From Chris Farley’s speedball overdose to Norm Macdonald’s unexpected death in 2021, these stories highlight how manySaturday Night Livecast members died tragically young.
Since it premiered in 1975 , the joy ofSaturday Night Livehas come from its cast members . Comedians like Bill Murray , Eddie Murphy , Tina Fey , Kristen Wiig , and numberless others skyrocketed to fame on the variety show . But sadly , some of SNL ’s most gifted cast fellow member have met other remainder .
The very first SNL cast member to cash in one’s chips was also one of the most darling : John Belushi . A member of the original SNL mould , Belushi was live for his dynamic performances both on the show and in rage classics likeAnimal House . But Belushi also had a drug problem .
By the end of his lifespan , Belushi was so trapped in the cps of addiction that he was spending more than $ 2,000 a week on cocain . Still , John Belushi ’s death at the years of just 33 come as a total shock absorber — and a warning to many of his protagonist in clowning .
NBCGilda Radner was part of SNL’s original cast, known as the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players.”
But Belushi was far from the last SNL stamp penis to die unseasoned . Some , like Chris Farley , deplorably follow in Belushi ’s footfall . Others , like Gilda Radner , died shockingly new of natural causes . And Phil Hartman was bump off by his own wife when he was just 49 .
These are the story ofSaturday Night Livecast members who conk far too new , from their time on the show to the circumstances ring their deaths .
‘Gilda, We Miss You’: Gilda Radner’s Death At 42
NBCGilda Radner was part of SNL ’s original cast , known as the “ Not quick for Prime Time Players . ”
Gilda Radner was the very first plaster bandage phallus to be charter forSaturday Night Live — in the beginning calledNBC ’s Saturday Night — which premiere in 1975 . And less than 20 class later , Radner tragically became one of the first of the original cast to go past out . She died of ovarian cancer on May 20 , 1989 at the age of 42 .
contain on June 28 , 1946 in Detroit , Michigan , Radner was introduce to show business at a young age . consort to herobituary inThe New York Times , her beginner , a deport performing artist who liked doing magic tricks , owned a hotel where show stage business type often passed through .
NBCGilda Radner and Steve Martin on SNL.
As an adult , Radner essay to become a performing artist herself . After a brief stint at the University of Michigan , where she majored in dramatic play , Radner move to Canada and performed with the Toronto branch of the Second City improv radical . In New York , she pass on to perform inThe National Lampoon Radio HourandThe National Lampoon Showand caught the centre of producer Lorne Michaels , who was casting for a new variety show for NBC .
“ I matte there was a noteworthy quality to her , a good which do through whatever she was doing , ” Michaels remarked .
Part of the original cast known as the “ Not Ready for Prime Time Players , ” Radner made her mark onSaturday Night Livewith characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna , Lisa Loopner , and Emily Litella . strong , zany , and magnetic , Radner delighted SNL fans . But thing were often riotous behind the scenes . Radner struggled with eating upset for much of her grownup life , and reportedly had an ill - fated romance with her fellow plaster cast member Bill Murray .
NBCGilda Radner and Steve Martin on SNL .
Radner left SNL in 1980 and went on to perform in films . But she was name with ovarian cancer in 1986 , and died of the disease in 1989 .
“ Crab is plausibly the most unfunny matter in the world , ” she compose in her autobiography , It ’s Always Something . “ But I ’m a comedienne , and even cancer could n’t stop me from see humor in what I went through . ”
On the sidereal day of her death , SNL host Steve Martin started the show with a clip that he and Radner had previously filmed , and remarked that the vignette testify “ how great she was and how young I looked . ” He added : “ Gilda , we omit you . ”
