Iconic SNL Moments From The '80s Comedy Fans Are Sure To Love

When Lorne Michaels oversaw the original "Saturday Night Live" cast in the first episode back in 1975, one can only assume he did not predict that the show would celebrate its 50th anniversary with a weekend-long event featuring performances by some of the biggest musical acts of past and present. However, between the show's embryonic riotous rehearsals and it becoming the go-to spot for the biggest pop stars in the world to promote their new album, it hasn't all been smooth sailing — especially in the 1980s.

Michaels left Studio 8H at the start of the decade (only to return five years later in 1985), the show's budget was cut from $1 million to less than $500,000, and many fans consider the first show of the '80s to be the worst in its history. Although it wasn't a stellar ten years, there were still plenty of highs. In fact, Michaels himself admitted that the NBC show will always go through ebbs and flows. "Because [the show has] never been described any other way [than uneven] in a review," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "It's only cumulatively that you sort of go, 'Oh yeah, that.' You can't be perfect for 90 minutes."

Thanks to cast members and future comedy legends like Martin Short, Eddie Murphy, and Dana Carvey, there were plenty of iconic '80s "SNL" moments that'd make you go, "Oh yeah, that." So, let's take a look.

The early '80s saw Eddie Murphy debut his iconic Mister Robinson character on "Saturday Night Live." No prizes for guessing; it was a parody of the quadruple Emmy-winning "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," a show where kind-hearted star, Fred Rogers, took children on educational journeys, touching on topics like self-worth and asking questions. Murphy's Mister Robinson, however, was an ex-con who mirrored Mister Rogers' soft-spoken tones while talking about thieving and dodging his landlord's eviction notices. While the real Rogers was dubbed "America's favorite neighbor," as per the Fred Rogers Institute, Mister Robinson was anything but.

Take one classic sketch from 1981, for example. "Hello boys and girls, we all alone again today," says Murphy's character with a kid-friendly vocal affectation. "You know why? My wife walked out on me," he adds. "Isn't that nice? I'm so glad the b**** is gone." It's hardly TV-Y rated comedy, but it's thigh-slappingly funny. After the morbid introduction, his landlord arrives. Mister Robinson then drops the infantile shtick for a more threatening tone and teaches viewers the word scumbucket.

The character made such an impact that it ran between 1981 and '84, with Murphy reprising the role in 2019. Thankfully, the real-life Rogers took it all in good faith, even posing for a Polaroid with Murphy. "Well some of [the impressions] aren't very funny," Rogers said on "Late Night with David Letterman" in 1982. "But I think that a lot of them are done with real kindness in their hearts."

You might not expect Johnny Cash, a man with songs as dark as "Hurt" and "Long Black Veil," to have been blessed with a funny bone. Well, he was when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1982, with a little help from that night's musical guest and fellow Grammy winner, Elton John.

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If you know anything about either artist, you'll be aware of their contrasting aesthetics. While Cash's style is summarized succinctly by his nickname — the Man in Black — John's is a vibrant mix of myriad colors, cartoon character costumes, and mohawk wigs. Sartorially, they're chalk and cheese. So, hilarity struck when the pair decided to switch wardrobes as Cash introduced the "Crocodile Rock" singer for his second performance of the night. "You can't work with a guy like Elton John," said the Arkansas native wearing a knee-length pink feather boa, gold cape, and shimmering jewelry (via X), "without having his showmanship and flash rub off on you." Cut to John, in a black hat and leather jacket.

It was certainly a successful gag. "LMAO that's hilarious," commented one user on Reddit. "That's the most colors I've ever seen on Johnny lmao," said another under the aforementioned post.

Mister Robinson isn't the only classic Eddie Murphy character from the 1980s. Another of his bits, Buckwheat, an aged-up version of the character from the "Little Rascals" film series of the 1930s and '40s, also became a beloved "SNL" recurring character. "I have a very specific memory of typing the first Buckwheat sketch and almost falling off my chair because it was so funny," said production assistant Robin Shlien in "Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night." "I remember thinking, 'They nailed it. This is going to be huge.'" Indeed, Buckwheat's "Otay" catchphrase and parody song performances became a part of Studio 8H history.

However, in 1983, tragedy (and comedy) struck in one iconic moment. "Buckwheat is dead," announced cast member Brad Hall on "SNL." "The legendary star of the 'Little Rascals' was shot by an unknown assailant upon leaving 30 Rockefeller Plaza tonight." Then, the audience was shown faux found footage of Buckwheat's shooting, alongside dubious tributes from Richard Nixon and the Pope. "We, at 'Saturday Night News,' pledge to pursue this story next week, and each week," added Hall. "Until all the questions concerning this horrible tragedy have been resolved." Really, though, it was Buckwheat's sheer popularity that killed him, with Murphy feeling the character was getting too many requests and too much screen time.

From politicians to pop stars, "Saturday Night Live" is in its bag when parodying the richest and most famous. The show's penchant for satirizing stars was no different back in the day, like when Eddie Murphy did his impersonation of James Brown hosting a hot tub party.

Murphy shimmied and strutted around a bubbling hot tub, interacting and ad-libbing with his band, while getting de-robed and re-robed before jumping in. It was an astute impression of "The Godfather of Soul," sans his signature splits. "James Brown actually told me, 'You should do my life story,'" Murphy said on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" in 2014." That's how good the impression is. "And I was like, 'Well, I said people would be laughing,'" he added. "[Brown] said, 'No, no! They'd be laughing if you was playing around, but if you're serious, people will take it serious... because you got all that in-between stuff.' Whatever that means." We'll take that to mean the impression was iconic.

If you're an "SNL" fan who loved Darrell Hammond's Sean Connery or Bowen Yang's Charli XCX, then it's a safe bet you'll dig this sketch. Get on up!

Throughout the 1980s "Saturday Night Live" gave fans a litany of classic characters, such as the aforementioned Mister Robinson and the Church Lady (more on her later). But perhaps the pick of the bunch is Martin Short's Ed Grimley. While you may have forgotten about Martin Short's episode of "Law & Order: SVU," you almost certainly haven't forgotten his time on "SNL." Short was only a cast member for a year, but his neurotic, "Wheel of Fortune" loving character made an impact. When asked what the best '80s moment from "SNL" was, one user on Reddit responded, "Martin Short in general."

After first getting a runout on "SCTV," the future "Only Murders in the Building" star brought Grimley to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in a 1984 skit where he auditions to be a contestant on his favorite game show. All sycophantic and jittery, Grimley enters in his high-waisted trousers, brown shirt, and even higher hair, waxing lyrical about Pat Sajak, getting increasingly worked up, and inadvertently saving the life of the producer interviewing him. From there, Grimley appeared in fan favorite sketches that saw him play a triangle solo and get seated next to Reverend Jesse Jackson on a flight. In a running joke, each time the character appeared, his towering quiff rose and rose.

So, we simply had to give this classic character his flowers. As Grimley would say, it's totally decent.

Robert Downey Jr. has had a stunning transformation. These days, he is best known as an Academy Award-winning A-list star who has played everyone from Lewis Strauss to Charlie Chaplain to Iron Man. However, as they say, everyone has to start somewhere, which brings us to RDJ's one-year stint on "Saturday Night Live" between 1985 and '86.

Although Downey Jr.'s time on the show was short-lived, he will be remembered for one sketch. That sketch was "Suitcase Boy." The bit sees him wheeled onstage with his head poking out of a suitcase, before proceeding to perform an almost impenetrable "confrontational monologue" that covers everything from beached whales to overdue books. That is until he's upstaged by Joan Cusack, whose body is also tucked in a suitcase. The sketch was met with what can kindly be referred to as a smattering of laughs from a polarized audience.

"I consider this the worst sketch to ever air," wrote one user on Reddit. "I don't know if anything is close." However, others dug it. "If Downey did this same monologue today, it would be hailed as relevant genius," argued a YouTube commentator. "Maybe it's just cause I went to college for theater and learned to appreciate some weird s***," added another YouTube user. "[B]ut I love this so damn much." So, you might hate it, or you might love it, but it's certainly iconic.

Dana Carvey's Enid Strict went on, what the kids would call, a generational run with her comical church talk show. But perhaps the character's most iconic moment came during her "Church Chat" debut on "Saturday Night Live" in 1986.

The sketch starts with Strict grilling a playwright, a movie star, and an advice columnist with her question of the day: do you hate Satan? One thing's for sure: Strict despises Satan, and she condescends to the guests who don't share her high-level hostility. It all kicks up a notch when Sigourney Weaver, playing the demon-possessed Zuul, enters and Carvey's character douses her in holy water. It's a premier example of "SNL's" signature surrealism. Between the "Killer Bees" sketch from its first-ever episode in 1975 and 2007's viral digital short "Dear Sister," the series has perfected the art of the uncanny comedic clip. 

So, how did Carvey come up with such a successful character? "It was from when I was a kid and we missed church," the "Wayne's World" star said on a 1987 episode of "Late Night with David Letterman."  "Remember when your family would miss church for a couple Sundays, and then you'd show up sort of embarrassed and had to make an excuse," he added. "Parents would show up and they'd look at my mom and say, 'Well, I see the Carvey family decided to show up in the Lord's house today.'"

The fitness crazes of the 1980s included everything from Jane Fonda workout VHS tapes to bodybuilding. On "Saturday Night Live" in 1987, the latter was the subject of parody by Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey. The pair played Hans and Franz, two fictional relatives of Arnold Schwarzenegger with pitch-perfect thick Austrian accents, presenting the "Pumping Up" training program. The duo strike side-splitting poses,  while getting increasingly aggressive toward viewers at home and making inadvertent innuendos. "Maybe you don't understand English, maybe the only time you understand is when you are pummeled and beaten with fists full of pumped up muscle," spits Franz. "Yeah, you fat s***** pig," adds Hans. As their belligerence increases, so do the laughs.

However, Steven Seagal wasn't laughing when he hosted "SNL" in 1991 and the comics reprised their rock-muscled Euro jocks. "All of it was [Hans and Franz] making fun of Steven, like, 'Arnold is stronger than you,'" recalled Carvey on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2019. After Seagal walked off in rehearsal, Carvey claims the "Under Siege" star said, "I just wish Arnold was here so I could kick his f****** ass." If that did in fact happen, it just makes the characters even funnier. By the way, Carvey's sons Dex and Thomas followed in their father's footsteps.

Icon status can be gained in countless ways, whether that's being president, wearing crazy clothes, or running a particularly good burger restaurant. In 1988, an "Saturday Night Live" sketch starring Matthew Broderick gained iconic status by way of its controversy.

The bit sees a naked Broderick and Dana Carvey at a beach club (their manhood obscured by wooden fencing) talking about, well, their private parts with some pals. The sketch crescendos with the nudist singing a song, reminiscent of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," dedicated to their, let's say, equipment; the word "penis" is said over 40 times. But the humor comes not so much from the lack of clothes or liberal use of anatomical phraseology, however, but more from the world they create. The funny-men talk about their genitals as if it's as natural as chin wagging about their hair or the weather. Despite the laughs, according to Time, it was so controversial back then that "SNL" received 46,000 complaints, after disgruntled viewers were egged on by American Family Association head Reverend Donald Wildmon, and NBC lost major advertisers like Toyota.

Controversial? Iconic? Both? You be the judge. But that's not even one of the most awkward moments that have aired on "Saturday Night Live."

Over the years, "Saturday Night Live" has produced many iconic advert parodies, from 1991's "Happy Fun Ball" to Shane Gillis' "CouplaBeers." The '80s were no exception, and the breakfast-based parody, "Colon Blow," takes the cake — or should we say cereal? The sketch put an absurdist twist on the whole-grain breakfast adverts of the time, such as Total's "How Many Bowls?" spot from 1977, taking their braggadocious claims to their logical conclusion.

"Take a guess, how many bowls of your oat brand cereal would it take to equal the fibre content of one bowl of Colon Blow?" asks a voice-of-God in the "Saturday Night Live" parody commercial. Cast member Phil Hartman, who stars in the fictional ad, then low-balls the narrator. "It would take over 30,000 bowls," replies the voice, as Hartman is shot into the air atop a pyramid of golden yellow cereal bowls. Understandably, the gut-busting bit is still a hit to this day. "One of the funniest commercials SNL has ever produced," wrote one commentator below the line on YouTube. "Their best commercial," added a user on Reddit.

Quite simply, we couldn't do a list of "Saturday Night Live's" iconic moments from the '80s without paying tribute to "Wayne's World." As far as comedic characters go, it doesn't get much more legendary than Mike Myers' Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey's Garth Algar.

Although the characters have become ubiquitous with the 1990s thanks to the hit two-part feature-length film series, they were actually an '80s creation. The duo debuted on "SNL" in 1989, after future "Shrek" voice Myers was inspired by New York's public access cable TV and pitched the idea. The bit, framed as a show on Illinois public access, sees Wayne shredding with his guitar on the sofa, Garth playing the hype man role, and the latter's dad as an interview guest. It was essentially a fully formed version of the skit they'd use 19 more times on "SNL" and, mostly, hilarious.

However, other parts of the sketch didn't age so well, notably a homophobic slur and a joke about sexual assault. Therefore, as per PrimeTimer, the audience's response to the slacker's inaugural outing was understandably lukewarm.

Icons are often ahead of their time, be it Nikola Tesla or Björk. So too was the iconic "Toonces the Driving Cat." Indeed, the feline-fronted "Saturday Night Live" sketch wouldn't look out of place in a world of viral YouTube cat compilations and the AI anthropomorphism of short-form content.

The bit hit "SNL" screens in 1989 and saw Toonces behind the wheel taking Steve Martin and cast member Victoria Jackson for a spin. However, the cat's paws are hardly as safe as human hands, and the furry-friend goes careening off a cliff (more than once). There are many false things everyone believes about cats, but we doubt anyone thinks the quadrupedal animals are good at driving. The skit also has an enjoyable retro appeal. Although the DIY effects and back-projection look subpar by today's standards, that only adds to its charm. Audiences at the time were charmed, also, with the character recurring on "SNL" throughout the '90s and even getting a primetime special on NBC.

In a world where anyone can Photoshop new species into existence or render AI images of an animal doing just about anything, we need more Toonces sketches in the world. One thing is for sure, people will always love and laugh at cat content.