It probably helped that each cast member was involved in other projects and I seemed to run into most of them. I enjoyed watching Chevy Chase in the movies, then John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray. I listened faithfully to each Blues Brothers album and later followed Jane Curtain to Kate and Allie, then 3rd Rock From The Sun.
I eventually saw that Gilda Radner had filmed her stage show, saw Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris pop up in movies and television roles. I even started to notice work from frequent guests and hosts, like Steve Martin, Buck Henry and Andy Kaufman.
When the original cast left, I had my doubts (like many others), but they soon grew on me and helped me appreciate each new cast member as they have come and gone over the years.
Saturday Night Live has been the one constant in my life from birth. The cast may change, but once someone is involved with the show, it's hard to shake them. I have tried improv and I can definitely appreciate how much talent it takes to even perform once in that type of setting. Since I was young, one of my dreams was to be part of the cast. My priorities shifted to writing, but an opportunity hasn't yet presented itself to make a living at that.So where does all of that have to do with this blog? Not much. While I'm patiently waiting for the sixth season to be released on DVD (which may never happen), I had a somewhat brilliant idea. Why not put together an album of autographs of the cast members? Crazier ideas have come across my mind before. The cat trampoline and cement pillow cases were flawed from the beginning, but this idea has legs.
I figure that this will usher in a whole new appreciation to the legacy of the show and provide the opportunity to know the cast members a little better. How much more can you know about Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Will Farrell? Probably not too much. I could stand to know more about people like Emily Prager, Dan Vitale and Casey Wilson.
I figure the most difficult autographs to obtain will be from the cast members that are deceased. Chris Farley may not be so difficult to obtain, but I imagine it will cost a pretty penny. Others like Danitra Vance and Michael O'Donoghue might prove to be very time consuming.
I'm thinking that the cast members that have had Hollywood success might be difficult due to cost or high demand. I might be pleasantly surprised though. This should be quite an adventure!
I plan to start with cast members, including featured players. If that goes well, I may expand my scope to include writers, then special guests and hosts. I wouldn't complain if I obtained any of those autographs before I decide to actually pursue them. I guess we'll see how it all pans out.
I wouldn't be opposed to collecting autographs of musical guests, but that could get very costly, very quickly. SNL has featured three Beatles (two as musical guests), Queen, Madonna, Nirvana, Sean Combs and many other artists who are high profile. I could not imagine ever being current on the musical artists.
This blog will only be updated when I receive a new autograph. I don't see any point in expanding beyond that because it will take away from the purpose of this blog.
I'm not looking for an autographed photo (although that would be great if it's SNL related) of each cast member, just an autograph on a piece of paper. I figure that this way I might have more success with the project.
Let's see how far I can get into this project before it consumes my very existence and leads to my downfall. Either way it should be fun!
