8 Iconic SNL Characters That Were Inspired By Real Life People

If you're friends with a comic, you may end up a part of their act.

Kylin

• Published in Film & TV
• May 7, 2022

Way back on Saturday, October 11, 1975, the American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show, Saturday Night Live aired for the very first time. Debuting the hard work of iconic and famous comedians Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase.

Over the course of the last 46 years and counting, Saturday Night Live has been a place where budding comedians have launched their careers, and where veteran comedians have taken their time to have their talent shine. Whether that has been on stage in hilarious sketches, or behind the scenes in the writer's room.

Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza has provided the home for cast members and audiences since the very first episode in 1975. With their 47th season airing in October 2021, there have been 159 cast members and nearly 300 writers that have graced the writer's room and/or stage at the famous Studio 8H.

With so many brilliant minds that have come through those doors, it should come as no surprise that some of our favorite characters are actually based on real-life people. After all, comedians regularly pull from their own lived experiences.

So, we’ve done our research and grabbed 8 iconic SNL characters that were based on real people who many never realize they’ve been immortalized in comedy history. Keep scrolling to learn more!

1. Bill Hader's Stefon

The New York City correspondent for Weekend Update with Seth Meyers, Stefon was created by Bill Hader and John Mulaney (and famously portrayed by Hader). The two comedians based Stefon on two different New York City locals they encountered in their day-to-day lives.

Hader shared that the first inspiration was a barista at a coffee shop he frequented in Chelsea, Manhattan, he was described as a guy “who was always touching his face— in the way that people on Ecstasy are always touching things.” And Mulaney was inspired by a club promoter who emailed him about a fabulous new club that had everything, including "rooms full of broken glass." 

Et voila: Stefon

2. David Spade’s Rude Receptionist

As a writer on SNL, it was part of David Spade's job to talk with the host and go through the sketch ideas. However, when he tried to go through the scenes and ideas with guest host Patrick Swayze, he was physically blocked by Swayze's personal assistant.

Spade recounted the interaction with Marc Maron, which became the inspiration for his rude receptionist:

“I go, ‘Oh, I just wanted to say hi to Patrick,’ and she goes ‘And you are..?’”

“And I go ‘Uh... I’m David Spade?’ And she goes, ‘And he would know you because?’ I go, ‘Oh, I’m a writer here.’ And she goes ‘right, you’re a writer here at SNL? Mmm, it’s just, he’s so crazy right now. Can you come back in a little bit? It might be a better time.’” 

“I go, ‘He’s reading People magazine right there. You sure?’”

“Yeah, it’s just a really tricky time right now.”

3. Mango

Chris Kattan has shared that his character Mango was "kind of based on an ex-girlfriend.” He went on to say that “there was a manipulation to her that was incredibly charming. It’s charming and coy and really, really mean.” 

“She was from Russia,” he told Jimmy Fallon, “and when she was mad she would say, ‘Kattan, I kill you.'”

Mango was named after a stripper that also used the tropical fruit as an alias

4. Belushi’s Samurai Delicatessen

Back in the 1970s, a young John Belushi witnessed Tony Yoshida, the owner of a local eatery, chase off some troublemakers with a Japanese samurai sword that he usually kept hanging behind the ice cream counter. From there, Belushi's samurai delicatessen was born.

“After the samurai sketch, people said, ‘Tony, that’s you.’” Yoshida has recounted

5. Mike Myer's Wayne Campbell

Mike Myers has shared that Wayne was an amalgamation of his childhood friends from the suburbs of Toronto.

6. Dana Carvey's Garth Algar

And Wayne's bestie and partner in crime, Garth was based on Dana Carvey’s brother, a brilliant engineer brother, Brad. 

"That’s why Garth had the stun gun because Brad’s kind of…he invented the Video Toaster and he’s an engineer at Sandia Labs… he’s very very talented,” Carvey told Howard Stern. “I call him a genius. But Brad if we call him right now, [he’s the] master of understatement, ‘Yeah I could make a nuclear device out of a paperclip.’”

“And that was kind of the core voice for Garth,” Carvey continued. “And there’s something very intoxicating about that rhythm that understated lilt.”

Party on, dudes

7. Gilda Radner's Emily Litella

Emily Litella, a quirky goofy woman, was Gilda Radner’s first breakout character. She was based on Radner's hard-of-hearing nanny, affectionally called Aunt Dibby. 

Emily’s first sketch appearance was written by Radner and Tom Davis was about Litella promoting her book about “itsy bitsy teeny weeny” things, (which explains the name “Litella”). Her character became a recurring character on Weekend Update.

Gilda Radner as a baby, pictured with her inspiration, nanny Elizabeth Clementine “Dibby”

8. Kristen Wiig's Target Lady

This one is pretty straightforward: Wiig had an exchange with a cashier at a Los Angeles Target and a character was born. Wiig claims the cashier wasn't particularly silly or funny, but she simply borrowed “just the accent.” 

Knowing that some of the more iconic characters on Saturday Night Live were based on real people somehow makes them more endearing. There’s something particularly flattering about being the source of inspiration, especially since these characters aren’t so much being made fun of, but have been turned into inherently funny beings.

But it also doubles as a broad warning for those of us who may be friends with a comedian: You may be turned into a character for their act.

Kylin