Andy Samberg - Who has he been on SNL longer than?

So Andy Samberg has been on SNL for 4 seasons now. (One way to know is to check how many episodes of Laser Cats have been made.)

And Andy's starting his fifth season. (No announcements of cast cuts or retirements have come for this next year.)

So we were wondering, how does Andy stack up against the other greats? Who has Andy been on SNL longer than? (This is not the full list; it's just a list of people I find interesting.)



Andy Samberg - 73 episodes (05-09)

Has been on SNL longer than...



o Joe Piscopo - 72 episodes (80-84) - He was #2 when Murphy was on.



o Kristen Wiig - 69 episodes (05-09)



o Eddie Murphy - 69 episodes (80-84) - So popular that he hosted SNL while in the cast.



o Mark McKinney - 69 episodes (85-97) - He was in "Kids in the Hall" before this.



o Lorne Michaels - 66 episodes (75-09) - Creator; he always plays himself. He also offered the Beattles $3,000 to reunite on SNL.



o Chris Rock - 64 episodes (90-07) - Includes more recent appearances.



o Jim Breur - 60 episodes (95-98) - Goat Boy and the Joe Pesci Show



o Julia Louis-Dreyfus - 59 episodes (82-07) - On with Murphy. Later did "Seinfeld" and "New Adv of Old Christine."



o Jack Handey - 59 episodes (91-02) - Usually just narrating his "Deep Thoughts" segments.



o Paula Pell - 59 episodes (95-09) - A staff writer; she usually plays an audience member. She was the older co-worker in Andy's "Like a Boss."



o Brian Doyle-Murray - 52 episodes (78-82) - Bill's brother. He is best known as the Noah's Arcade owner in "Wayne's World" and Zac Efron's spirit guide in the recent "17 Again."



o Chevy Chase - 50 episodes (75-07) - Left after the first season. He started Weekend Update. On the show, he was best known for his random retorts, silliness, and prat falls (like falling down stairs). He went on to do "Fletch," "Caddy Shack," "Three Amigos," and the "Vacation" movies. He was the first SNL "superstar." Later followed by Eddie Murphy, Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell.



o Paul Schaffer - 49 episodes (75-87) - Best known for going on and being the band leader for David Letterman. He was the SNL band leader, and when Lorne needed new talent to fill in gaps, he temorarily brought up his writers and band director to meet the need.



o Don Novello - 40 episodes (78-95) - Best known as the priest character. He was one of the writers who got pulled into the cast for a bit.



o Jay Mohr - 39 episodes (93-95) - He continued on successfully. He's best known for "Jerry Maguire," "Picture Perfect," "Go," "Are We There Yet?" "Ghost Whisperer," and headlining "Gary Unmarried." He also has continued his standup successfully and hosted "Last Comic Standing."



o Harry Shearer - 38 episodes (79-85) - Best known for "The Simpsons" (Skinner, Burns, Ned) and the great Christopher Guest films (This is Spinal Tap, etc.). He met Guest (and other collabers, McKean, Billy Crystal, etc.) at SNL. In 1953, he played a boy in an Abbott and Costello flick.



o James Belushi - 34 episodes (83-03) - Another cast member brother, his older brother is the late John Belushi (and original SNL member). He is best known for the K-9 films and the sitcom, "According to Jim." I also loved him in "Mr. Destiny," "Joe Somebody," and "Jingle All the Way." He does a lot of voices and supporting acting.



o Michael McKean - 28 episodes (84-95) - Also in a lot of Christopher Guest films.



o Billy Crystal - 22 episodes (76-85) - Only in the cast for one season, Billy is unique because he was a famous comedian who came on SNL to do guest bits. He liked it so much that he joined the cast for a season. He's the only cast member to join the cast after already being a famous stand-up comedian. He's known for "City Slickers," "Princess Bride," "Monsters, Inc." and other stuff. =^)



o Steve Martin - 22 episodes (76-09) - The person who has been on the show the most without ever being a cast member or regularly involved (mostly just hosting and guest appearances). He's currently known for "The Pink Panther," "Bring Down the House," "Father of the Bride," and "Cheaper by the Dozen." But my favorite works of his were "Three Amigos" (which he wrote), "The Jerk" (he also wrote), and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." There's also a hilarious suicide sequence in "The Lonely Guy." Also, check out his early SNL appearances from 76-80. You'll die laughing; he was so funny. He's not quite as funny now, but it's not as noticeable of a difference as it is with Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and others.



o Martin Short - 22 episodes (84-06) - He was actually in the sketch show "SCTV" before joining SNL (also in SCTV, were Eugene Levy, John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Dave Thomas). He went on to do "Three Amigos," "Ed Grimley Show" (I loved that cartoon; based on an SNL character), "Innerspace," "Father of the Bride," and "Primetime Glick." He also did a lot of voices.



o Chris Elliott - 20 episodes (94-95) - Father of current cast member, Abby Elliott. The only former cast member to have a child who also became a cast member on SNL. He's been doing a lot of support acting.



o David Koechner - 20 episodes (95-96) - I loved his gay Fagan character he did on SNL with Mark McKinney. He's been a strong supporting actor in "Talladega Nights," "Get Smart," and more.



o Conan O'Brien - 20 episodes (88-06) - He went on to host a TV show. =^)



o John Goodman - 20 episodes (89-01) - He hasn't hosted as much as Martin or Baldwin, but his guest appearances have added up (including 7 episodes as Linda Tripp)! Best known for "Roseanne," "Raising Arizona," "Arachniphobia," "King Ralph," live-action "Flinstones," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Emperor's New Groove," "Monsters, Inc.," and "Speed Racer."



o Robert Downey Jr. - 19 episodes (85-96) - Lorne wanted to get some name talent while he tried to build up a team of fresh comedians that could rival his team from 1978-1980. So he brought in C-list comedy actors, including Robert Downy Jr., who was in "Weird Science" and a string of other films (Lorne also brought in Mark McKinney (from "Kids in the Hall"), Joan Cusack, Anthony Michael Hall ("Vacation," "Sixteen Candles," "Breakfast Club," and "Weird Science"), and Randy Quaid). Robert only lasted one season, and he went on to be awesome. He was in "Back to School," "Johnny Be Good," "Air America," "Chaplin," "Heart and Souls," "U.S. Marshals," "Ally McBeal," "The Shaggy Dog," "Tropic Thunder," and a few small series called "Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes." He's famous for his drug issues, but he is truly the comeback king.



o Christopher Guest - 19 episodes (84-85) - Best known for his mockumentaries like "This is Spinal Tap," "Dog Show," and "The Mighty Wind."



o Randy Quaid - 19 episodes (85-91) - Also brought on for one season to fill the gap (along with Downey Jr.), Randy's best work was "Christmas Vacation" and "Independence Day." His brother, Dennis, has become very famous (what with "G.I. Joe").



o Sarah Silverman - 19 episodes (93-94) - She wasn't quite as disgusting back then. =^)



o Joan Cusack - 18 episodes (85-86) - Also brought on as a young, established actress. She was on for one season. I loved her in "Gross Pointe Blank" and "School of Rock." Also in "Working Girl," "Toy Story 2," etc.



o Jorma Taccone - 17 episodes (05-09) - As a writer, Jorma has appeared a lot in skits and digital shorts. The biggest early role was in "Ariel and Efrim," and the most recent one was in "Like a Boss." His other large recent roles were in "J*** in My Pants" and "On a Boat." Look below to see who Jorma has been on SNL more than!



o Anthony Michael Hall - 16 episodes (85-86) - Also a name actor brought on for one year, Anthony did these films before Lorne brought him onto SNL: "Vacation," "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," and "Weird Science." He went on to do "Johnny Be Good," "Edward Scissorhands," a lot of supporting roles to pay the rent, "Pirates of Silicon Valley" (he plays Bill Gates masterfully), "The Dead Zone," and "The Dark Knight." Do another John Hughes film! =^)



o Peter Aykroyd - 16 episodes (79-80) - The third brother to appear on SNL. The other two are Brian-Doyle Murray and Jim Belushi (Jim's the only one to become more famous than the older brother who helped get him on there).



o Andy Kaufman - 16 episodes (75-83) - Best known for Taxi and wrestling, Andy made 16 guest appearances on SNL before the viewers kicked him off (Lorne held a poll). People just hated him so much from his villanous wrestling character. Andy loved to be a villain.



o Abby Elliott - 15 episodes (08-09) - Her Angelina Jolie impression is smoking (especially the babies bit with Wiig's Madonna). She's the only 2nd generation SNL player, and she confirmed that she's coming back this next year. In 5 more episodes, she'll pass her father's legacy.



o Steve Carell - 15 episodes (96-08) - An honorary cast member, he plays Gary in the "The Ambiguously Gay Duo."



o Janeane Garofalo - 14 episodes (94-95) - Hilariously enough, Ben Stiller left SNL to eventually do his own sketch show, The Ben Stiller Show, of which Janeane was a cast member. Then the show got canceled and she later became a cast member on SNL. She has been in "The Larry Sanders Show," "Mystery Men," "Felicity," "West Wing," and "24."



o Jim Henson - 13 episodes (75-76) - That's right. Lorne experimented with muppets for a season.



o Gilbert Gottfried - 13 episodes (80-98) - Best known as Iago in "Aladdin," he was featured on SNL for a year.



o Damon Wayans - 13 episodes (85-95) - Also featured on SNL for a year. He left to eventually do "In Living Color," "The Last Boy Scout," "Bulletproof," and "My Wife and Kids." His career stalled before and after the latter TV show. Let's hope he can get things going (like his brother Marlon). Note that Chris Rock appeared on In Living Color (ILC) after doing SNL, and that Ellen Cleghorne left ILC to do SNL. The Wayans brothers all became famous, but the two who benefited the most from ILC were Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx. Damon did his popular homeless and thief characters on SNL before he did them on ILC (check out the pic above where he's doing it with Anthony Michael Hall in the Jones Brothers commercial).



o Frank Oz - 12 episodes (75-76) - Where Henson is, Yoda follows. In the pic above, the one on the right looks like Alf. =^)



o Bob Odenkirk - 11 episodes (88-91) - Like Ben, he did the "Ben Stiller Show" after SNL, and he also went on to do the "Larry Sanders Show," "Mr. Show with Bob and David," etc.



o Adam McKay - 11 episodes (95-01) - Will Ferrell's partner, Adam was a writer and director on SNL. He also branded his own SNL digital shorts long before TLI did. He directed "Anchorman," "Talladega Nights," "The Landlord" (that Will Ferrel viral video with Adam's daughter playing the landlord), "Step Brothers," and soon "The Other Guys."



o Justin Timberlake - 8 episodes (02-09) - Keep him coming! He's hilarious on the show! Also, Lorne unofficially offered him a cast member position.



o Ben Stiller - 7 episodes (87-00) - Ben was featured for one season. He's known for "Happy Gilmore," "There's Something About Mary," "Meet the Parents," "Zoolander," "Dodgeball," "Madagascar," "Night at the Museum," "Tropic Thunder," and the coming flicks, "Oobermind," "Little Fockers," and "The Hardy Men." Can't wait!


That's about it. I mostly wanted to get the people who were actually involved in the production of the show, but who Andy has been on longer than. Maybe sometime we'll do the list of cast members who Andy has not been on longer than (but he still might be in the future).

Enjoy!