Saturday Night Live hosts

There have been many people who have been invited to host "SNL". The hosts have ranged from comedians, like Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Eric Idle, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore and George Carlin, to serious character actors, like Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Charlize Theron and Charlton Heston; from pop culture and music icons, like Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears, to sports figures like Peyton Manning, Deion Sanders, Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky and Tom Brady. "SNL" has also had many of its distinguished alumni, like Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Chris Rock, Norm Macdonald and Will Ferrell to return to host the show.

Even elected political figures, like former Vice-President Al Gore, U.S. Senate members John McCain and George McGovern and New York Mayors, Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani have hosted the show. Other notable public figures to have hosted "SNL" have included Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Ralph Nader. The following are lists of notable categories of "SNL" hosts.

Frequent hosts (5 times or more)

There have been many people who have been invited to come back and host "SNL" again, but few have broken the "five time hosting" barrier. Since December 1990, performers who have either hosted "SNL" (or appeared as a musical guest) for five times are considered members of SNL's Five Timer's Club.

Some of these "Five Timer" hosts (such as Steve Martin, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, and Alec Baldwin) have hosted so many times that special episodes of "SNL" have been compiled and aired as "Best of ..." episodes. Hosts who have been the subject of a "Best of SNL" videotape, DVD, or compilation special are marked with a (•) in the "Other Notes" section on the list below. The following people have hosted "SNL" at least five times:

*Four notable names that auditioned for "SNL" yet never hosted were comedians Dom Irrera and Robert Townsend, who both auditioned to be cast members for the 1980-1981 season. "MADtv" comedienne Stephnie Weir also auditioned for "SNL" for its 1999-2000 season, but lost to Rachel Dratch. Up-and-coming comedienne Maria Bamford auditioned for the show prior to the 2003-2004 season.

Political figures who have hosted

As of March 2007, there have been 11 political figures who have hosted "SNL". These public figures include elected officials and/or political activists. The following is a list of such hosts.

ports figures who have hosted

As of September 2007, there will be 28 sports figures who have hosted "SNL". These sport figures include athletes, coaches, one team owner, and sports commentators. The following is a list of such hosts.

References