Eddie Murphy
1980-1984.
“I am Gumby, damn it!” He coined one of the greatest catchphrases in the history of SNL, as Gumby. He also did several impressions of Stevie Wonder and played the spirited workout instructor Richard Simmons, as well as the grown-up version of Buckwheat. He was the second African-American male cast member on SNL.
Jerry Minor
2000-2001.
He only had a minor role on the show for the first season before getting the boot, but he has since appeared in the sketch-comedy series Funny or Die Presents on HBO and is now co-starring in a new adult swim network series. His impressions of Jimi Hendrix and Al Sharpton Jr., Cuba Gooding and boot were minor, err, so his online presence has been relegated to a bunch of floating transcripts around the web.
Yvonne Hudson
1980-1981.
“Morris Garrett, the first black woman featured on SNL, is not confused to be the woman with the title “Bad Clams” in the sketch entitled “Conklins” as shown in the short clip with her cast member Danitra Vance watching.”
Finesse Mitchell
2003-2006.
On the holiday of Martin Luther King Jr., Observe how he and Kenan Thompson decline to perform their duties. He was eliminated from the show in 2006. Despite Mitchell’s screen time being significantly diminished, he was elevated from a supporting actor to a regular member of the cast in 2005.
Jay Pharoah
2010-present.
If Minor Jerry and Hudson Yvonne join the ranks, the young comedian will enjoy a kind of meteoric success similar to Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy. Time will tell if he can nail the kind of celebrity impressions that are a staple of every cast member’s repertoire, as demonstrated by Jay Pharoah’s credible sendup of “Jared” in his debut episode of SNL.
Captions by Erin E. Evans.
Tim Meadows
1991-2000.
Meadows was the longest-running cast member on SNL until Hammond surpassed him in 2005. He turned this role into a feature-length film. When he created the character “The Man” on the not-so-smooth talk-show radio host Phelps, he did impressions of several characters, including Erykah Badu and Oprah Winfrey.
Ellen Cleghorne
1991-1995.
Cleghorne briefly starred in her own sitcom before leaving SNL. Chris Rock and she, a married couple, can be seen bickering over the closing of their convenience store as they watch. In most episodes, Cleghorne can be found singing in the background or delivering a quick one-liner, as shown here with DeGeneres (with whom she can be found online).
Chris Rock
1990-1993.
In this clip, you can see that he was reading from a teleprompter to help the white person survive. Maybe you’d rather watch him peddle malt liquor and knock someone out cold. It wasn’t necessarily his best comedic insights for which he was known. He joined the cast of “SNL” in 1990, along with other legendary funnyman such as David Spade, Rob Schneider, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler, forming “Bad Boys of SNL”.
Dean Edwards
2001-2003.
Get a glimpse of his stand-up comedy. He departed the show after just two seasons. However, as a highlighted entertainer, he didn’t have many opportunities to display his skills on television. Edwards had a talent for imitations, ranging from Michael Jackson to Don Cheadle, from Redman to Billy Ocean.
Maya Rudolph
2000-2007.
In these days, you can see her occasionally appearing in films like Grown Ups and Away We Go. She could be Latina, Asian, black, or any other race, with the occasional change of a wig. She has portrayed Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, and Whitney Houston. Of course, she can also sing like Minnie Riperton, who happens to be her daughter, Rudolph (shown here to the left of Rudolph). When it comes to impersonations, she is most likely remembered for her portrayal of Donatella Versace and she’s an ace in Rudolph’s hole.
Damon Wayans
1985-1986..
Keenen’s sibling, having his own comedy series called In Living Color, in the year 1990, would eventually become the lead actor in it after being swiftly dismissed as an exuberant homosexual police officer, improvising a couple of sentences in an installment where he was supposed to portray a law enforcement officer, resolved to discover his opportunity to shine.
Tracy Morgan
1996-2003.
This funny man can deliver whether he impersonates Mike Tyson, Tito Jackson, or Morgan Freeman, who played Uncle Jemima’s Pure Mash Liquor Rock Star on NBC’s 30 Rock and recently released his autobiography, “I Am the New Black.” Watch Martin’s commercial on Fox’s Man Hustle and see how he pitches you a deal.
Kenan Thompson
2003-present.
Jay Pharoah and Kenan Thompson are two African-American members who made their comedic skills on Nickelodeon’s All That in the ’90s. Reba McEntire was left with the worst nightmare of a new-millennium nanny, Barbara Birmingham, who smokes cigarettes and wields a belt. Lorenzo McIntosh, a buff ex-convict/movie extra, was hired to scare juvenile delinquents, while Virginiaca Hastings was a loudmouthed shopper who flirts with sales clerks, which were his signature characters.
Danitra Vance
1985-1986..
Watch a short clip of an episode hosted by Oprah Winfrey to see Vance give a spot-on performance as Miss Celie. This “Black Girl, That” spoof, in which she had recurring roles, showcases Vance’s talent. She became the first African-American woman to join the cast of SNL.
Garrett Morris
1975-1980.
Many characters on SNL’s first season broke the mold by not conforming to stereotypical roles, including Morris who, despite being the only African-American character, refused to be pigeonholed. Watch this short clip of Julian Bond, former Chairman of the NAACP, interviewing him about IQ tests comparing blacks and whites. Morris was also a part of the original cast of Saturday Night Live, playing characters such as Chico, a Dominican baseball player who could barely speak English.