SNL Cast Members Who Missed The 50th Special

Which cast members missed out on Saturday Night live’s 50th anniversary special? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

On Sunday, February 16, Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary at 30 Rockefeller Center, and some of the biggest stars from the industry were present at the event, making it a star-studded affair. However, even though over 180 cast members, along with Hollywood A-listers, gathered together to honor the legacy of the comedy sketch show, a few were noticeably missing from the ceremony.

After SNL50: The Anniversary Special episode ended, and stars walked down a carpet posing for the camera, people were quick to notice that some of the great SNL cast members, including Dan Aykroyd, Bill Hader, and others, were absent. Scroll ahead to find out who didn’t come and why.

Two days before SNL50 took place, Dan Aykroyd took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account and congratulated the team for celebrating the 50th year of the show. But at that time, he didn’t mention that he won’t be attending the event. He tweeted, “Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago. This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing. Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America’s greatest living impresario, my boss Lorne Michaels. People, it’s friggin’ Holy!!”

Cracking a Head with pride at having been a co-founder of SNL along with everyone we were together with in those four years, five decades ago. This telecast is as historical as the next moon landing. Comedy stars of our age all gathered under the aegis of America’s greatest…

— Dan Aykroyd (@dan_aykroyd) February 14, 2025

On the other hand, according to Puck News’ Matthew Belloni, Bill Hader, who featured in the show for eight years, “politely declined” when he received the invitation. However, Hader was still seen during the special in one of the commercials that he did with Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen for Volkswagen. Belloni also reported that NBC executive Dick Ebersol, who gave opportunities to co-creator Michaels to create SNL in 1975, was also missing from the event because he couldn’t turn up due to his health issues.

Another notable name, Dana Carvey, was also not in attendance at the 50th anniversary of SNL. Despite being a core cast member from 1986 to 1993 and then featuring as a guest star in the following years, even appearing as Joe Biden earlier this season, neither talked about the special event on any platform nor attended it. Colin Quinn, who hosted SNL’s ‘Weekend Update’ segment from 1998 to 2000, was not present as well.

However, there were many big names in attendance; some even participated in several segments of the four-hour-long special episode. The names include Bill Murray, Kim Kardashian, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Sabrina Carpenter, Tom Hanks, and others. It was nothing like a regular SNL episode; it was a celebration, and it was to honor the legacy of such a massive hit show. OG cast member Garrett Morris, who is 88 years old, even made a brief appearance onstage.

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