Soon entering its 50th season, Saturday Night Live has, for decades, been a go-to for sketch comedy, featuring some of the most well-known funny people in the world. Some of those stars have come out of Northeast Ohio's comedy scene.
We dug through the show’s long cast list to see which comedians were from Greater Cleveland, along with a couple of honorable mentions of those who went to school here.
Molly Shannon
One of SNL's most iconic performers of the late ‘90s, Shannon was born and raised in Shaker Heights before later starring in the show, plus movies like Superstar, Never Been Kissed, Other People and more. Shannon shares stories around her upbringing and her rise to stardom in her 2022 memoir Hello Molly!, including an early tragedy where her mother, sister and cousin were killed in a drunk driving accident caused by her father.
Vanessa Bayer
Orange native Vanessa Bayer was on SNL for seven years, appearing in sketches from 2010 until 2017. While growing up in Northeast Ohio, Bayer was treated for leukemia, which later inspired her children’s book, How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? Bayer and her brother Jonah Bayer currently host a podcast, How Did We Get Weird, together.
Molly Kearney
Named a 2024 Cleveland Magazine Most Interesting person, Molly Kearney was a featured player on the 48th and 49th seasons of SNL before departing ahead of the 50th season. The show’s first openly nonbinary cast member, Kearney grew up in North Olmsted and worked summers at Put-In-Bay, where they got their comedic start performing at open mic at venues like Mojito Bay and Put-In-Bay Brewing Co. “I did a roast battle once, and someone said that it’s like Chris Farley and Melissa McCarthy had a baby,” they say.
Denny Dillon
During the tumultuous sixth season of SNL, Cleveland native Denny Dillon was added to the cast — where she stayed for just one season. “I was the last woman chosen. I auditioned six times,” she said about her SNL audition in a 2020 interview with Variety. “Every time, I brought in new material. And each time I came in, more and more people joined to watch. Finally I said, ‘If you bring me in again, I’m going to charge you a cover.’” She later starred in Dream On in the ‘90s, and even returned to Cleveland for 2006 Cleveland Play House production Well, according to playbill.com.
Don Novello
Known for an iconic character, SNL writer and actor Don Novello was born in Ashtabula and grew up in Lorain. Novello was a writer for SNL, but would occasionally appear as Father Guido Sarducci in some episodes of the show in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. You might also recognize Novello’s distinctive voice as Vinny Santorini in Disney movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Honorable Mention: Marcello Hernandez
Though he's from Miami, Florida — not Northeast Ohio — Marcello Hernandez established his early comedy career in the Buckeye State. Hernandez went to school at John Carroll University, where he hosted a comedy show called Marcello Live, and performed at comedy venues in Cleveland.
Honorable Mention: Jane Wickline
Becoming famous for her TikTok videos created during the coronavirus pandemic, Jane Wickline was picked up as a featured cast member of SNL’s upcoming 2024-25 season. She grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Northeast Ohio to go to Oberlin College, where she was the editor-in-chief of the campus humor publication.
(Photo courtesy Sio Hornbuckle)
(Lead photo collage: Don Novello, courtesy John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com, via Flickr; Marcello Hernandez, courtesy Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC; Molly Shannon, courtesy Mark Von Holden/NBC; Vanessa Bayer, courtesy Evans Vestal Ward/NBC)
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