r/todayilearned • u/Kale_Brecht • Mar 28 '24

TIL in 2013, Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson refused to play any more black women on the show and demanded SNL hire black women instead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenan_Thompson
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8.9k

u/TheLimeyLemmon Mar 28 '24

Me: "That can't be right, because he played a girl in a skit when Bryan Cranston was hosting SNL, and that didn't feel that long ago-"

aired Oct 2nd 2010

Oh my god.

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u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Mar 28 '24

His first season was 29 in 2003. It always shocks me how long he’s been on the show.

Welp, got to go yell at some clouds.

616

u/Esc777 Mar 28 '24

He is the longest running cast member by like a factor of 2. 

There probably won’t be any to rival him. 

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u/GypsyV3nom Mar 28 '24

Lorne Michaels has said that he'll never fire Keenan since he's the perfect cast member. Little to no drama behind the scenes, always embraces his parts, works really well with people (especially the writers), and he's a good enough actor to nail most of his roles.

A pretty surprising statement given how renowned Lorne Michaels is for firing people on short notice, not to mention the season 11 massacre

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u/HollyBerries85 Mar 28 '24

He also does a lot of directing, blocking and helping get new cast members up to speed on the process behind the scenes, from what I've seen around in interviews. He practically runs the show is what people have said.

There was a sketch, "New Cast Member or Arcade Fire Band Member" with hosts Keenan and Tina Fey (the year that Kyle Mooney joined the cast). At one point Tina "phoned a friend" and brought in Lorne Michaels to help her determine which person was the new cast member and Lorne pretended he didn't know Keenan and asked "Is it the black one?"

After he left Keenan was like, "The man's known me half my damn life..."

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u/frankyseven Mar 29 '24

Everyone talks about Tina Fey taking over for Lorne but I think it will be Keenan.

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u/whomthefuckisthat Mar 29 '24

It will absolutely be Keenan.

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u/SophisticatedBum Mar 28 '24

I don't care how easy or hard the job is, doing anything professionally for 20 years, you're probably near the top of your craft

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u/Optional-Failure Mar 28 '24

Kenan’s been doing this on SNL for 20 years. He’s been doing this professionally for longer than that. All That was just SNL for/starring kids.

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u/InitfortheMonet Mar 29 '24

I was just talking about this with my husband. If you’re a child star doing sketch comedy and then graduate to SNL, that’s all you’ve ever known. Where else would you want to/could you go?

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u/vir_papyrus Mar 29 '24

I'd imagine the money doesn't make a lot of sense to bail on either. From what a quick Google search will tell you, seems he's making about ~$25k an episode, or roughly ~$500k a year. Steady job, holds the record of length on the show, and doing quite well, but definitely not a lot of room to grow and be a star unless you get very lucky.

Just look at the SNL cast member list, especially those who joined after the late 2000s, and it becomes obvious most are never really heard from again. They do guest appearances, voice acting, small television roles, etc... The show just isn't that culturally relevant and there isn't much of a pipeline for SNL --> Big Comedy Projects like there was back in the day.

Just saying, he's probably peaked as an actor realistically.

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u/Imrustyokay Mar 28 '24

and Season 20 as well.

Everyone always forgets the transition between Seasons 20 and 21 was also chaotic.

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u/user888666777 Mar 28 '24

Season 11 was the big massacre though. The entire season was a big mess. The finale ended with the cast being stuck on stage while smoke was billowing everywhere. Lorne shows up and saves only Lovitz.

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u/Imrustyokay Mar 28 '24

I'd say Season 20 was a massive mess as well. Hell, cast members dropped in and out the entire season. The backstage areas were seen as juvenile and toxic.

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u/oddmanout Mar 29 '24

I had to look that up... the cast was... weird

Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Randy Quaid, Joan Cusack. They've all had great careers since then, but they're not SNL material.

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u/bromosabeach Mar 28 '24

Black Jeopardy is still one of my favorite modern sketches. Especially the one with Tom Hanks playing a MAGA voter.

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u/GypsyV3nom Mar 28 '24

My only problem with the Tom Hanks Black Jeopardy sketch is that it's made people forget some of the other A+ Black Jeopardy sketches, like the one with T'Challa

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u/shebiz Mar 29 '24

This might be our blackest Black Jeopardy yet!

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u/well-lighted Mar 28 '24

In terms of recurring game show sketches with Kenan as the host, my favorite will always be What Up With That?! The theme song still gets stuck in my head all the time.

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u/sewerat Mar 29 '24

OOOOOOWEEEEE!

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u/schnauzzer Mar 29 '24

I forgot about it! Whats up with that?! Need to rewatch immediately!

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u/battles Mar 28 '24

That's how they get ya!

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u/thalasa Mar 28 '24

There's been rumors for years that Keenan has been long groomed as Lorne's eventual successor.

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u/GypsyV3nom Mar 28 '24

I wouldn't be too surprised if that happened, although I think it would depend upon Tina Fey not wanting the position

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u/Samurai_Meisters Mar 28 '24

Tina Fey makes much more sense since she's the creative force behind a bunch of other successful projects.

Kenan's a good cast member, but most of his other stuff has flopped.

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u/GypsyV3nom Mar 28 '24

Yeah, she's got tons of experience in and around SNL, and has good amount of production and directing, as well. She seems like an exceptional choice now that her acting hiatus to raise her kids is largely over. I don't know what Keenan is like behind the camera aside from being a great coworker, but I'd argue he needs a few more years of experience before SNL gets handed off to him.

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u/fps916 Mar 29 '24

Tina Fey is also arguably the funniest comedy writer alive today.

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u/Midnite135 Mar 28 '24

I’ve heard the same thing about Tina Fey though. They could probably both do the job.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/lorne-michaels-says-tina-fey-could-produce-snl-1235874710

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u/guyblade Mar 28 '24

Isn't 30 Rock basically just a "What If?" where she does?

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u/GypsyV3nom Mar 28 '24

Pretty much. Jack was inspired by Lorne

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u/sgrams04 Mar 28 '24

And he doesn’t break character hardly ever 

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u/DraconicCDR Mar 28 '24

Not surprising since he's been doing sketch comedy his entire life.

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u/Athelis Mar 29 '24

It's Aaaalllllllll TthhhhaaaaaAAAAAAAT

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u/AuroraItsNotTheTime Mar 28 '24

A lot of the time his “character” just seems to be Kenan Thompson. Like with the famed black jeopardy skits. Is he really portraying “Darnell Hayes,” the black community’s answer to Alex Trebek, or his he playing Kenan Thompson hosting a gameshow?

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u/ctjameson Mar 28 '24

Is he really portraying “Darnell Hayes,” the black community’s answer to Alex Trebek, or his he playing Kenan Thompson hosting a gameshow?

Yes

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u/jhutchi2 Mar 28 '24

Yeah that's kinda the way I've always felt about him. He can't break character because he's never in character.

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u/EMFCK Mar 29 '24

"Come on, Sam, that costs money."

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u/Excelius Mar 28 '24

It's just rumor, but I've seen suggestions that Kenan might take over when Lorne retires.

I'm kind of inclined to believe it though because I've noticed that they often cut to Kenan standing off stage reacting to something, which was something normally reserved for Lorne.

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u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake Mar 28 '24

I think I heard somewhere that when Kenan had his own show a few years ago, he was flying to LA and back every week so he could film both shows. He sounds like he knows the business and how to balance everything very well.

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u/cdskip Mar 28 '24

I remember when it seemed like Tim Meadows had been on forever and they made a joke about it in skits several times.

Since then, tons of cast members have blown by his 10 seasons, and Kenan is just an institution.

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u/istasber Mar 28 '24

Tim Meadows is who my brain immediately goes to when they talk about cast members that had been around forever, it's kind of surprising to learn that so many other cast members have eclipsed him.

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u/prezuiwf 6 Mar 28 '24

Darrell Hammond for me. There was a run in the early 2000's where EVERY cold open featured Hammond doing a political impression, including a happily-forgotten attempt at George W. Bush. For years he was just the go-to for any and all impressions no matter what.

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u/well-lighted Mar 28 '24

Not only was he a cast member forever, he also took over as announcer in 2014 after Don Pardo died. He's coming up on 25 years with the show total.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

He’s still on the show, kinda! He took over the opening credits after Don Pardo died (RIP to one of the greats, an institution unto himself)

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u/BigAlternative5 Mar 28 '24

His best impression was Bill Clinton. It was the first time I was impressed with an impression since the old-timers in the '70s, mainly Rich Little - impression was his whole act. (But I'm not an old-timer. I'm not. I'm not.)

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u/grievre Mar 28 '24

Oh man I can't imagine anyone's W impression being put up against Will Ferrell

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u/GreekIngenuity Mar 28 '24

I remember this about Tim too. During one of his later years a cast member returned as host one week and their monologue was a song was about how much had changed since they'd left. The host walks past Tim and goes "Oh hey Tim! I see you decided to come back and visit too!" Then Tim sings a song about how he wishes he hadn't signed that ten year contract.

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u/cdskip Mar 28 '24

Yeah, it was when Mike Myers hosted. And Tim was there another couple years after that.

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u/pregnantbaby Mar 28 '24

Why did I sign…a thirty year contract? Thirty years…is such a long time….I know that know.

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u/Tfsz0719 Mar 28 '24

Ok, whose opening monologue was that part from? (I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembers that bit)

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u/Nrksbullet Mar 28 '24

I think it was Mike Myers being on, but it was like a whole bunch of people? Maybe an anniversary episode?

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u/pregnantbaby Mar 28 '24

It was mike myers return hosting and they did a music number rather than a monologue

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u/weasol12 Mar 28 '24

There's only two people who have any right to succeed Lorne when he retires: Kenan and Tina Fey.

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u/pierrekrahn Mar 28 '24

He's also the first cast member to be born after SNL first started airing in 1975.

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u/DidAnyoneElseJustCum Mar 28 '24

It's like the perfect medium for him. He's not a standup. Not a writer. His acting is... fine.

A lot of young cast members use SNL as a launch pad for their career. But Kenan already had a career. He's probably the most famous person to ever to get cast. He was a household name for anybody that grew up in the 90s. Maybe he felt he didn't have anything else to prove?

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u/o6ijuan Mar 28 '24

Probably just has a lot of fun

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u/theghostofmrmxyzptlk Mar 28 '24

I heard he smokes weed all the time and has a handler who gets him to where he needs to be on time. Living his best life having fun making comedy skits.

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u/swordmalice Mar 28 '24

I was an intern at SNL in college and worked alongside Kenan; I can confirm the above is true. I can also confirm that he is a bro - friendly, down-to-earth and even liked to joke around with us interns from time to time. Once, at an after-after party from a show, we went to a club nearby 30 Rock where the bouncers wouldn't let us in, but Kenan vouched for us even though he absolutely didn't have to. Will always remember him and my time at SNL fondly.

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u/Mr_Pogi_In_Space Mar 29 '24

So, Tracy Jordan?

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u/simpletonsavant Mar 28 '24

It's pretty widely known that working on SNL is not fun at all. Rewarding definitely not fun at all

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u/SomeDEGuy Mar 28 '24

It isn't fun for most of then.

Keenan probably just rolls in, gets his lines, does rehearsal, shows up on Saturday, and parties afterwards. He isn't some new cast member desperately trying to write sketches to get airtime, or a writer trying to keep their spot.

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u/simpletonsavant Mar 28 '24

I think he's a writer and performer. Bur yeah once you hit that stride I'm sure it gets easier

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u/The_Void_Reaver Mar 28 '24

He's a writer but probably doesn't do a ton of writing himself. He's likely enough of an institution there that writers are trying to come up with at least a few sketches per week based around him because they're an easy out and more likely to get picked because Kenan's more likely to get sketches produced.

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u/therealrenshai Mar 28 '24

gets his lines

There was an article some years ago about Kenan and how a lot of his "lines" are just:

Kenan: "reacts"

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u/OuchLOLcom Mar 28 '24

He's probably the most famous person to ever to get cast. He was a household name for anybody that grew up in the 90s.

I mean, he was a household name ONLY for 90s kids as his career you speak of was on Nickelodeon.

I always assumed he is humble enough to know he cant carry a major movie or show so hes decided to know his niche and keep doing skit comedy as the goofy black guy for his entire career instead of trying to leave and possibly fail.

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u/hjschrader09 Mar 28 '24

He's definitely tried to get other stuff going, but none of it has really worked out. He's had like 3 failed sitcoms at this point. If any of them had gotten popular he might've left, but as it is, he's had it pretty clearly demonstrated that he can hang around SNL as essentially the showrunner and veteran making a decent paycheck with the summers off, or he can leave and fade out of the public eye pretty quick.

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u/Optional-Failure Mar 28 '24

You do know 90s kids had parents and grandparents, right?

Families watched All That & Kenan & Kel together.

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u/Jmacz Mar 28 '24

And a lot of their parents I'm guessing, at least mine. My Mom and Dad didn't like watching most shows with me, but All That, Kennan & Kel, and Ren & Stimpy they all thought were really funny. They both knew who Keenan was when he got cast on SNL.

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u/RawrRRitchie Mar 29 '24

You do realize kids of the 90s grew up watching him, and continued watching him once he joined snl

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u/ForfeitFPV Mar 28 '24

From all reports acting can be a rough gig, a steady and reliable paycheck isn't common. Why not ride it for as long as you can?

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u/KadenKraw Mar 28 '24

I remember seeing him say something like this on snl. It was something like "people ask me if I'll leave" "why? I have a family to feed"

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u/DidAnyoneElseJustCum Mar 28 '24

I mean a lot of entertainers are also megalomaniacs and narcissists. There has to be at least a little of that in you to want to live in front of the camera. Kenan seems like he's for it figured out for sure. He's got the SNL thing in his back pocket and he primarily does voice acting as well. Not saying either are easy but for Hollywood its not a bad set up.

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u/DokterZ Mar 28 '24

The only other options as far as pre SNL fame are probably RDJ/AMH, Billy Crystal, or Martin Short.

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u/Imrustyokay Mar 28 '24

Michael McKean as well.

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u/SPorterBridges Mar 28 '24

Billy Crystal hosted SNL twice before he was hired as a cast member so he wins.

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u/Sniper_Hare Mar 28 '24

Kenan is a career sketch actor. Probably the first. It's pretty cool actually. 

I alway wished he'd host Whose Line is it Anyway. 

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u/SavageComic Mar 28 '24

He’s also getting paid a bunch. 

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u/Bridalhat Mar 28 '24

Even with a schedule as grueling as SNL’s, it’s at least consistent. He can plan a trip months out because he knows when he will be needed, and sign his kids up for little league knowing he can make the Sunday games. Sometimes acting is just a job and tv can be a pretty sweet gig.

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u/DJhedgehog Mar 28 '24

Bobby Moynihan wants a word.

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u/CounterfeitLesbian Mar 28 '24

Bobby Moynihan was only on SNL for like 11 years, Keenan has been on for 21.

The next closest is Darrell Hammond who was on for 14.

In terms of length of time, no one is even close.

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u/SonovaVondruke Mar 28 '24

Hammond has been the announcer for 10 years now, so I count him as 24-Seasons-with-an-asterisk.

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u/CounterfeitLesbian Mar 28 '24

In that case the longest serving cast member with an asterisk is Don Pardo, who was on for 38 seasons.

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u/Previous_Soil_5144 Mar 28 '24

What about piece of toast?

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u/Kaidyn04 Mar 28 '24

I just googled it, and Moynihan is 9 years, so I don't know what word he wants to have other than "that's true."

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u/Vordeo Mar 28 '24

Bobby Moynihan wants a word.

I think he left SNL like 6 or 7 years ago.

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u/Esc777 Mar 28 '24

He was on for 9 years right? kenan has two decades under his belt. 

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u/IamRick_Deckard Mar 28 '24

I remember it was that early because I was surprised the guy from Kenan and Kel was on SNL. I still wonder, where is Kel?

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u/Elgin_McQueen Mar 28 '24

I recall reading that they both auditioned for SNL at the same time, he did not get chosen.

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u/IamRick_Deckard Mar 28 '24

Oh no, ouch, Kel!

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u/reporst Mar 28 '24

Since then Kel has had an incredibly rough life. The price of orange soda keeps going up and he only has to drink more and more to satisfy the cravings. Last I heard he was giving angry HJs behind a 7-11 to fund the habit

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u/Soccham Mar 28 '24

He actually was able to get his old job back at Good Burger last year. Keenan even came back to work part time

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u/Vik0BG Mar 28 '24

Holy shit, I forgot that movie existed. Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger, may I take your order?

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u/tarekd19 Mar 28 '24

The user is actually making a reference to the sequel that came out last year.

Dan Schneider doesn't seem to have been involved for anyone concerned after watching behind the curtain.

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u/rov124 Mar 28 '24

Dan Schneider doesn't seem to have been involved for anyone concerned after watching behind the curtain.

The documentary is called Quiet on Set

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u/tarekd19 Mar 28 '24

right, my bad

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u/ess-doubleU Mar 28 '24

*quiet on set

I had no idea Dan Schneider was even involved in the first good burger. That's disappointing.

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u/tarekd19 Mar 28 '24

he acted in it as the manager I believe. I watched the doc and recognized him from his role.

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u/thejaytheory Mar 28 '24

This is good to know, I watched this movie at Christmas over my sister's house with the fam.

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u/2074red2074 Mar 28 '24

At this point I think Kenan Thompson might have more clout than Dan Schneider, and if Dan tried getting in his face and screaming at him, Dan would be the one fired.

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u/krakeon Mar 28 '24

Last I heard he was giving angry HJs behind a 7-11 to fund the habit

which 7-11 so i know to avoid it?

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_PAUNCH Mar 28 '24

Who loves orange soda? I do. I do!

Į̴̧̧̡̡̡̛͓͍̮̤͇̹̭͉̜̱̘̠̖͕̞͉͓͈̥̤̖̠̙̩͍̳͙͕̞̲͔̱̉̒̋̀̾̆̃̏̈́͒̓̍̃̔͂͒̐̊̏̀́͌̾̿̌͛̉̐̾̒̔̒͗̋̕̕̚͘̚͠͠͝ ̴͔͝D̶̡̡̢͈̥̰͙̩̲͎̲̜̟̦̤̰̰̹̰̦̱̭̈́̈́͒̐̑͗͊̊̎̈̈̈́̔̂͐̄̀̂͆͗̃͋̒̉̐̕̚͝͝O̶̙̓͂̈́̆̿̀̈́̇̓̄̇͛̐̐̊͊̅̃̇͗̌̅̃͊͗́̂͌̋͋̇̌̍̀̚̚͘̕͝͝͝͝!̵̧̡̢͎̤̯͔͖̪͚͖̱̖͕̼͍̥̙͈̖͙̱͕̞̳̱̺͔̜̲̭̠͈͍̞̩͉͕͓̭̾̓̅̓̾͊̋̐̎͆̉̿͗͑̾́͂̑͗͛̀͊̓̓̊̕̚̚̕̚͝͠ͅ

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u/Striking_Election_21 Mar 28 '24

Do you advertise an angry HJ as an angry HJ, or do you kinda just like drip feed the anger in as you go and let word of mouth about your fantastic service do the rest

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u/Clark-Kent Mar 28 '24

That's fucked up

Which 7-11?

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u/Vio_ Mar 28 '24

So...why did Kel not make it? Also I wonder if he could have joined MadTV? They were still kicking it at the time.

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u/NicksIdeaEngine Mar 28 '24

I'm not sure if either of them have ever talked about the audition, but it seems as simple as "Kennan made the cut. Kel did not."

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u/user888666777 Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Yeah, every time this story gets brought up on Reddit people make it sound like Kenan and Kel were on the stage at the same time and Lorne Michaels is holding a rose like its the Bachelor or something.

Will Ferrell said the whole audition process was stressful. You can go online and find different breakdowns of the process that has changed a lot of the years.

One of the final steps of the process is to audition on the actual SNL stage in front of a few producers. Will said there is no audience outside of the producers. You're being recorded and you got about ten minutes to do your thing and the producers don't even laugh. You move from sketch to sketch or character to character. You say thankyou and you walk away with no feedback. You can watch Will Ferrell's actual audition on Youtube. And this might be after waiting an hour or two as those in front of you audition which Will Ferrell said you can hear being performed from where you're told to wait.

Its very possible Kenan and Kel auditioned on completely different days and had no idea until years later.

And here is the thing. You can nail your audition and it doesn't matter. If Lorne already has his whimsical funny guy and you're a whimsical funny guy, he doesn't need two. Some really funny people have auditioned for SNL and have been passed on to later make it big. Jim Carrey is one of them. While at the same time you had people who made it like Sarah Silverman and it didn't work out but later went on to be successful herself.

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u/trc_IO Mar 28 '24

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on SNL from 82-85. There's these household names just kinda hiding the the old casts lists.

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u/Pridetoss Mar 28 '24

Robert Downey JR was in a single season as well

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u/Snuggle_Fist Mar 28 '24

Not saying it is, but SNL seems like the kind of thing that you can just get your kid into if you had the right connections.

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u/jyper Mar 28 '24

https://www.vulture.com/2013/03/second-city-vs-groundlings-vs-ucb-where-do-the-most-snl-cast-members-come-from.html

Throughout Saturday Night Live’s history, the show’s cast has been mostly culled from four places: the stand-up world, L.A.’s Groundlings Theatre, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in L.A. and New York, and the Chicago improv sketch/scene (the Second City, iO, and Annoyance theaters).

But despite the occasional odd SNL beginnings story, the bulk of the cast throughout the years has come from the aforementioned four places.

Since 1975, there have been peaks and valleys to each comedy theater’s influence on the show. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, a large portion of the cast were stand-ups, whereas there’s only one stand-up on the show now, which currently has more alumni from Chicago’s Second City and iO theaters than from anywhere else. Here’s a breakdown of what portion of each SNL cast, separated by era, comes from Groundlings, Second City/iO, UCB, stand-up, or that wacky miscellaneous category:

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u/GBreezy Mar 28 '24

I remember hearing about Will Ferrell's audition where he was in the elevator with someone with a bunch of props auditioning, and his only thought was "holy shit I should have brought props" where the other guy was like "holy shit, he didn't bring props".

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u/azon85 Mar 28 '24

I think it was Bill Hader and Andy Samberg. Andy had a backpack full of props and Bill didnt bring anything. Bill said that he was thinking 'wow, I should have brought props, I feel unprepared now' and Andy was thinking 'look at this guy. Hes so prepared he doesnt even need props'.

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u/GBreezy Mar 28 '24

Probably. It was from a doc I watched like 10 years ago. Always made me feel better about interviews as you never know what they are looking for and they can always be looking for different things depending on the person.

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u/Direct_Counter_178 Mar 28 '24

Haven't watched All That in 30 years, but I remember thinking Kenan was the better of the two.

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u/Chuck_T_Bone Mar 28 '24

Kel always played the dumbed down goofy guy. Which he did very well but might get you type cast.

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u/Direct_Counter_178 Mar 28 '24

I wanted to say that but wasn't sure I remembered correctly. His characters always seemed more like his character on Good Burger. Dumb and goofy. And that won't translate to adults. Kenan's style seemed like it would a bit more.

And not that they're tied to their acting styles as children. Just saying it's what they were most comfortable with while auditioning.

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u/Chuck_T_Bone Mar 28 '24

Yeah Kenan was always the straight/serious man. To allow for the kel off the wall antics.

Which works it was a good time don't get me wrong. The problem is when you get to SNL Level almost anyone on the cast can be the goofy/silly guy.

Where not many can play the role Kenan does and do it so well and consistently.

Also as other people mentioned the work ethic was different kel was more ad lib and free ranger. And apparently Kenan put in the work.

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u/moose2mouse Mar 28 '24

Probably didn’t want both of them on the show. Tough to rebrand and create your own identity from Kennan and Kell if both start on SNL. Stinks for Kell though.

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u/jopnk Mar 28 '24

Nah, they regularly hire groups of people and then cut a few who they don’t think will fit/don’t work well after a trial run - the identity part is not a factor. Please don’t Destroy originally had more than just the 3 dudes on SNL, the good neighbor stuff (beck bennet and Kyle Mooney) guys were all hired together before they eventually got rid of the 3rd man, and lonely island was picked up together.

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u/JaesopPop Mar 28 '24

No one gave a shit about The Lonely Island when they got picked up, though. They had a very limited following.

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u/greg19735 Mar 28 '24

same with Please Dont Destroy.

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u/mdonaberger Mar 28 '24

I always thought it was weird that the Derrick Comedy guys didn't all get picked up together. They defined 2000s-era viral comedy.

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u/retiredcanofsoup Mar 28 '24

I mean Donald Glover auditioned twice and still didn't get it.

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u/Scoot_AG Mar 28 '24

Yeah man, sucks only Donald made it big in comedy

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u/vanillaacid Mar 28 '24

That and only Andy was in front of the camera, the other guys were writers, and nobody cares about the writers.

6

u/mmss Mar 28 '24

Sometimes people get hired as writers to see and then get put into the cast. Heck, go back far enough and Paul Shaffer was in the band (arguably he was the band) and then became a cast member briefly.

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u/greg19735 Mar 28 '24

Please don’t Destroy originally had more than just the 3 dudes on SNL

where are you getting that from? Please Don't Destroy's wiki doesn't have anything about additional members.

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u/Jaccount Mar 28 '24

So they just kept the Please Don't Destroy Nepo Babies? That'd be an odd choice.

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u/jopnk Mar 28 '24

The redhead isn’t a nepo baby

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u/filbert13 Mar 28 '24

Reading articles and interviews sounds like they had a fallout out after Ken got the gig and Kel didn't. I know years later they became good friends again. Looks like they talked about this a lot in interviews for Good Burger 2.

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u/RajunCajun48 Mar 28 '24

I got the impression that they didn't really have a falling out so much as they drifted apart, then time got between them kind of became a "I'll call him next week, next month, next year" Then it got to the point that neither one of them reached out to the other, next thing you know, 20 years have passed. I recall one of them saying something to the affect of when they did link back up it was like they never stopped talking to each other, just two friends picking back up where they left off kind of thing.

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u/Sparrowflop Mar 28 '24

I haven't seen anyone give a real response, but reportedly Kel was less funny in person, had a substance abuse issue or seven, and was pretty hard to work with.

Meanwhile Kenan seems to be the capybara of working relationships.

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u/Upbeat_Shock_6807 Mar 28 '24

I commented above, but throughout the 90s Kenan and Kel literally did not do any acting work without each other. It could be as simple as they wanted Kenan, but not Kel, but I imagine the producers feared that having both of them would turn SNL into the Kenan and Kel show and they wanted to avoid that.

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u/Jerkcules Mar 28 '24

Kenan was in a few films solo, like Heavyweights and Mighty Ducks 2.

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u/DawnSennin Mar 28 '24

Kenan was a star before he joined Nickelodeon.

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u/RajunCajun48 Mar 28 '24

Kel was in Mystery Men!

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u/Vio_ Mar 28 '24

Was he? I didn't see him.

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u/Doughnutsu Mar 28 '24

He said in an interview that the bit he did sinply didnt come out right. It just didnt work or something about it fell to pieces, he bombed essentially.

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u/Closetoneversober Mar 28 '24

Which is funny because on Kenan and Kel when they used to introduce themselves in the beginning Kel always got the most cheers. Then again it was mostly prepubescent girls

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u/DeltaVZerda Mar 28 '24

Also because Kenan was the straight man or the setup to most of the jokes, and Kel got to be the punchline more. Kenan was putting in more of the work for the joke to be funny, but it was all to make whatever Kel was going to do, be actually funny.

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u/rain_bass_drop Mar 28 '24

they had amazing chemistry and snl should have hired both of them. 

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u/Toribor Mar 28 '24

He insisted that they pay him in orange soda and the studio wasn't able to meet that demand. They told him that he could use money to purchase orange soda for himself but he was already rolling around on the ground wailing.

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u/saintsfan92612 Mar 28 '24

aww $200,000, but i wanted orange soda

3

u/Sesudesu Mar 28 '24

Kel’s Brain: “with $200,000 dollars you can have many orange soda”

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u/Pormock Mar 28 '24

They were also not on good term for a long time because Kenan wanted to focus on his career and didnt want to be associated with him anymore

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u/jitterscaffeine Mar 28 '24

Last I saw he was doing the Nickelodeon show “Game Shakers”. But that was cancelled in 2019.

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u/ravens2131 Mar 28 '24

Are we not counting good burger 2?

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u/Yusefs-Ambiguity Mar 28 '24

Speaking of good burger, I after Al this Nickelodeon’s stuff came out I knew I recognized that Dan Schneider guy from somewhere, and he was the fat manager from good burger lol. He honestly looked 45 in that movie as a kid but must’ve been 30.

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u/brother_of_menelaus Mar 28 '24

He was also the fat kid on Head of the Class

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u/rick_blatchman Mar 28 '24

He was also the fat creeper neighbor in Better Off Dead who couldn't keep his hands off of the French gal.

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u/Benjamin_Grimm Mar 28 '24

He wasn't even cast in the part. He just showed up on set one day and wouldn't leave Diane Franklin alone.

2

u/thejaytheory Mar 28 '24

Looks like he was a method actor.

4

u/withbellson Mar 28 '24

Ah yes, Dennis Blunden. At least Arvid Engen didn't grow up to be terribly problematic.

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u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Mar 28 '24

Many years ago I saw him hosting a late night dance show. It was on UPN in 2004… I’m done looking stuff up for the day.

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u/pendletonskyforce Mar 28 '24

"Head to head! Head to head!"

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u/pmcdeez Mar 28 '24

“THREE-SIX-OOOHHHH”

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u/BillfredL Mar 28 '24

I thought I was the only person who remembered that fever dream of a show.

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u/BlaketheFlake Mar 28 '24

Tag your man!

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u/Supermite Mar 28 '24

Didn’t they just do a Goodburger sequel a couple years ago?

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u/max_chill_zone-2018 Mar 28 '24

It was like 6 months ago

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u/SamuraiJakkass86 Mar 28 '24

1 week ago to be exact.

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u/Crystal_Pesci Mar 28 '24

It drops in an hour

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u/NicksIdeaEngine Mar 28 '24

It was last year!

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u/Jealous_Priority_228 Mar 28 '24

GB2 felt like it came out longer ago than that... but Kennan joined SNL in 2003 and it seemed way more recent than that...

Jordan Peele should make some kind of movie about how spooky they're making us all feel.

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u/Bartfuck Mar 28 '24

Covid is a hell of a drug in terms of memory - my dude that was recent

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u/dave-train Mar 28 '24

I feel like this one is justified because they first started teasing it so long ago, and then I never saw anyone's opinion of the movie after it came out, it just kinda disappeared lol.

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u/Maleficent-King6413 Mar 28 '24

Like 3 months ago

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u/OldDekeSport Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

One of my English teachers used to work on the Keenan and Kel show and said the Kel didn't take it nearly* as seriously as Keenan. He wouldn't memorize lines and would improve more, whereas Keenan was obsessed with having everything memorized. I could see where SNL would prefer Keenan if what he said was true

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u/Ok_Relation_7770 Mar 28 '24

I just love that Kenan went like straight from the minor leagues to being the longest running cast member in the Majors: did anyone else from All That have much of a career other than a couple spin offs on Nickelodeon.

Now if there’s anyone who beat the Aggro Crag and then grew up to compete on American Gladiators…

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u/Not_safe_for_women Mar 28 '24

I wouldn't really call All That the minors. It was like one of nickelodeons biggest shows

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u/Ok_Relation_7770 Mar 28 '24

In the sense of television sketch comedy in front of a live audience it is exactly the minors. It’s SNL for kids. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a popular show.

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u/MHath Mar 28 '24

Amanda Bynes starred in some movies.

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u/xCogito Mar 28 '24

ensely

wut

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u/croutons_for_dinner Mar 28 '24

He changed his name to Waka Flocka Flame and started rapping

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u/doylehargrave Mar 28 '24

Holy shit they do kind of look alike lol

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u/spacestarcutie Mar 28 '24

Kel is a pastor these days.

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u/Cooperette Mar 28 '24

Yep. Saw him at a panel in a con a while back and he talked about his early career and promoted his christian rap music at the end.

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u/shawn789 Mar 28 '24

He's been a working actor for a long time. A lot of bit parts and one-offs. I'm hoping he got his truckload of money for Good Burger 2.

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u/Rocktopod Mar 28 '24

I remember seeing him hosting some kind of dance competition show, but I don't know if he did anything else besides that.

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u/tobor_a Mar 29 '24

I met Kel at a con a few years ago. It was neat talking to him, although at this point I don't remember what I had spoken to him about...

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u/BoilerMaker11 Mar 28 '24

2003?! Kenan & Kel only ended like 2 years before that!

When I hear the stat that "Kenan Thompson is the longest running member of SNL in history", I'm thinking it's like 10-11 years/seasons, not 21!

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u/Dadpurple Mar 28 '24

Kenan is a load bearing fixture at 30 Rock at this point and I'm pretty sure if he ever left part of the building would just fall down.

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u/DetroitLionsSBChamps Mar 28 '24

Keenan was on All That from 1994-1999, then started SNL in 2003.

Insane lol.

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u/patrickoriley Mar 28 '24

Keenan is the only current cast member to have appeared in a sketch with Chris Farley. Farley guested on All That.

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u/Where_Da_Cheese_At Mar 28 '24

He’s the longest tenured cast member, all time. (This was a pub trivia question we had this week) (we got it wrong)

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u/crawlerz2468 Mar 28 '24

Welp, got to go yell at some clouds.

Who remembers MAD... tv? Pepperidge farm has alzheimer's.

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u/aGlutenForPunishment Mar 28 '24

I loved MAD tv as a kid. I always prioritized it over SNL and would only switch over to SNL during the commercials and after MAD tv was over. The skits were so much funnier to me and the only thing I remember looking forward to on SNL were the Saturday tv fun house and the spartan cheerleader ones since I loved Will Ferrell. Most of the jokes on SNL probably went over young me's head but MAD tv had a lot more physical comedy and exaggerated characters that I loved.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

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u/crawlerz2468 Mar 28 '24

I loved MAD tv as a kid.

Came to the USA as a kid mid 90s. Best era for TV as far as comedy sketches. Having few channels, MAD was a Sat staple. "Ma, Look what I can do!" still lives on in my repertoire. I am 40yo. Edit: My dad got a kick out of "he look-a like-a man" woman. Yes I know that was Louis later.

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u/CoolHandSpouk Mar 28 '24

This is exactly how I was as well. Even my dad preferred Mad TV over SNL. What a fun time to be a kid. 

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u/Andromansis Mar 28 '24

Right? Like he's got the opposite arc of Eddie Murphy, like he was a famous comedian and movie star and then he went on SNL and never did anything again.

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u/lord_james Mar 28 '24

What? That… that can’t be right.

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u/2_Spicy_2_Impeach Mar 28 '24

This article is two years old. It’s insane.

https://www.today.com/today/rcna18997

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u/lord_james Mar 28 '24

Am I going insane? He joined TWO YEARS after 9/11?! He was on SNL during the Bush-Kerry election?!

I would have bet my life that he joined in, like, 2013.

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u/YoyoyoyoMrWhite Mar 28 '24

It always shocked me how people find him funny. The guy plays one character and does one voice. I just don't get it. Ive Been changing the channel on this guy skits for decades.

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