Many of comedy’s most esteemed legends were once part of the Saturday Night Live cast, but that does not necessarily mean that NBC’s long-running series marked the beginning of their career. Some Studio 8H veterans first cut their teeth as part of The Second City — a Chicago-based improv troupe that also served as a jumping-off point for the likes of John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and more. As for the many SNL stars who performed with Second City, we have them listed for you below.
Dan Aykroyd
Famous for co-creating the Blues Brothers and the Festrunk Brothers (arguably his single best SNL sketch), Not-Ready-For-Primetime Player Dan Aykroyd is also a veteran of Second City. In fact, the future Ghostbusters star and writer performed with the troupe in both his native Canada and Chicago.
Amy Poehler
Second City was actually just one of a few places where Amy Poehler studied improvisational comedy in the early 1990s before becoming an SNL all-star. The future Parks and Recreation cast member also trained at iO (then called ImprovOlympic) and was a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Martin Short
Some of Martin Short’s funniest characters from his one-season stint on SNL actually originated from his time at Second City and on the troupe’s own sketch comedy series, SCTV. The most notable example would have to be childish pop culture obsessive, Ed Grimley.
Tina Fey
The dynamic power duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler first came to be when they performed at Second City together. Before becoming SNL’s first female head-writer, Fey also made history as a member of Second City’s first gender-equal cast.
Bill Murray
Before Bill Murray became Chevy Chase’s replacement Not-Ready-For-Primetime Player, he practiced improv at Second City. He recalled to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that he started at the same time as John Candy and described his first-day performance as “pretty bad.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Despite her subsequent success in the Seinfeld cast, leading Veep, and other accomplishments, there are still many people who are not aware or have forgotten that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on SNL. Even fewer people probably know about her early days studying improv at the Second City.
Rachel Dratch
During an interview with Today, Rachel Dratch — known best for playing Debbie Downer on SNL — discussed her days as part of Second City. She said — while noting how every Second City performer probably feels this way — that she believes she was part of a “golden age” for the troupe’s touring company, during which future icons like Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert were involved.
Cecily Strong
One of the few SNL stars who lasted at least 10 years on the show, Cecily Strong developed her impeccable comedic skills as part of Second City. The Emmy winner spoke to The Chicago Tribune about touring with the troupe on a cruise line of all places.
Chris Farley
Bob Odenkirk was the writer of the iconic SNL sketch in which Chris Farley first performed as motivational speaker Matt Foley at Studio 8H. However, the late comedic first introduced his character at Second City, which is where he was first discovered by SNL creator Lorne Michaels.
John Belushi
Before John Belushi made history on SNL, his rise in the comedy world began at Second City. It was at the company’s Chicago club where Belushi met Dan Aykroyd, starting a legendary partnership that led to the creation of, arguably, the best SNL-inspired movie, The Blues Brothers.
Bill Hader
Bill Hader’s experience with show business dates back to when he worked as a production assistant on the set of movies like the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led Collateral Damage, as he told Conan O’Brien once. However, it was his days performing with Second City that really paved the way for the star and co-creator of Barry to eventually join SNL.
Tim Meadows
Tim Meadows’ Second City stint began in 1989, when he began writing and performing revues like The Gods Must Be Lazy. Two years later, he began what would be a record-breaking run on SNL at the time, lasting 10 seasons, during which he made Leon “The Ladies Man” Phelps a household name.
Gilda Radner
Even before debuting on SNL (then called NBC’s Saturday Night), Gilda Radner became acquainted with fellow Not-Ready-For-Primetime Players like Dan Aykroyd as part of The Second City. It was there that she created Emily Litella, who went on to become an all-time great “Weekend Update” guest for her tendency to misunderstand the topic she was editorializing.
Mike Myers
Many of Mike Myers’ best characters who are most often associated with SNL were actually first introduced during his time with The Second City. The Canadian-born comic debuted Wayne Campbell and German talk show host Dieter as part of the troupe, specifically.
Jason Sudeikis
Jason Sudeikis actually had a fair amount of experience with improv even before he joined Second City, having trained at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre and iO and forming J.T.S Brown early on. The future Emmy-winning Ted Lasso cast member was even a founding member of Second City’s Las Vegas branch before becoming an SNL writer in 2003 and, eventually, joining the cast.
Vanessa Bayer
As part of The Second City Touring Company, Vanessa Bayer performed in productions like Jewsical: The Musical and Girls’ Night Out: Uncensored. Soon after, she was on SNL impersonating Miley Cyrus, playing Jacob, the Bar Mitzvah Boy, and other memorable performances that eventually earned her an Emmy nomination the year she left Studio 8H.
Mary Gross
The versatile Mary Gross had a very successful run at Second City, having won a Joseph Jefferson award for her performance in the company’s revue of Well, I’m Off to the Thirty Years’ War in 1981. That same year, she joined the SNL cast, alongside fellow Second Citizen Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tim Kazurinksy, and would later star alongside other veterans in Christopher Guest’s music movie favorite, A Mighty Wind.
Tim Robinson
Tim Robinson would actually find even greater success following his SNL exit as the star of his Netflix sketch comedy series, I Think You Should Leave. His pre-SNL career involved a stint at Second City when he was just a teenager, according to Vulture.
Aidy Bryant
Aidy Bryant’s time with The Second City started when she enrolled in Columbia College’s comedy studies program, which allowed her to train full-time with the company. She would perform with Second City Theatricals on Norwegian Cruise Line alongside Cecily Strong before they both were cast on SNL in 2012.
David Koechner
After studying under iO co-founder Del Close, David Koechner — also known from the Anchorman movies and despicable The Office character, Todd Packer — joined The Second City and performed in revues in Rolling Meadows, IL. Alongside fellow future SNL performers Nancy Carell and Rachel Dratch, he performed in the company’s very first long-form improv show, “Lois Kaz.”
Alex Moffat
As a Chicago native, Alex Moffat has quite a bit of experience with the city’s improv scene, having been a part of iO, Annoyance Theatre, and, of course, The Second City. In 2016, he joined SNL and became best known for impersonating the likes of Tucker Carlson and Eric Trump during this six-year stint.
Jim Belushi
Jim Belushi followed in the footsteps of his older brother, John, by performing on SNL from 1983 to 1985, but similarities between their careers do not stop at Studio 8H. While John was a Not-Ready-For-Primetime Player, the future According to Jim star performed with Chicago’s Second City group from 1977 to 1980.
Mike O’Brien
Some might call Mike O’Brien an actor SNL never quite figured out how to use in sketches, save his funny pre-taped fake biopics, like The Jay-Z Story. Despite this, his Studio 8H stint is predated by plenty of improv studies in Chicago, including training at Second City and performing in a mainstage production of “America: All Better.”
Robin Duke
Robin Duke is one of the few SNL alums who had previously starred on The Second City’s SCTV. Her best-known work from Studio 8H is, just about, the perpetually annoying Wendy Whiner.
Chris Redd
There is actually a bit of a gap between Chris Redd’s time as a Mainstage understudy at The Second City (with which he toured both the United States and Europe) and his 2017 SNL debut. After leaving Second City, he had roles on TV shows like Empire and appeared in The Lonely Island’s 2016 mockumentary, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
Brian Doyle-Murray
Bill Murray’s older brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, is an alum of both the Toronto and Chicago branches of The Second City, having served in the troupe in the early 1970s. In the early 1980s, he was a featured player on SNL, most notably as a “Weekend Update” host.
Tony Rosato
Tony Rosato is probably best known for playing bumbling kitchen chef Marcello on SCTV. The late, Italian-born comedian never quite achieved an SNL moment as memorable, having joined the cast during the much-maligned first season without Lorne Michaels as EP.
Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz became a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade with other comedians he met while taking classes at The Second City. Some of those same comedians wound up sharing the stage with him on SNL, during which he appeared in multiple sketches that did not go according to plan, sometimes due to his own laughter.
Peter Aykroyd
Peter Aykroyd briefly became an SNL cast member in 1980 after his older brother, Dan, left the show. The late Emmy-winning writer and actor also had a stint at The Second City in common with his sibling.
Jerry Minor
While living in Detroit, Jerry Minor started writing and performing with other local sketch comedy groups before getting into improv at The Second City’s mainstage. In 2000, he was cast on SNL for what would be one season, during which he, most notably, played Grand Master Rap and impersonated notable figures like Al Sharpton.
Tim Kazurinsky
Tim Kazurinsky might be better known for his time at The Second City in the 1970s than his SNL stint in the early 1980s. In fact, he might even be better known for writing movies like About Last Night and starring in the likes of Police Academy than both.
Nancy Carell
It was while they were both performing for The Second City where a woman then known as Nancy Walls met her future husband, Steve Carell. However, between the two of them, she was one who became an SNL cast member for a year in 1995.
While a spot on SNL is something most aspiring comedians long for, it is still an amazing honor to have The Second City as their first gig.
