From Second City to "SNL": How Chicago's comedy mecca fueled 50 years of laughs
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Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler during "Weekend Update" in 2006. Fey and Poehler performed at the Second City before being hired at "Saturday Night Live." Photo: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
As "Saturday Night Live" marks its 50th anniversary with a live show Sunday night, Chicago's Second City will be well represented.
The big picture: Since "SNL" began, the show has hired 50 cast members and writers from the Old Town comedy club. This includes original cast members John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, plus Bill Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris Farley and many other household names.
What they're saying: "When 'SNL' started, they basically took our format and put it on television," longtime Second City producer Kelly Leonard tells Axios.
- "The most successful alumni of 'SNL' are people who are trained in sketch comedy. It's not just about being good at sketches on camera. It's also about working well in ensembles, writing sessions, pitching sketches … all of that goes into this work."
Former "SNL" cast member and Second City actor Tim Kazurinsky agrees.
- "Second City made me a better editor, taught me timing and made me appreciate the value of teamwork," Kazurinsky tells Axios. "It also made me a better judge of which ideas were worthwhile and which were empty calories."
Context: Leonard says early Second City producers considered "SNL" competition, poaching talent and ideas. That rivalry is what spurred the theater to create "SCTV."
Reality check: Once Second City accepted its relationship with "Saturday Night Live" it became an integral part of the show, helping "SNL" find capable sketch comedians while helping grow the theater.
- In the late 1990s, the success of stars like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch — all future "SNL" stars — also led to an explosion of female students coming to the Second City Training Center.
- "We doubled the amount of women taking classes during that era," Leonard says.
Many students were coming to Second City to take classes to make it to "SNL."
Yes, but: " If you came to Second City and your eye was being cast on 'Saturday Night Live,' you weren't going to make it," Leonard says.
- "The ones that moved on were so focused on their part in the Second City show, that they rarely thought about what was next. They lived in the moment, which is a big part of what improv teaches us."
The intrigue: Stories of "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels and writers and producers coming to watch Second City and other comedy shows are part of Chicago's lore.
- "They'd come into town to see us, but also shows at iO and Annoyance," Leonard says. "It was good for us, good for the comedy community and I think good for the city."
- " Last time he (Michaels) was here, he asked me to take a picture on his iPhone of him in front of the facade, the front facade. That was great."
The bottom line: When "SNL" celebrates its amazing achievement Sunday night, know that Second City and its alums played a big role in that success.
Go deeper: A list of all the cast members and writers who spent time in Chicago before being hired.