in Foul Play (1978), Caddyshack (1980), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989). His most notable role on the small screen was as Pierce Hawthorne on the 2010s NBC sitcom Community.
While working on the 1981 film Under the Rainbow, Chase met production assistant Jani Luke. After dating for two years, the two married in June 1982. This year, the couple celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary on Instagram.
The Three Amigos star became a grandfather in August when his daughter Emily gave birth to his first child.
jane curtin
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Jane Curtin stayed on SNL for five seasons until 1980, taking over as host of Weekend Update after Chase left in season two. Her iconic characters include Enid Loopner and Primato Conehead, a role she later reprized in the 1993 film Coneheads.
Curtin, now 77, co-starred with Susan St. James in the CBS comedy Kate & Allie after her departure. The show ran for six seasons from 1984 to 1989. Curtin, who played Allie Lowell, won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1984 and 1985, and was nominated again in 1987.
Her television career continued with the hit show “Third Rock from the Sun.” From 1996 to 2001, she starred as Dr. Mary Albright alongside John Lithgow, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, French Stewart, and Kristen Johnston.
In 1975, Curtin married producer Patrick Lynch. They have one daughter, Tess Curtin Lynch.
Garrett Morris
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Garrett Morris, who was musically trained at the Juilliard School, spent years on Broadway before being scouted by Lorne Michaels to join SNL, becoming the show’s first black cast member. He left in 1980 after five seasons.
“Some producers didn’t want a black cast, but Lorne Michaels knew he needed a black cast on the show,” Morris told PEOPLE earlier this year. “I dealt with some racism there, but never with Roan. There’s no racist element in his body.”
Morris, now 87, was addicted to cocaine both during and after his SNL appearance. Morris told PEOPLE in February 2024 that he got sober and stopped using drugs after going to Alcoholics Anonymous 10 years ago.
After SNL, Morris’ acting career included appearances on The Jeffersons, The Martins, and The Jamie Foxx Show, among others. Most recently, he played Williamsburg diner cashier Earl Washington in 2 Broke Girls.
Earlier this year, Morris was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame on his 87th birthday.
Laraine Newman
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Laraine Newman left SNL after five seasons. Some of her famous characters include Connie Conehead and Valley Girl.
After SNL, Newman went on to have an extensive career as a voice actor, appearing in film and television roles such as “Hysteria!,” “Madagascar,” “As the Ginger Tells,” “Dawn of the Croods,” and “Doc McStuffin.” I appeared on the program.
Newman, now 72, married actor Chad Einbinder in 1991. They broke up in 2015. They have two children, actor Spike and Hannah Einbinder.
Newman was in the news after winning this year’s Emmy Awards.
“Bear!” After Liza Colon-Zayas won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for “The Bear,” she said, I wrote this in a post to X. Newman’s daughter Hannah was also nominated in this category for her role in Hux.
Dan Aykroyd
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Dan Aykroyd, who played Elwood, is best known for playing one half of the Blues Brothers. Aykroyd was a member of the SNL cast for four seasons. In 1977, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for his work on the show.
After SNL, Aykroyd reprized his most popular characters in the 1980 films The Blues Brothers and 1993’s Coneheads, but his most notable roles were in Ghostbusters (1984) and It could be Dr. Raymond Stantz in the subsequent sequel. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and was heartbroken for 1991’s My Girl. Most recently, he reunited with former castmate Chevy Chase in Zombie Town (2023).
In 1983, Aykroyd, now 72, married his Twilight Zone co-star Donna Dixon. After almost 40 years, the couple announced their separation. They have three daughters, Danielle (known professionally as singer-songwriter Bella Sola), Belle, and Stella.
John Belushi
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During John Belushi’s four seasons on SNL, he starred in some of the show’s most iconic roles, including Olympia Restaurant’s “Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger” owner Captain Kirk, Samurai Futaba, and of course Bruce’s “Joliet” Jake Bruce. succeeded in creating a unique character. Brothers.
After appearing on the show, he appeared in National Lampoon’s 1978 film Animal House and the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Belushi was addicted to cocaine for most of his career. In 1982, he died of an apparent drug overdose. It was a shock to family, friends, and former co-stars.
Belushi’s widow, Judy, told PEOPLE in 2020 that “John was always a guy who went a little too far and wanted to stay too long at parties.” medicine. People began to worry. ” (Judy passed away in 2024.)
“He was one of the most inherently funny men I ever knew,” said co-star Chevy Chase in Belushi’s New York Times obituary. “I consider myself lucky to have known him.”
“I miss him,” Aykroyd told PEOPLE in 2024. “It’s not just melancholy, it’s real mourning.”
gilda radner
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For five seasons, Gilda Lasner entertained viewers with iconic characters such as Emily Litera, Roseanne Rosannadanna, Bubba Wawa, and Lisa Loopner. Her work on the show won her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in 1978.
Radner left the show in 1980 to pursue acting in movies. At the time, she was married to SNL bandleader GE Smith. In 1982, Radner co-starred with her future husband, the late Gene Wilder, in Hanky Panky. The two married in 1984 and co-starred in two more films, Red in Red (1984) and Haunted Honeymoon (1986).
“Gilda was one of the most generous, caring, and creative people I’ve ever met,” Wilder said in the documentary Memories of Gene Wilder. “It was wonderful to be with Gilda most of the time. She was very strong-willed and yet very vulnerable.”
Shortly after the couple married, Radner’s health began to decline. After several misdiagnoses, doctors discovered in October 1986 that Ms. Radner had Stage IV ovarian cancer. After nine rounds of chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments, Radner died on May 20, 1989 at the age of 42.
After Radner’s death, Wilder helped establish the Gilda Radner Hereditary Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Also in 1995, she founded Gilda’s Club, a center in New York City where cancer patients and their families can find support. In 2000, the club expanded worldwide and in 2009 merged with Wellness Community to form Cancer Support Community.
