In honor of Saturday Night Live‘s 50th Anniversary, we will be going through its rich and varied history and breaking down its legendary run into easy to digest eras. Some eras might last for years, others only one season. But each era is one that either marked a change in the show, were driven by a remarkable personality of a star, or marked a special part of the history of the program. Today, we cover an era where one of SNL’s greatest performers held court.
There have been many breakout stars in the 50-year history of Saturday Night Live, but there have been only a handful that were truly magical. A short list of powerhouse performers that not only left their co-cast members in the dust when it came to talent but also came to light up the screen whenever they were on it. A cast member that made every sketch better, even as they stole the focus away from their scene mates.
Chevy Chase? Love him or hate him, he’s one. His cast mate John Belushi was one too. Eddie Murphy? Definitely. Chris Farley? Yes, if only by his force of personality and fearlessness alone. Phil Hartman is like the Bizarro version of this type of performer. He wasn’t as showy or over the top as the rest, but he created magic in every sketch that he was in.
You could make a case for everyone from Will Ferrell to Mike Myers to Dana Carvey to fit the role, but the inarguable modern addition to this list is Kate McKinnon.
Kate McKinnon came to SNL by way of LOGO’s The Big Gay Sketch Show and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade, a break from the typical Groundlings/Second City path most cast members took. She joined the cast in April of 2012 as a featured player, becoming a member of the main cast in 2013. And then it was off to the races.
McKinnon quickly became the MVP of the cast. She was truly an all-around performer. If a sketch required a subtle performance, she gave you one, if a sketch required a wacky, over-the-top performance, McKinnon could do that too. If you needed a celebrity impression, she was game.
She was equally as skilled at performing original characters as she was playing doing impressions. Her Colleen Rafferty, the woman with a history of being kidnapped by aliens, ranks as one of the best recurring characters in the show’s history.
But where she really excelled was in her impressions. When she liked her subject, such as Hillary Clinton, her impression could be respectful yet funny, However, when she might not have been a fan of the celebrity or politician she was aping, she could be downright vicious. The severity ranges from her impression of a self-absorbed Justin Bieber to her downright savage, Gollumesque aping of Rudy Giuliani.
She could also be savage when it came to trying to make the hosts and/or musical guest break on air once she saw a hint of the person stifling a laugh, she becomes a shark that smells blood in the water. Watch the sketch with her and Billie Eilish portraying hotel employees. McKinnon made it her mission to try and make Eilish crack. When Eilish started struggling to keep from laughing, McKinnon was merciless. I don’t know how this went over with Lorne Michaels backstage, but I sure as heck enjoyed it as a viewer.
McKinnon managed to carve out a film career while working on SNL, becoming many critics favorite part of some very good movies, whether it was small parts that were little more than cameos (Yesterday) or being the co-lead (The Spy That Dumped Me), McKinnon captivated her audiences. And it is a shame that the he-man woman hater club decided to kill the 2016 Ghostbusters in its crib because McKinnon’s performance as scientist Jillian Holtzmann in that film was exemplary. Would have loved to see a whole slew of films with her playing that character.
In 2022, it was announced that McKinnon would be leaving SNL. I seriously wondered how that show could go on. I’m sure somebody says that every time a cast member leaves. But McKinnion was not just the most talented cast member at the time, she was the spirit and soul of the show. It seems like the show, always rumored to be one step away from cancellation, might actually make that step this time.
But it continued on. And as I will cover next time, it might never die. Because it has become an institution.
