When Did Chris Farley and Adam Sandler Join SNL? All about Season 16 Cast
Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and Adam Sandler were just a few of the newcomers to join SNL's lineup.
One of the great things about Saturday Night Live is that if you asked 10 fans to name their favorite cast, you could very easily get 10 different answers. Every generation and micro-generation seem to forge unique connections with particular SNL performers. For fans who came of age in the early '90s, for example, names like Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and David Spade probably hold a special place in their memories.
Those performers' first taste of life in the show's cast came in 1990 in SNL's 16th season, a year that would have a lasting impact in the comedy institution's trajectory.
To celebrate the sketch show’s 50th anniversary, let's take a look back at that pivotal collection of talent.
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Chris Farley
Chris Farley made a name for himself with Chicago’s Second City before joining SNL from 1990 to 1995. Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, he became known for his over-the-top, fearless brand of physical comedy, often crashing into furniture or cartwheeling around the stage.
He famously brought to life motivational speaker Matt Foley, who tried to warn kids away from decisions that would have them living "in a van, down by the river!"
Farley’s high-energy delivery as the dancing lunch lady (Season 19, air date: January 15, 1994), one of the "Gap Girls" (Season 19, air date January 15, 1994), as well as his unforgettable turn as an aspiring Chippendales dancer opposite Patrick Swayze (Season 16, air date: October 7, 1990), showcased what The New York Times called his “edgy physicality” that was comparable to the late John Belushi.
Outside his time on SNL, Farley had many film credits to his name, including Airheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja.
Farley died in 1997 at age 33.
Chris Rock
Another SNL newcomer for Season 16 was Chris Rock, a rising stand-up comic who stayed on the show until 1993. Raised in Brooklyn, he was spotted during one of his New York City gigs by performer and actor Eddie Murphy (an SNL cast member from 1980 to 1984) who got Rock a role in the 1987 film Beverly Hills Cop II.
In a 2021 interview on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan, Rock reflected on joining the cast in his early twenties, hired on the same day as Chris Farley.
“It was an amazing time in my life,” said the four-time Emmy Award-winning actor. “I’m still friends with all those guys.”
In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him one of the greatest comics of all time, writing, “Onstage, Chris Rock comes across like a boxer, a preacher and a poet all in one. When he paces the stage, whipping the mic cable and grinning maniacally, audiences now know what’s coming: This is a comic who knows how to punch premises for rhythm as much as substance and drop punchlines that provoke unconventional thinking.”
Frequently tackling weighty issues such race and politics with his own comedic spin, some of his most-remembered SNL sketches were Nat X, and his contributions on "Weekend Update." Since departing from the show, he has returned four times to host.
Rock’s non-SNL ventures consisted of numerous stand-up specials, creating the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005-2009), and dozens of other film and television credits. He was inducted into Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2003.
Tim Meadows
Joining the show midway through Season 16, Tim Meadows became one of SNL’s longest-running cast members, performing from 1991 to 2000. He grew up around Detroit, Michigan, and began honing his improv skills in the area’s Soup Kitchen Saloon. He later enrolled in Chicago’s Second City, in the same class as his costar Chris Farley.
When asked to join SNL, he was “under the impression that it was a writing job,” he once told Minneapolis news station WUCW. He said he was “stunned and delighted” to learn he'd also be joining the Season 16 lineup as a performer.
“Four or five years before, I was an office manager in Detroit and going to college,” said Meadows. “I still felt like that’s who I was. I didn’t feel like, ‘I’m an actor, writer, comedian, now.’”
During Meadows’ 10 seasons on SNL, he impersonated many famous figures, including (in multiple episodes) O.J. Simpson, Oprah Winfrey, and Michael Jackson. One of his more renowned sketches was that of "The Ladies’ Man," the groovy, sex-obsessed talk show host, the success of which was translated into 2000 feature film.
Meadows’ acting continued on the big screen, with major roles in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Grown Ups, and Mean Girls, plus dozens of TV credits.
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Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler initially joined SNL as a writer in 1990, but became a featured player in February 1991, midway through Season 16. He'd stay on the show until 1995.
His penchant for musical comedy, which included "The Hanukkah Song" (Season 20, air date: Dec. 3, 1994), plus his indelible, recurring roles as "Opera Man" and as one of the "Gap Girls," were just a few timeless sketches from his SNL tenure.
When Sandler receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2023, Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter celebrated him for creating “characters that have made us laugh, cry, and cry from laughing,” according to CNN.
Sandler saw major commercial success outside SNL with films such as Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Wedding Singer.
Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider premiered as a featured SNL cast member in Season 16 and later became a main cast member before leaving after Season 19. According to his bio with The Kennedy Center, where Schneider helped present Sandler with the Mark Twain prize, Schneider performed comedy around his native San Francisco, getting his big break in 1987 when appearing on an HBO special hosted by Dennis Miller.
He began writing for SNL in 1988, two years before joining the cast, and earned two Emmy nominations during his time on the show. One of his most popular recurring sketches involved the character Richard Laymer, or "Richmeister," whose habit of giving his co-workers nicknames never failed to delight.
He starred in several feature films outside SNL’s Studio 8H, including The Benchwarmers, The Hot Chick, and Grown Ups, to name just a few.
David Spade
David Spade was also originally hired as a writer for Season 16, but eventually moved into the cast as a featured player midway through the season. He remained on the show until 1996. Known for his snarky and self-deprecating humor, he got his SNL break after being spotted at the L.A.-based Improv comedy club, with an assist from Dennis Miller.
“Dennis Miller told me: 'You don’t want to kill too hard, Spudley. It throws up a red flag. You don’t want to be a polished road act,'” Spade told The New York Times in 2013. “And I go, ‘Well, I’m certainly not that. There’s no danger.’”
Spade was memorably one of the flight attendants for "Total Bastard Airlines" in the Season 19 sketch, whose dismissive catch phrase "Buh-Bye" simultaneously flummoxed passengers and entertained viewers. He also portrayed the "Gap Girls" with Farley and Sandler. Spade and Farley grew close on SNL, and outside the series, the duo costarred in the popular blockbusters Tommy Boy and Black Sheep.
He went on to appear in a host of comedy specials, films, and TV shows, most notably as the star of NBC’s Just Shoot Me! which ran from 1997 to 2003.
Julia Sweeney
Julia Sweeney also joined the SNL cast mid-Season 16, staying until 1994. Growing up, she went to prep school in Spokane, Washington, later attending the University of Washington because she “wanted to be part of the big city,” she said in a January 31, 1993 interview with The Seattle Times. There, she earned degrees in economics and European history.
Sweeney later took a position as an accountant at Columbia Pictures in L.A., and in 1987, she joined The Groundlings as a mentee of Phil Hartman. It wasn’t long before she was noticed as a strong candidate for SNL.
Of her many roles, she's perhaps best known for "It’s Pat," where she starred as the ambiguously gendered title character. Speaking to Dennis Miller in a 2019 episode of Larry King Now, the alums discussed the recurring sketch, noting that the character of Pat wasn’t trying to be androgynous; instead, “Pat definitely felt either female or male, we just didn’t know which one that was.”
Sweeney also has a ton of acting credits to her name, appearing in shows such as Sex and the City, Brooklyn 99, and American Gods.
Dana Carvey
The Season 16 cast had plenty of new faces, but Dana Carvey remained one of the show's most dependable performers. Carvey joined SNL in 1986 after years honing his craft as a standup in Los Angeles, he recalled to The New York Times in 2013. He'd auditioned previously for the show, but never got it. Eventually, though, he netted another audition after Lorne Michaels saw him opening for Rosie O'Donnell at a club on L.A.'s west side one night. Up against comics such as Jim Carrey and soon-to-be SNL cast member Phil Hartman (on SNL from 1986 to 1994), Carvey figured he “bombed” during his big chance, but that was evidently far from the case.
In fact, Carvey already had several ready-made characters that would soon be make their way on the air, including the uptight Enid Strict, his iconic Church Lady. Another one of Carvey’s characters — based on his real-life brother — was Garth Algar, one-half of SNL’s recurring sketch Wayne’s World, about two Illinois metalheads hosting a public access show from Wayne’s (Mike Myers) parents’ basement.
During his time on the show, which lasted until 1993, Carvey also memorably impersonated President George H. W. Bush and business tycoon and White House hopeful Ross Perot, and starred as Hans opposite Kevin Nealon in Pumping Up with Hans and Franz.
Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman was a member of The Groundings, the L.A.-based improv comedy troupe, before joining the SNL cast in 1986, where he'd stay until 1994.
Dubbed by many, including The Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly, as “The Man of 1,000 Voices,” Hartman’s tenure was marked by a host of indelible roles, such as his Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, Frank Sinatra, and, later, President Bill Clinton.
Hartman also racked up success outside SNL, too, providing multiple voices on The Simpsons and, after leaving SNL, appearing on the sitcom NewsRadio for four seasons from 1995 until his death in 1998.
Mike Myers
Canadian comedian Mike Myers graced the SNL stage from 1989 to 1995, delivering some of the show's most iconic characters during his tenure. Like many of his predecessors and peers, including Gilda Radner (on SNL from 1975 to 1980) and Tim Meadows, Myers found his footing in The Second City improv comedy circuit, first in Toronto and then in Chicago.
Myers told NBC’s TODAY in 2022 that he mined his personal life for many of his off-the-wall SNL characters. His guitar-shredding main character on Wayne’s World (which spawned into two successful blockbuster films) was based on his upbringing in Scarborough, Ontario, while his starring role in the 1993 film So I Married an Axe Murderer was “every Scottish family in Canada."
“Everything had to be personal,” he said of his body of work. “Everything is autobiographical.”
Joining SNL, Myers said he was “scared sh-tless” when in the company of Hartman, Kevin Nealon, and Jan Hooks, but called the experience “unbelievable,” in an interview with Vulture. During his run, he breathed life into characters such as "Coffee Talk’"s Linda Richman, West German "Sprockets" TV host Dieter, and British 6-year-old Simon.
Myers' prominence only grew with his titular roles in the Austin Powers and Shrek film franchises after SNL.
Jan Hooks
Like Hartman, Jan Hooks — a cast member from 1986 to 1991 — got her big comedic break as a member of The Groundlings. In 2014, The New Yorker praised the Georgia native's “comedic gift,” and for bringing a particular “Southernness” to the NBC series from 1986 to 1991.
Her performance with Nora Dunn (a cast member from 1985 to 1990) as The Sweeney Sisters was one of her signature roles on the show. Other notable impressions included Tammy Faye Bakker, Ivana Trump, Sinéad O’Connor, and Hillary Clinton.
Hooks’ fellow SNL cast mates Dennis Miller and Kevin Nealon, recalling the comedienne’s career during a 2019 episode of Larry King Now, called her “a genius.”
“I can’t think of a better sketch player than her,” said Nealon. “She was so good.”
Hooks went on to act in Designing Women, Batman Returns, and The Simpsons before dying in 2014 at the age of 57.
Kevin Nealon
St. Louis-born comedian Kevin Nealon got his start while bartending at the Hollywood Improv. After appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman, long-time pal Dana Carvey helped Nealon land a spot on SNL, where he stayed from 1986 to 1995.
At the time, he was dating Jan Hooks, who was also in the running to join SNL, Nealon told Howard Stern in 2009 while describing his New York audition.
“You know, I was not nervous because I knew I would never get it,” Nealon said. “I was just there to experience it.”
Needless to say, Nealon did get the job, nailing his roles as "Weekend Update" contributor Mr. Subliminal, teaming with Carvey for the bodybuilding duo Hans and Franz, and later serving as the "Weekend Update" anchor from 1991 to 1993.
Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson appeared on SNL from 1986 to 1992, lending her recognizably high-pitched voice to numerous sketches and "Weekend Update" appearances. In a January 4, 2024 interview with British magazine Closer Weekly, she described growing up in a strict Florida home without a television. Her childhood was devoted to gymnastics, which would serve her well in her comedy career.
That unique talent came in handy in 1983 when she read poetry upside-down and played the ukulele on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — a bit parodied a few years later on SNL (Season 17, air date: October 5, 1991).
Her best-known impressions included Roseanne Barr, Sally Struthers, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, though she said playing “The Boyfriend Song” (Season 12, air date: February 21, 1987) on the ukulele alongside Willie Nelson was “one of the highlights of [her] whole life,” according to Closer Weekly.
Dennis Miller
The Pittsburgh-born Dennis Miller, a cast member from 1985 to 1991, said he got the comedic itch when first seeing Robin Williams perform stand-up in 1979, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was invited to join SNL after being scouted at The Comedy Store in L.A., and was soon tapped to host "Weekend Update" in his first season. His playful, sardonic delivery, coupled with his weekly parting words, “That’s the news, and I’m outta here,” helped Miller become a go-to for political satire.
"Dennis was, in the beginning, always too hip for the room," Improv co-owner Mark Lonow told the Post-Gazette. "He was too erudite. His references were so 'in' . . . people were like, 'Where did that come from?' But when you first saw him, you could see the brightness. You couldn't tell if he was going to be a star, because you didn't know the business hunger. But a very smart comic."
Miller found success in his comic and satirical endeavors post-SNL, earning five Emmy Awards for his weekly HBO series Dennis Miller Live, which ran from 1994 to 2002. He's also appeared in movies like Joe Dirt and What Happens in Vegas.
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A. Whitney Brown
A. Whitney Brown began writing for the show in 1985, during Season 11, eventually making his debut later that season as a featured player – a role he'd maintain until leaving SNL in Season 16.
Brown said he found his knack for comedy in the late ’70s as a street juggler in California before shifting into stand-up, according to The Austin Chronicle. He appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson before being invited to write for SNL, Brown once told Shecky Magazine.
“After a few months as a writer, Herb Sargent and Al Franken asked me to prepare an 'Update' piece,” he said. “Eventually I did do it and started doing them regularly.”
Al Franken
The recipient of five Emmy Awards and another 15 nominations, primarily for his work on SNL, Al Franken was a writer on the series from the show’s first season in 1975 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1995. He first appeared as a featured player mid-Season 11 and held the position from Seasons 14 through 20.
His recurring role as the effervescent self-help guru in "Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley" became a beloved sketch beginning in Season 16. His character’s catchphrase – “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me” – became a fan favorite.
Where can I watch full episodes of SNL Season 16?
Audiences can watch all 50 seasons of Saturday Night Live, now available to stream on Peacock.
