What Happened To The Original 1975 SNL Cast Members?

In February 2025, NBC celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of its longest-running television programs, "Saturday Night Live," with a star-studded anniversary special. Brimming with pomp and circumstance, the special featured appearances from A-listers like Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, and others, while the likes of Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Sabrina Carpenter gave musical performances. It was also apropos given "SNL's" status as one of the most important and influential forces in comedy, having made stars of performers like Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and countless others who have shaped the entertainment world (although there are a few famous faces who've always refused the gig). However, that incredible legacy all began with a ragtag group of comedy renegades way back in 1975.

Created by Lorne Michaels, "SNL" thrived against overwhelming odds thanks to an iconic original cast featuring the talents of Chase, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, and Laraine Newman, as well as Michael O'Donoghue and George Coe — a group known collectively as "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players." Without their early efforts, the show might not have become the staple of American culture that it is today. After their time on "SNL" ended, though, the members of the series' first cast went off in numerous directions as they continued their careers. Here's what happened to "SNL's" originals over the years.

With his sharp delivery, good looks, and an innate knack for physical comedy, Chevy Chase became the breakout star of "Saturday Night Live's" first season. In addition to being the first-ever comedian to utter the now-iconic phrase, "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" Chase was also the original host of one of "SNL's" most popular and enduring segments, "Weekend Update," and famously lampooned President Gerald Ford in a series of memorable sketches. However, the Lower Manhattan native's time on the show was relatively short, as he moved on midway through Season 2. Over the next few years, Chase became one of Hollywood's most bankable comic actors and a bona fide A-lister, starring in films like "Foul Play," "Caddyshack," and "Seems Like Old Times."

Flash forward to today, and Chase is a screen legend, having most recently won praise for his 85-episode run on the Dan Harmon-created series "Community" from 2009 to 2013. However, on set, the actor famously clashed with Harmon and other members of the show's cast and crew before exiting production following its fourth season. And Harmon is just one of a gaggle of celebrities who reportedly can't stand Chase, who also fought with certain cast members while hosting SNL. Now in his 80s, Chase's last feature film performance to date came in the 2024 holiday film, "The Christmas Letter," in which he reunited with his "Christmas Vacation" co-star, Randy Quaid.

Perhaps none of the original "SNL" cast members embodied the rebellious spirit that made the show a hit quite like John Belushi. And it didn't take long for the comic, known for his wild impressions of Vito Corleone from "The Godfather" and singer Joe Cocker, and in sketches like the recurring "Killer Bees" segment, to parlay his success for mainstream stardom in films like 1978's "Animal House" and 1980's "The Blues Brothers." There's even an alternate universe where Belushi stars in the "Ghostbusters" franchise, as his "SNL" and "Blues Brothers" partner-in-crime, Dan Aykroyd, originally wrote the part of Dr. Peter Venkman with Belushi in mind. Alas, it wasn't to be as Belushi's life and career were cut tragically short.

On March 5, 1982, at the age of 33, Belushi was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in his bungalow at Los Angeles' Chateau Marmont after a night of partying. "John was always the guy who went a little too far and wanted to stay too long at the party," Belushi's wife, Judy, told People in 2020. In the years following his death, the mythos surrounding Belushi's self-destructive nature has only grown. However, his friend and former "SNL" co-star Bill Murray continues to vouch for him, telling Joe Rogan in 2025, "Belushi made people's careers possible [...] There's a lot of people that stayed for free at his house until they made it in New York. And I'm one. He died in an unfortunate way, but man, he was still the best stage actor I ever saw." 

Before her run as one of "SNL's" "Not Ready for Prime Time Players," Jane Curtin was a former UNICEF ambassador and college dropout who was fighting for relevance as a comic and off-Broadway actress, and she brought a different approach to the gig. While many of her castmates indulged in the excesses of the time and relied on their natural talents and magnetism to find success on the show, Curtin worked hard, learned her lines, and honed her craft. "Dan [Aykroyd] and I were workhorses. We got this job, and our job was to do it to the best of our ability and not create problems," she told the Television Academy Foundation in 2015. "So, Dan and I liked working together because there was no drama." Consequently, she made the ideal straight woman in many sketches. However, her comic chops were also on full display alongside Aykroyd in the recurring "Coneheads" sketches and also on "Weekend Update."

Curtin continued to have success in show business after leaving SNL, winning a pair of Emmys on the 1980s sitcom "Kate & Allie" and starring alongside John Lithgow in the 1990s/2000s series, "3rd Rock From the Sun." In 2025, she had a recurring role as Nan Cox, mother-in-law of the President of the United States and a White House tenant, on the Paul William Davies-created Netflix comedy/whodunnit series, "The Residence." She also joined her "SNL" castmate, Laraine Newman, in honoring the late Gilda Radner during the show's 50th anniversary celebration.

A veteran performer and Juilliard trainee from New Orleans, Garrett Morris was originally hired as an "SNL" writer by Lorne Michaels. However, he found himself as part of the show's original cast when Michaels and Co. were impressed by his performance in the 1975 Eric Monte-penned, coming-of-age dramedy, "Cooley High." He went on to appear in a bevy of memorable sketches, creating skits like News for the Hard of Hearing on "Weekend Update" and Dominican baseball player Chico Escuela. He also got to showcase his singing chops on numerous occasions, including the legendary "Death Row Follies" sketch.

After a five-year run on the show, Morris continued to have a successful career in television and film, guest-starring on shows like "The Jeffersons" and "Hunter," while appearing in features such as "Car Wash" and "How to Beat the High Cost of Living." He also had a regular role on the hit 1990s sitcom, "Martin," as Martin's boss, Stan. More recently, Morris was a series regular on "2 Broke Girls," and, in 2025, he appeared on an episode of "The Neighborhood." 

He continues to hold his original "SNL" castmates in high regard, recounting to Time, "There was a lot of energy, and a lot of beautiful people. I was just amazed at the brilliance of the improvisation — Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Chevy Chase. They were all just such talented people, and I was really honored to be a part of that group."

One of the best-remembered performers in the annals of "SNL" lore, Gilda Radner got her show business start as the weather girl on her college radio station. She later dropped out of college and followed a boyfriend to Canada, where she appeared in a production of "Godspell" and linked up with The Second City crew. A master improviser and character actor, her creations on "SNL" as one of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" include consumer affairs reporter Roseanne Roseannadanna and hyperactive grade-schooler/soap reenactor Judy Miller. She also poked fun at newscaster Barbara Walters' hair and unique speech cadence as Baba Wawa. Radner departed the show, along with most of the original cast, in 1980.

Radner appeared in a handful of films post-"SNL," including "Hanky Panky," on which she met her husband, actor Gene Wilder. She would appear in two more films with Wilder — "The Woman in Red" and "Haunted Honeymoon." However, like Belushi, Radner's star burned out long before it should have. After a battle with ovarian cancer, which she appeared to have beaten at one point, Radner succumbed to the disease in May 1989 at the age of 42. In the aftermath of her death, Wilder and others wondered whether she might have lived under different circumstances, with different care. In any case, the impact she made as a person and performer won't soon be forgotten.

Like Phil Hartman, Ana Gasteyer, and Kenan Thompson in later seasons, Dan Aykroyd's workmanlike approach to being an "SNL" cast member and his ability to take on virtually any role in a sketch and make it better, made him one of the backbones of the show's original cast. "He is what I used to say is the resident genius of "Saturday Night Live,'" said former castmate Chevy Chase during a 2022 appearance on "Club Random with Bill Maher." Before transitioning into his own legendary film career, Aykroyd etched his name into the "SNL" history books with characters and sketches like the Czech Brothers (alongside Steve Martin), the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers, and "Frank Garvin: Male Prostitute." Aykroyd's "SNL" exit came in 1979.

Over the course of his multi-decade career, Aykroyd brought "The Blues Brothers" to the big screen with John Belushi, wrote and starred in the "Ghostbusters" films, and played Anna Chlumsky's father in "My Girl," in addition to countless other memorable roles and projects. A true believer who comes from a line of spiritualists and mystics, Aykroyd has long been passionate about the paranormal. To that end, he currently serves as the host for History's "The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd." He also continues to be a driving force behind the "Ghostbusters" franchise, appearing in 2024's "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." Aykroyd unexpectedly split with his wife of nearly 40 years, Donna Dixon, in 2022.

Laraine Newman was another of the original "SNL" cast's most versatile performers, playing everything from complete oddballs to some of the more glamorous characters, and mastering the intricacies of each personality like few before or after her could. During her five-year run on the iconic comedy showcase, she played characters like Connie Conehead, public access TV host Christie Christina, and Sherry the Valley Girl, and was also a "Weekend Update" correspondent (complete with pitch-perfect local news reporter cadence). In doing so, she leaned on the skills she had developed as a founding member of the Groundlings and someone who studied mime in Paris with the legendary Marcel Marceau for a year.

Although Newman's career slowed during the 1980s as she attempted to cope with fame and her long-time drug habit, she packed a considerable amount of credits onto her IMDB page over the years, with appearances in everything from 1991's "Problem Child 2" to series like "St. Elsewhere," "Friends," and "7th Heaven." However, she found her niche later in life as a voice actress, lending her linguistic talents to high-profile projects like "Wall-E," "Cars," the "Inside Out" and "Minions" movies, and more. She's also the mother of "Hacks" star and stand-up comic Hannah Einbinder.

After founding the "National Lampoon Radio Hour" alongside Henry Beard and Doug Kenney, Michael O'Donoghue was hired by Lorne Michaels as a writer for "SNL," a post he would hold at various junctures over the course of the show's first few seasons, until his 1985 exit. However, he was also credited as a cast member during the first three episodes. He even appeared alongside Chevy Chase and John Belushi in the first-ever sketch on the program, portraying a language teacher who dies of a sudden heart attack in the bizarre, cold open sketch, "The Wolverines." The sketch exhibited the kind of darkness that was a staple of O'Donoghue's offbeat brand of comedy, which informed much of "SNL's" early, more controversial content. His 1979 special, "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video," which featured some of his SNL castmates, was deemed too crass for NBC.

O'Donoghue also served as a writer on Gilda Radner's one-woman show, "Gilda Live," and later appeared in films including "Head Office," "Manhattan," "Wall Street," and "Scrooged." He also saw success as a songwriter, penning Dolly Parton's hit, "Single Women," which peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot Country chart in 1982. O'Donoghue tragically died in 1994 at the age of 54 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage.

An oft-forgotten part of "SNL's" original cast, comedian-actor George Coe appeared on several episodes of the show during its fledgling years. However, he was only officially credited as a cast member on the debut episode in 1975. Despite his talents as a long-time stage performer before signing on at "SNL," he was something of a square peg compared to the rest of its original cast. While the others were mostly young in their careers and looking to break big, Coe was in his mid-40s and had already established himself on Broadway.

Over the years, Coe racked up an impressive list of film and television credits, appearing in movies like "The Stepford Wives," "Kramer vs. Kramer," and "The Mighty Ducks," and series like "The Doctors," "L.A. Law," and many, many others. He's perhaps best known for providing the voice of Woodhouse on the long-running, 2010s animated comedy, "Archer," in his later life. Coe died of lymphoma and other illnesses in 2015 at the age of 86. His daughter, Amy Bickers, later opined that he never aspired to be a superstar or leading man type. "He thought there was nothing more fun than his work," she said, via The Washington Post. "But he didn't have the ego of a star. He loved being part of an ensemble." If only for a show, he was part of one of the best with "SNL."

Although not an official cast member, legendary comedian and actor Andy Kaufman was an important part of the first season of "SNL," not to mention the show's enduring success, helping to lay its foundation with a number of memorable guest spots and feature segments, beginning with the very first episode on October 11, 1975. Kaufman performed his "Mighty Mouse" sketch and did his signature "foreign man" bit and Elvis Presley impression across his 16 appearances on the show. He also brought his love of pro wrestling to "SNL" with an intergender wrestling segment, but it wasn't a hit with all of the show's viewers. However, in 1982, he was effectively blacklisted from "SNL" after a phone campaign to either keep or dump the comedian was held (it didn't end in his favor).

Of course, Kaufman became a nationwide star with his portrayal of Latka on the sitcom "Taxi," and also appeared in offbeat comedy films like "Heartbeeps" and Marty Feldman's "In God We Trust." He also famously tangled with wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association. Kaufman died of lung cancer in 1984 at the age of 35, although, as with his hero, Elvis, rumors of him living on or having faked his own death persisted for decades, in keeping with the renegade/surrealist approach to comedy that he popularized.

Another performer who wasn't officially part of the "SNL" cast, Don Pardo's voice was omnipresent on the show for decades. Although you may not recognize his name, you've definitely heard him speak if you're an "SNL" fan. Pardo worked as the show's announcer from its debut episode until his death in 2014, despite having "retired" from his longtime work with NBC a decade earlier. His was the fourth voice ever heard on an "SNL" broadcast, following Michael O'Donoghue, John Belushi, and Chevy Chase, who performed in the first episode's cold open.

Prior to his time on "SNL," Pardo began his career in radio, reading news dispatches, and briefly did play-by-play for New York-area baseball games as NBC took its first steps into the world of television. During the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, he served as the announcer on several popular game shows, including "The Price Is Right," "Winner Take All," and "Jeopardy!" He was also the voice of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade until the late '90s. Pardo was 96 when he died, and despite not having been in "SNL's" cast, many legendary alums have credited him as an indispensable part of the show. "When Don Pardo said my name for the first time, I knew that I was really on "Saturday Night Live,"" Jimmy Fallon wrote in a 2014 Instagram tribute. "Until then, it all felt like a dream."