Sketch comedy didn’t just make us laugh in those years; it taught us how to watch TV together. Saturday nights turned living rooms into little theaters: a cold open that nudged the week, a theme song that felt like a curtain rising, and a cast ready to spin everyday voices into characters we still quote. The ’80s and ’90s were a turning point. SNL found a rhythm where sharp writing met fearless performances, and the result traveled from school hallways to office break rooms to movie screens. Guest hosts and musical legends brought sparkle, but the cast ran the show. They shaped catchphrases, invented worlds, and gave us people we felt we knew: the neighbor with a secret, the blowhard at a podium, the dreamer who can’t help but break into song.
#1: Eddie Murphy – Created iconic characters like Gumby and Mr. Robinson
When the show needed rescuing in the early ’80s, Eddie Murphy walked on and started inventing a universe. Gumby became a grouchy star, Mr. Robinson turned a beloved neighbor into sharp social satire, and Buckwheat made catchphrases part of the nightly news. The energy felt fearless. Murphy took that spark to the big screen with 48 Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop, and Coming to America, proving the SNL-to-film pipeline could be a freeway.
