''Saturday Night Live'''s graduates
- TV Show
Chevy Chase
1975-1976
Peaks: Three National Lampoon Vacation hits; Fletch (1985)
Valleys: Costarred with Benji in Oh, Heavenly Dog! (1980); the dreadful Under the Rainbow (1981)
Next: Memoirs of an Invisible Man, opening this week
Dan Aykroyd
1975-1979
Peaks: Ghostbusters (1984); his Oscar-nominated role in Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Valleys: Doctor Detroit (1983); Nothing but Trouble (1991), his unwatchable directing debut
Next: This Is My Life, now playing
John Belushi
1975-1979
Died of a drug overdose, 1982
Peaks: The unforgettable National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) and The Blues Brothers (1980)
Valleys: The forgettable 1941 (1979) and Neighbors (1981)
Jane Curtin
1975-1980
Peaks: Two Emmys as best comedy actress for CBS’ Kate & Allie
Valleys: 1990’s Working It Out didn’t last the season on NBC
Next: Seeking new projects
Garrett Morris
1975-1980
Peak: A recurring role as a stool pigeon on NBC’s Hunter
Valley: A cruise on ABC’s The Love Boat
Next: Keeping his barstool warm on Fox’s Roc
Bill Murray
1976-1980
Peaks: A nearly unbroken hot streak from Meatballs (1979) to Ghostbusters (1984)
Valley: Got critical noogies for the drama The Razor’s Edge (1984)
Next: Mad Dog and Glory, with Robert De Niro, due this fall
Laraine Newman
1975-1980
Peaks: An engagingly horny aerobics-studio chippy in Perfect
Valley: A grotesquely evil would-be stepmom in Problem Child 2 (1991)
Next: Raising her newborn daughter, Lena
Gilda Radner
1975-1980
Died of ovarian cancer, 1989
Peak: Gilda Live From New York, her one-woman show on Broadway
Valley: Haunted Honeymoon (1986), with her husband Gene Wilder
Denny Dillon
1980-1981
Peak: A permanent secretarial position of HBO’s sitcom Dream On
Valley: A brief hitch on the Fox sitcom Women in Prison
Next: Filming the third season of Dream On
Gilbert Gotfried
1980-1981
Peak: An uproarious cameo as an accountant in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Valley: His masturbation monologue at the 1991 Emmys
Next: Voice of a parrot in Disney’s animated Aladdin, due by Christmas
Gail Matthius
1980-1981
Peak: Guest-starred on CBS’ Simon & Simon
Valley: Voice of Howie Mandel’s Mom on the Fox cartoon Bobby’s World
Next: The voice of a loon on TV’s Tiny Toon Adventures
Ann Risley
1980-1981
Peak: A school-teacher in Desert Bloom (1986) with Jon Voight
Valley: Got shot on an episode of ABC’s The Young Riders
Next: TNT’s Four Eyes, with Judge Reinhold, due this fall
Charles Rocket
1980-1981
Peak: A lieutenant in Dances With Wolves (1990)
Valley: A one-eyed amnesiac in the John Candy bomb Delirious (1991)
Next: A New Age police captain on CBS’ dog-and-cop show Tequila and Bonetti
Brian Doyle Murray
1981-1982
Peak: As Jack Ruby in JFK (1991), shot Lee Harvey Oswald
Valley: Chris Elliott’s landlord on Fox’s ratings cellar-dweller Get a Life
Next: Only SNL alum to appear in Wayne’s World
Christine Ebersole
1981-1982
Peak: Leading role in the underrated CBS sitcom The Cavanaughs
Valley: Mom in the E.T. rip-off Mac and Me (1988)
Next: Title role in CBS’ medical comedy Rachel Gunn, R.N., due this spring
Tony Rosato
1981-1982
Peak: Played a vicious Columbian drug lord on CBS’ Wiseguy
Valley: One of the voices for NBC’s Super Mario World cartoon
Next: A jewel thief’s sidekick in USA’s upcoming movie Diamond Fleece
Robin Duke
1981-1984
Peak: A sun-bathing secretary in Club Paradise (1986)
Valley: Appeared in the giant-insect movie Blue Monkey (1987)
Next: Writing projects
Brad Hall
1982-1984
Peak: Married fellow cast member Julia Louis Dreyfus
Valley: Costarred with her in Troll (1986)
Next: Writing more for CBS’ Brooklyn Bridge
Tim Kazurinsky
1981-1984
Peak: Helped turn a David Mamet play into About Last Night… (1986)
Valley: Cowrote Molly Ringwald flop For Keeps (1988)
Next: ”1st Party Dad” in Bobcat Goldthwait’s Shakes the Clown, due in March
Eddie Murphy
1980-1984
Peaks: Superstardom with 48 HRS. (1982), Trading Places (1983), and two Beverly Hills Cops
Valleys: Harlem Nights (1989) and Another 48 HRS. (1990)
Next: The romantic-comedy Boomerang, due in June
Joe Piscopo
1980-1984
Peaks: Commercials pitching light beer and fitness studios
Valleys: The criminal Johnny Dangerously (1984), Wise Guys (1986), and Dead Heat (1988)
Next: Sidekicks, with Chuck Norris, not yet scheduled
Jim Belushi
1983-1985
Peak: A strong dramatic role in Oliver Stone’s Salvador (1986)
Valleys: Trapped in male-buddy hell (Red Heat, Taking Care of Business, etc.)
Next: Once Upon a Crime, with John Candy, due next week
Billy Crystal
1984-1985
Peaks: The one-two punch of When Harry Met Sally… (1989) and City Slickers (1991)
Valley: The maudlin Memories of Me (1988)
Next: His directing debut, Mr. Saturday Night, due in September
Mary Gross
1981-1985
Peak: Star billing with Rebecca De Mornay in the disastrous Feds (1988)
Valley: Second fiddle to Shelley Long in Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
Next: The zany neighbor on ABC’s new Billy
Christopher Guest
1984-1985
Peak: Cranked it up to 11 as Nigel Tufnel in This Is Spinal Tap (1985)
Valley: Sucked his thumb in Robert Altman’s Beyond Therapy (1987)
Next: Tap’s comeback album Break Like the Wind, due in March
Rich Hall
1984-1985
Peak: His best-selling Sniglets books
Valley: Appeared in the box office bust Million Dollar Mystery (1987)
Next: Developing Up to Here, a sitcom for Fox
Gary Kroeger
1982-1985
Peak: Hosted Fox’s stand-up spotlight Comic Strip Live
Valley: Costarred with George Hamilton in CBS’ short-lived Spies
Next: Currently on the L.A. stage in A Couple of Guys at the Movies
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
1982-1985
Peak: Her three-dimensional role as Jerry’s ex on NBC’s Seinfeld
Valley: Her one-dimensional role as a yuppie on NBC’s Day by Day
Next: Jack the Bear, with Danny DeVito, due in September
Harry Shearer
1979-1980, 1984-1985
Peaks: Spinal Tap’s brooding bassist Derek Smalls; voice for Fox’s The Simpsons
Valley: An Italian tailor in the Sly Stallone fiasco Oscar (1991)
Next: Back with Spinal Tap
Martin Short
1984-1985
Peaks: Innerspace (1987); cameos in The Big Picture (1989) and Father of the Bride (1991)
Valleys: Almost everything else (Three Fugitives, Pure Luck, etc.)
Next: A 10-year-old brat in Clifford, not yet scheduled
Pamela Stephenson
1984-1985
Peak: Returned to Britain and married Scottish comic Billy Connolly
Valley: U.K. films and TV projects haven’t made it across the Atlantic
Next: Living in L.A. with Connolly and their five kids
Joan Cusack
1985-1986
Peak: Oscar-nominated as a Staten Island secretary in Working Girl (1988)
Valley: Fell for Rick Moranis in My Blue Heaven (1990)
Next: Supporting role in Barry Levinson’s Toys, due for Christmas
Robert Downey Jr.
1985-1986
Peak: Held his own with James Woods in True Believer (1989)
Valley: His insufferable turn as The Pick-Up Artist (1987)
Next: Chaplin in Sir Richard Attenborough’s Charlie, due at year’s end
Anthony Michael Hall
1985-1986
Peak: A convincing jock bully in Edward Scissorhands (1990) Valley: An unconvincing jock in Johnny Be Good (1988)
Next: A spoiled Hollywood star in Into the Sun, now playing
Terry Sweeney
1985-1986
Peak: It’s Still My Turn, his one-man/woman show as Nancy Reagan
Valley: Cowrote Shag (1989), swept under at the box office
Next: Developing a gay-themed film to star in and direct
Randy Quaid
1985-1986
Peaks: A redneck in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989); NBC’s LBJ: The Early Years
Valley: Reprised Last Picture Show role in the flaccid Texasville (1990)
Next: Davis Rules, now on CBS
Danitra Vance
1985-1986
Peaks: Played a doctor in Little Man Tate (1991)
Valley: Appeared in the failed feminist farce Sticky Fingers (1988)
Next: Jumpin’ at the Boneyard, shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January
Damon Wayans
1985-1986
Peaks: Fox’s In Living Color; costarred with Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Valley: Also worked with Willis on 1990’s Look Who’s Talking Too
Next: Mo’ Money, due in June
Nora Dunn
1985-1990
Peak: her one-woman show Nobody’s Rib played seven weeks in San Francisco
Valley: Nobody’s Rib book published, and nobody noticed
Next: Nobody’s Rib may open Off Broadway this spring
Jon Lovitz
1985-1990
Peak: Tom Hanks’ uptight coworker in Big (1988)
Valley: Dan Aykroyd’s swingin’ bro in My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
Next: Dick and Marge Save the World, with Teri Garr, due in August
Jan Hooks
1985-1991
Peak: First episode as a cast member of CBS’ Designing Women got show’s highest ratings
Valley: Ratings have dropped since
Next: An image consultant to the Penguin in Batman Returns, due in June
Dennis Miller
1986-1991
Peak: Promising ratings for the first week of his syndicated talk show
Valley: Show’s reviews have been decidedly mixed
Next: Waiting for Johnny Carson to retire
The original late-night comedy sketch show from the one and only Lorne Michaels.
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