Eddie Murphy.For awhile he could do no wrong. The others are either mega talented OR mega popular. Murphy was both.....with Rock Star magnetism. The fact that he is a Dud magnet is one of Cinema's greatest mysteries . Maybe he should do a movie with Murray . Bowfinger with Steve Martin was pretty good.

He was also one of the top "play makers" on SNL -- one of the cast members that raises the level of any sketch he or she appears in. It could be an awful, awful sketch, but it's vastly improved just from that actor's presence there.

Hanzo's Top Ten Cast Members

(Bearing in mind I haven't seen much SNL pre-1990)

10. Adam Sandlr
9. Cheri Oteri
8. Kevin Nealon
7. Darrell Hammond
6. Norm MacDonald
5. Phil Hartman
4. Dana Carvey
3. Will Ferrell
2. Mike Myers
1. Chris Farley

Nemo, you should do a "best SNL host ever" thread next!

Bill Murray would be the greatest star.

My personal favorite (judging from SNL appearances alone) is probably Ferrell.

Jim Breuer wasn't on long but he was always great as well.

Goat Boy?

And Pesci and Stoner Talk Show Host.... that guy never failed to crack me up. He comes on Howard Stern and tells great stories, his impressions of Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, Norm MacDonald and others are spot on.

Will Forte was consistently great, if a little too cartoony.

I wonder if this is the only skit where every single member of the cast has a speaking line?

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1590/saturday ... ime-travel

Eddie Murphy. Even if his most recent comedies have bombed, he's still part of the hugely successful Shrek series--along with Mike Myers, of course.

I have to go with Belushi. He had so much raw talent (and tragically wasted it). When I think of SNL, it's all of his characters and performances that come to mind.

I have plenty of personal favorites, including Phil Hartman, but there was a time when Murphy WAS SNL, and then left to become the top box office draw. We've had SNL members become the focus of the show, but not to the point that Murphy was. And plenty have had success in Hollywood, but none were #1 like Eddie Murphy.

I wonder how much of his noteriety he owes to the night they did the whole show with Nightline interruptions announcing Buckwheat was shot, dead, not dead, dead, etc. From my personal point of view, that is what made him stand out from the rest (in terms of recognition and name remembrance, not talent which he had far ahead of the rest of the cast).
But what do I know? I liked Pluto Nash.