The 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live (SNL) highlights the contributions of University of California (UC) alumni to the iconic sketch comedy show. Since its debut on October 11, 1975, SNL has featured several UC graduates among its cast and writers.
Mikey Day graduated from UCLA with a theater degree in 2002. He joined SNL as a writer in 2013 and became a cast member in 2016. Day is known for pitching the David S. Pumpkins skit featuring Tom Hanks and also appears in “Short Film,” written by fellow UC alum Chris Kelly.
Will Forte, who earned a history degree from UCLA in 1993, initially worked at a brokerage firm before moving into comedy. He later became known for his performance as a spelling bee contestant unable to spell “business.”
Taran Killam studied theater at UCLA for one year before pursuing acting full-time. During his six years on SNL, he played various characters, including one alongside Tina Fey as an airline gate agent.
Jon Lovitz received his bachelor’s degree in theater from UC Irvine in 1979 and joined the Groundlings comedy troupe before starting his five-year tenure at SNL in 1985. His notable characters include Tommy Flanagan and Master Thespian.
Nasim Pedrad earned her bachelor’s degree from UCLA and was encouraged by Tina Fey to audition for SNL after her one-woman show highlighted her Iranian-American background. Pedrad was part of the cast from 2009 to 2014 and performed recurring sketches with Fey.
Maya Rudolph completed her bachelor’s degree in photography at UC Santa Cruz before joining SNL for seven years. She incorporated music into many sketches, such as her impression of an “Anthem Idol” contest winner performing at the World Series.
Andy Samberg attended UC Santa Cruz for two years before graduating from NYU. He joined SNL’s cast in 2005 for seven years, contributing musical sketches like “Lazy Sunday” with Chris Parnell.
Harry Shearer began his comedy career while studying political science at UCLA during the 1960s and editing the campus humor magazine Satyr. He spent one season on SNL starting in 1979 and later co-created “This Is Spinal Tap.” Shearer returned to SNL with his Spinal Tap co-stars for a sketch interview segment.
SNL’s legacy includes significant input from these UC alumni across multiple decades as both performers and writers.
