Saturday Night Live has had some amazing recurring characters over the years, like Mr. Robinson, Ed Grimley, The Church Lady, The Coffee Talk Ladies, and so many more. As the show has been on for five decades or so, it's no surprise that some great characters have been lost to history. Hardcore fans might know them, but we still wanted to give them the props they deserve in our list of characters you may have forgotten from SNL.
Azrael Abyss
If you were around in the late-nighties, you know just how big goth culture got. It was a seriously popular subset of pop culture (though the goths would hate being described as such). As SNL is a reflection of the times, it's no surprise that "Goth Talk" with its host Azrael Abyss, plays by Chris Kattan) became a great recurring sketch.
Judy Grimes
Kristen Wiig is one of the legendary players to ever come out of Saturday Night Live and she came up with some amazing characters. You might forget that one of those characters, Judy Grimes was, ostensibly, the Weekend Update travel expert. She was really more famous for her extreme nervousness when on the air which resulted in hilarious run-on sentences and her catchphrase, "Just kidding."
Fernando
Billy Crystal was a key part of SNL in the mid-eighties as a frequent host and briefly as a cast member. That all led to some great characters, like Fernando. Sure, he's not as forgotten as some others on this list, but still, he looks Mahvalous!
Nadeen
Over her five seasons on Saturday Night Live, Cheri Oteri came up with some amazing characters. While we all remember The Cheerleaders with her and Will Ferrell, not everyone will remember Nadeen. You never knew where Nadeen was going to pop up, it could be in a hospital, or maybe at a department store, but it was always going to be a struggle to deal with her.
Nathan Thurm
Martin Short really worked overtime on some of his characters, such as Ed Grimley and Jiminy Glick, that we all still love today. One character that isn't as remembered these days is Nathan Thurm, the sweaty, chain-smoking entertainment lawyer who wasn't as smart as he thought he was.
Tounces The Driving Cat
Everyone once in a while, SNL strays into the surreal and the absurd, and there is no greater example than Tounces The Driving Cat. It was such a weird sketch, that featured a cat who could drive a car. Usually over a cliff.
Mango
Chris Kattan's most famous character has to be his half of the Butabi Brothers alongside Will Ferrell. But one of his funniest recurring characters was Mango, the exotic dancer who had the ability to draw anyone into his orbit with just a few wild dance moves.
Richard Laymer
Did you know that the "makin' copies" guy had a name? Rob Schneider's most famous character isn't as remembered if you weren't watching the show in the '90s. Richard Laymer was his name and he was the most annoying co-worker anyone could ever imagine. He was hilarious at the time, but the joke has worn pretty thin over the years.
Tommy Flanagan
Tommy Flanagan is a forgotten... no... a slightly famous... wait, no, he's the most famous character ever created! Yeah, that's the ticket! He was also known as The Pathological Liar and was played by Marlon Bran...no...Robert de...no, Jon Lovitz! In all seriousness, it was a fantastic character but like a lot of Lovitz's characters, he seems completely forgotten about today.
The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party
Of all of Cecily Strong's amazing characters during her amazing 11-year run on the show, The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party is perhaps her best, but it's also one she just didn't do enough. Early in her career at SNL The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started A Conversation With At A Party would show up regularly on Weekend Update, but it got more and more sporadic. Which is too bad, Seth, because the ocean, Seth.
Willie And Frankie
If you take two comedy legends like Christopher Guest and Billy Crystal together, the odds are you're going to get some funny stuff happening. Though they were only on the show for one season together, they did come up with a couple of amazing recurring characters in Willie and Frankie. They were co-workers in various different ways who would commiserate together over really painful stuff that could happen on the job and have hilarious conversations about them.
Grumpy Old Man
Dana Carvey spent seven seasons on SNL and he's returned many times over the years as a host and a guest star. Over that time, he's developed some of the most beloved characters in the show's history, like Garth Algar and The Church Lady, to name a couple. One of his funniest characters though was the Grumpy Old Man who would make appearances on Weekend Update to complain about every new and talk about how hard he had it growing up in comparison.
The Continental
Christopher Walken has never been a cast member, but he has hosted many, many times and one character that you can often count on showing up when he does is The Continental. The sketches are shot in a POV style and the character is a creepy, aggressive Don Juan-type who is offensive and hilarious... and hopeless most of the time.
Collette Reardon
Collette Reardon, played by Cheri Oteri, was one big mess. It's an understatement to say she was over-prescribed on pills. She took them all and could somehow keep it together as she explained by why she took each one. It's about all she could, as she obviously couldn't dress herself or apply makeup.
Father Guido Sarducci
Comedian Don Novello was never a full cast member on SNL, but his recurring character, Father Guide Sarducci, was a regular guest on Weekend Update for a few years in the '70s and '80s. It's a character that Novello played for years after as well, appearing on shows well into this century, including on The Colbert Report.
Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
There was no way we could put together a list like this without including the late, great Phil Hartman. Of course, he had many beloved characters over his years on Saturday Night Live, but one of the weirdest and funnies was the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer who was surprisingly good at his job despite his obvious limitations.
Debbie Downer
Rachel Dratch had a successful run on SNL in the early '00s and she's continued to pop up here and there on the show, like during the 2020 election when she did an impression of candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar. During her time as a regular cast member, she came up with the hilarious Debbie Downer who could have something sad about just everything, including Disney World.
Jebidiah Atkinson
Jebidiah Atkinson is truly a character that should have been more popular. Played by Taran Killam, Atkinson was a newspaper editor from the 19th Century who had something negative to say about everything in his appearances
Opera Man
Adam Sandler is one of the most famous former SNL cast members and over his years on the show, he played some memorable characters. One of his less-remembered ones was Opera Man, who sang through his appearances, usually on Weekend Update in classic Adam Sandler fashion.
