A pole: #1 female cast member of SNL (1 Viewer)

[Jayrod]

In light of the 50th Anniversary of SNL, I was wondering who the greatest female cast member of all time is? I actually have a fairly strong opinion I'll share eventually.

For debate purposes, limit it to their work on SNL.

This list was based on the IMDB top 10, so sorry if your choice wasn't listed. If you think it is someone not listed let us know.

So, who's the GOAT?

 

[ChiefD]

Gilda Radner

 

[Gally]

Gilda Radner

My choice as well.

 

[guru_007]

Kate McKinnon does it for me, humor wise.
Chloe Fineman, well she just does it for me.

 

[Drunken knight]

I think tina fey surpasses the field, especially with her writing. (I started watching in the 70's)

 

[B Maverick]

Voted Jane Curtain but would not argue with anyone saying Gilda. Just preferred Curtain.
Tina Fey would be third for me.

 

[simey]

Jan Hooks

 

[Don Quixote]

McKinnon for me. Jan Hooks would be #2. I’ve seen clips that I’ve enjoyed, but I’m too young to have watched Radner when she was on. I view Fey’s role as head writer as a different thing from her role as cast member.

 

[TripItUp]

Radner was before my time.

Wiig is awesome though and was an easy vote for me....and also might be the most talented and accomplished actor when all is said and done.

 

[TripItUp]

Chloe Fineman cracks me up too....she is an up and comer imho.

 

[zamboni]

Gilda Radner

My choice as well.

x3

IMO she has left the most lasting legacy from the characters/roles she played, and perhaps the most gifted among all the comediennes.

I didn't know until just now that she was married to SNL band guitarist G.E. Smith before she married Gene Wilder.

 

[Captain Cranks]

I don't usually find women to be funny, but McKinnon, Wiig, and Melissa McCarthy make me laugh routinely.

 

[Drunken knight]

I find a lot of the newer cast hit or miss.

Fey
Poehler
Rudolph
Radner
Curtain
Cheri oteri (though not on long)

Were very consistent

 

[SWC]

i have watched since it started and its fey and then pohler and mckinnon for me then wig then heidi gardner who is not even on this list i just honestly think the female comedians have been better in the last 25 years then the first take that to the bank brohans

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Gilda was the show's first female star and I don't think her work has been topped. Fey is a close second.

I like Wiig better in movies than on the show. Most of her recurring characters were over-the-top and annoying.

 

[Desert_Power]

I'm in the Mckinnon camp. I think she has a really wide range and her impressions are great.

 

[Jayrod]

Wiig is my pick. She cracks me up more consistently than the others.

McKinnon is up there for me, but just doesn't have a big enough body of work yet.

For Tina Fey, her Weekend Update work is fantastic, but I can't think of too many memorable characters she played outside of Sarah Palin.

 

[Grahamburn]

McKinnon slayed me Sunday night.

 

[Manster]

I went Poehier.......was kinda surprised I was the only one so far

 

[SWC]

I went Poehier.......was kinda surprised I was the only one so far

that is surprising take that to the bank bromigo

 

[Manster]

Also a little surprised Cheri Oteri didn't make the poll

 

[zamboni]

I went Poehier.......was kinda surprised I was the only one so far

I was the Poehler opposite.

 

[Desert_Power]

I went Poehier.......was kinda surprised I was the only one so far

I was the Poehler opposite.

Poehler? I hardly know her!

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

McKinnon as a cast member. Fey if you count full career/everything. Wiig if I'm just going for humor I enjoy most. Poehler might finish 2nd in all three categories.

 

[General Malaise]

Victoria Jackson was on SNL for 6 years......no love?

 

[Jayrod]

I used this list from IMDB...wanted to include 15, but the website only allowed 10 for 1 pole.

 

[Manster]

McKinnon as a cast member. Fey if you count full career/everything. Wiig if I'm just going for humor I enjoy most. Poehler might finish 2nd in all three categories.

I have SNL channel on my smart TV. They did a Poehier compilation. She just makes me laugh. All these gals one could make an argument for.

 

[Manster]

Wiig is my pick. She cracks me up more consistently than the others.

McKinnon is up there for me, but just doesn't have a big enough body of work yet.

For Tina Fey, her Weekend Update work is fantastic, but I can't think of too many memorable characters she played outside of Sarah Palin.

Check out Amy Poehler doing Palin rap on weekend update

 

[nirad3]

Wiig is my pick. She cracks me up more consistently than the others.

This is where I'm at...

 

[Leroy Hoard]

A lot of great choices, I like the previous mentioned Cheri Oteri & Victoria Jackson as value picks.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Lot of great talent there. Here's how I regard the top contenders:

• I recognize that Radner was great, but I was too young to watch the show when the original cast was on, and it's hard to develop the same emotional attachment through short clips
• Jan Hooks was amazing, but I wonder how much of my feelings for her (and Carvey and Hartmann) stem from Lorne Michaels' observation that everyone thinks the best SNL cast was the one from when they were high schoolers. Still, she was really great. (I also love that, given how she never really did much post-SNL, Fey gave her a recurring part on 30 Rock before she passed away)
• I'm a huge Fey fan, and she showed in 30 Rock and movies that she's a talented actress, but as head writer on SNL she really didn't appear very often outside of Weekend Update (even her appearances as Sarah Palin came after she had left the show). So I'm disqualifying her on a technicality
• It's hard not to think of Poehler and Fey together, but as an actress she got to do so much more on the show. That episode where she was 8.5 months pregnant and flirting with a guy in a bar in one sketch and then doing a Palin rap on Weekend Update was absolutely legendary
• McKinnon is probably the first female cast member to be the show's center of gravity. So many skits revolved around her talents, and she could play such a wide range of characters

Put that all together and I'd say Poehler by a hair. But I wouldn't object to anyone who preferred any of the others. (As for Shannon, Draftch and Wiig, I just always found that they played too many annoying characters).

 

[rockaction]

Gotta be this one

Thread 'Rachel Dratch Discussion Inside!'

Sep 14, 2022

Hoo boy. Talk about a single threat. A demographic threat, anyway.

Threat to be unfunny. Amirite?

• rockaction
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Footballguys Free For All

• 

 

[BobbyLayne]

1. Gilda
2. Kate
3. Kristen

Best writer - Tina

 

[Willie Neslon]

The GOAT: Radner
In the GOAT conversation: McKinnon, Wiig
Rounding out the top 5: Fey, Poehler
Next 5: Hooks, Shannon, Rudolph, Curtain, Strong
Best of the rest: Dunn, Gasteyer, Dratch, Oteri, Newman

Most Underrated: Shannon
Most Versatile: Strong
Funniest Moments: Wiig
Most Dependable: Hooks
Gone Too Soon: Slate

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

I went with Wiig, but McKinnon is great also.

for one offs, it's Cheri Oteri. she could make me laugh with just a facial expression.

 

[bigbottom]

I went with Wiig, but McKinnon is great also.

for one offs, it's Cheri Oteri. she could make me laugh with just a facial expression.

With all due respect to the old school casts of yesteryear, it’s McKinnon or Wiig for me. Went with Wiig.

 

[AAABatteries]

Are we considering writing for this or just acting?

I think my answer would definitely depend on that.

If we are including writing, then I think it may have to be Fey. Just acting: McKinnon.

 

[ChiefD]

Molly Shannon in Talladega Nights was pure money.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

No Heidi Gardner?
But McKinnon, Fey and Wiig are on the podium

 

[kupcho1]

All due respect to some of the other talented SNL ladies, but it's Kate McKinnon and it's not even close.
The impressions are outstanding. I mean really, Rudy Guliani and Justin Bieber? Amazing.
The original characters are also great. Close encounters, sure. But the cat lady kills me.
Here's Kate with Billie Eilish.
Whiskers R We with Billie Eilish - SNL

 

[SWC]

billie eyelash is a surprisingly good host and does a great job in my opinion take that to the bank brochachos

 

[Gr00vus]

Funny, Julia Louise Dreyfus hasn't even gotten a mention yet. I don't think she was among the funniest during her SNL tenure compared to some of the people mentioned above, but career wise she's pretty incredible.

 

[Ilov80s]

Funny, Julia Louise Dreyfus hasn't even gotten a mention yet. I don't think she was among the funniest during her SNL tenure compared to some of the people mentioned above, but career wise she's pretty incredible.

That is pretty funny. She was hilarious in everything else she’s done.

 

[kupcho1]

Funny, Julia Louise Dreyfus hasn't even gotten a mention yet. I don't think she was among the funniest during her SNL tenure compared to some of the people mentioned above, but career wise she's pretty incredible.

Sure, if the poll wasn't funniest woman on SNL, she's a national treasure. Unfortunately, she was - to put it politely - underutilized. I'm sure a lot of people don't even remember her being on the show.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Jan Hooks is HOF talent.

She had tremendous charisma, endless range and depth. She could play both the lead and side character in a sketch--and as the side character make the sketch work by elevating the lead without overshadowing him/her. Jan was the glue in "The Sinatra Group". She perfectly teed up Phil's one-liners.

Her impressions were top notch:
Nancy Reagan
Tammy Faye Bakker
Kathie Lee Gifford
Sinead O'Connor

Bette Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-A9RzG2Rgs&t=61s

Mother of the Anal Retentive Chef: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVRrYw9mqEA&t=63s

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

A pole! Where?!?