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Kenan being on SNL for like 20 years and only having 2 birthday episodes is so surprising
And today is also his birthday!
How did I not realize today was the 10th š
As are three other people I know personally! Itās weird how that works haha
That's an interesting thing about the calendar. The normal year is 365 days long, which is 52 weeks + 1 day. A leap year is 52 weeks + 2 days. So a certain day of the year being on a certain day of the week depends how close it is to a leap year.
Let me use Kenan's birthday as an example. In 2008 his birthday was on a Saturday (and the leap year had just happened ). 2009 it's a day later, on Sunday. 2010 it's Monday, 2011 it's Tuesday, 2012 it's Thursday (leap year, so it moved 2 days), 2013 it's Friday, and then 2014 it's Saturday again. 6 years before it repeats. But then let's see what happens going forward from there.
2015 is Sunday, 2016 is a leap year so it's Tuesday, 2017 is Wednesday, 2018 is Thursday, 2019 is Friday, 2020 is a leap year so it jumps 2 and it's Sunday again, 2021 is Monday, 2022 is Tuesday, 2023 is Wednesday, 2024 is a leap year so it's Friday, 2025 is Saturday. So that's 11 years before it repeats. And I'm not going to go through it all again, but then it's another 11 years after that.
So out of 28 years, any specific day of the year will be on each day of the week 4 times. But because of the leap year, it's a 6-11-11 cycle. You'll notice that all 4 people to have celebrated their birthday on show night twice (Tim Meadows, Chris Kattan, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant) all had them happen 6 years apart. The only people to have been on the show for more than 11 years are Seth Meyers, Darrell Hammond, and Kenan Thompson (and technically Al Franken).
Seth's birthday is December 28th, when SNL is always on break.
Darrell's is October 8th, a day during the season, but he had bad timing. October 8th was a Saturday in 1994 (he joined in 1995), 2005 (shown in the picture), and 2011 (he left in 2009).
Franken's birthday is May 21st, which is often the last show of the year, but it never happened while he was a cast member.
And Kenan's had it happen twice and you'll notice if he returns for season 50, it's very likely that he'll have his 3rd time happen on May 10, 2025.
r/theydidthemath
r/theydidthemonstermath
Fun fact - I was backstage at that 2008 one as a kid and ate a piece of cake. I was just loitering around and saw Kristen Wiig and Casey Wilson changing into their going out clothes. Wilson asked Wiig how she looked, and she said āprettyā and then Casey said āIām not trying to look pretty, Iām trying to get fuckedā
Very formative memory for me!
Ladies & gentlemen salt N PEPPA!
https://youtube.com/shorts/17hyaJPLy4M?si=UcPYP37h8Gy9TfDB
Also, Christopher Walken introducing the Foo Fighters
https://youtu.be/xsg1RPnwH8g?si=vQ8JqmKFSNU9DxD5
I know, that's part of why I included host and musical guest, two of the most notable musical guest introductions also had someone in the cast celebrating their birthday that day, which seems a real weird coincidence!
Agreed! Iām honestly surprised Mulaney was a writer in 94.
The bit he does is just about his favorite musical guest introduction, if he were a writer in 94 he would have been 12.
Dave Grohl talking about Christopher Walken introducing Foo Fighters on SNL. RIP Taylor Hawkins. https://youtu.be/xsg1RPnwH8g?si=Z79VMnsvYGnCzbVc
Thatās the same video I just posted?
Haha my bad, I didnāt even click the link I thought you posted the actual introduction from Christopher Walken
Lol i heard it as soon as I saw it
I'm surprised it's such a short list. Thanks for compiling it, super interesting!
If you think about it, the odds that a show will be on your birthday are only like 20 out of 365, or 5.5%, because they do 20 show a year out of 365 days. (It's actually more like 0% if you're a June to September birthday, and 8% the rest of the year, but you get the idea).
And I didn't see the 2nd image until now. Which would explain the shortness.
Yeah sorry, if I had put it all in one someone would have probably complained that it was too squished to read.
According to my math, assuming 25 episodes and 12 cast members it is likely to happen roughly once every 2 seasons. I don't have time to calculate the exact numbers though.
If you bump the cast members up to 16, it goes up to 2 every 3 seasons.
Happy birthday to Kenan!
Oh yeah, it is, I didn't even notice. And assuming he doesn't leave this year, May 10, 2025 is a Saturday again so he has a good chance of having his birthday happen while performing on live television for the 3rd time in his career.
I can't believe I'm the same age Tina Fey was at that time.
While she was head writer and hosting Weekend Update, I had ice cream for dinner last night - wtf am I doing with my life
Tina Fey probably also had ice cream for dinner at some point, so don't beat yourself up too much.
Iām always shocked at Darrell Hammond being on SNL and pulling that crazy schedule into his 50s.
Darrell definitely took a back seat his last several years to do an impression once or twice an episode, so maybe he had a bit of an easier schedule. I went to his one-man show a few months ago and from what he described, his relationship with Lorne was a bit more casual/personal so I think he could kinda sit out when he needed to (and he did need to a bit).
Awesome work putting this together. I wonder if anyone has hosted on their birthday but that would probably be even more work.
I already had every host's birthday and air date already from when I did this https://www.reddit.com/r/LiveFromNewYork/comments/1c3964b/oj_simpson_is_the_105th_snl_host_to_die_while_i/ , and I got 4 matches.
Michael Palin hosted with his mother Mary Palin S9E10, and he claimed that he was doing it because it was her birthday. I don't have independent corroboration as to whether that actually was her birthday though.
Rob Lowe hosted on his 26th birthday, March 17, 1990.
Peyton Manning hosted on his 31st birthday, March 24, 2007.
And Calista Flockhart hosted on her 36th birthday, November 11, 2000.
Boy, that is some trivia you can stump people with: What do Rob Lowe, Peyton Manning, and Calista Flockhart have in common? They're all hosted Saturday Night Live on their birthdays.
Parnell and Meadows have the same birthday? That's a fun fact.
It's a bit of a birthday paradox situation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem If you have more than 23 people together, the odds are greater than 50% that two of them will share the same birthday.
But it is fun to hear about people with the same birthday! So there's also:
January 31: Bobby Moynihan and Michael Longfellow
February 5: Not just Chris Parnell and Tim Meadows, but also Christopher Guest!
February 7: Robert Smigel and Chris Rock
March 2: Laraine Newman and season 6 featured performer Matthew Laurance
March 25: this has to be the most frequent, Mary Gross and Jenny Slate and Alex Moffat and Chris Redd. I fucking love those guys!
April 21: Rob Riggle and one-episode featured performer Emily Prager
April 29: Nora Dunn and Punkie Johnson
May 10: Not just Kenan Thompson, but also first episode cast member George Coe
May 18: Not just Tina Fey, but also Denny Dillon from season 6
June 16: Abby Elliott and another one-episode featured performer Laurie Metcalf
June 17: Joe Piscopo and Will Forte
June 21: Jim Breuer and Andrew Dismukes
July 19: Nancy Walls and James Austin Johnson
July 27: Maya Rudolph and Heidi Gardner
August 2: Victoria Jackson and Melanie Hutsell
September 4: Damon Wayans and Kyle Mooney
September 16: Molly Shannon and Amy Poehler
September 19: Cheri Oteri and Jimmy Fallon
October 1: Randy Quaid and Beck Bennett
October 8: Chevy Chase and Darrell Hammond
October 17: Michael McKean and Norm Macdonald
October 31: Brian Doyle-Murray and Rob Schneider
November 18: Kevin Nealon and Nasim Pedrad
November 29: Ellen Cleghorne and John Milhiser
December 4: Pamela Stephenson and Fred Armisen
December 14: Gail Matthius and Michaela Watkins
December 23: Harry Shearer and Noel Wells
Me, Smigel and Rock, plus Emo Phillips, Eddie Izzard, James Spader, Garth Brooks, Ashton Kutcher, Steve Nash, Isaiah Thomas, Charles Dickens and Laura Ingalls Wilder š
I share a birthday with one of the least known cast members from this post.
I'm thinking it's got to be one of the two from the ebersol years, either Gary Kroeger or Brian Doyle-Murray.
Gary, everyone knows BDM.
āAnd whatās this? Itās PEPPPPAAAAAA!ā
Awww I was at the Cumberbatch episode!! I wish I knew it was Aidy's birthday! They had that Mother's Day sketch where she got the inappropriate signs - now I wish it had been for a birthday, not for Mother's Day.
This is great! The only one I knew offhand was Cecily on the Rupaul episode. Thanks for compiling this!
Did they announce it on-air or on social media or something?
The SNL twitter usually announces birthdays, but with that Cecily sketch I remember she herself said it was amazing to perform with Rupaul on her birthday. I think on her instagram but it might have been a talk show appearance.
Are all of these dates aligned with the start time of the show or do you include episodes where the show ends during the early hours of a birthday?
No, this is only Saturday birthdays. Good call though, I'll try to put that together some time today.
Garrett Morris turned 39 by the end of S1E12, January 31, 1976, hosted by Dick Cavett.
Al Franken was a featured performer who turned 27 by the end of S3E20, May 20, 1978, hosted by Buck Henry.
Harry Shearer turned 36 by the end of S5E8, December 22, 1979, hosted by Ted Knight.
Gail Matthius turned 27 by the end of S6E4, December 13, 1980, hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis.
Christine Ebersole turned 29 by the end of S7E12, February 12, 1983, hosted by Bruce Dern.
Robin Duke turned 29 by the end of S8E15, March 12, 1983, hosted by Bruce Dern.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus turned 24 by the end of S10E10, January 12, 1985, hosted by Kathleen Turner.
Terry Sweeney turned 36 by the end of S11E13, March 22, 1986, the infamous George Wendt / Francis Ford Coppola episode.
Jan Hooks turned 32 by the end of S14E18, April 22, 1989, hosted by Geena Davis.
Chris Rock turned 28 by the end of S18E12, February 6, 1993, hosted by Luke Perry.
Julia Sweeney turned 34 by the end of S19E3, October 9, 1993, hosted by Jeff Goldblum.
Rob Schneider turned 30 by the end of S19E5, October 30, 1993, hosted by Christian Slater.
Al Franken was a featured performer who turned 38 by the end of S14E20, May 20, 1989, hosted by Steve Martin.
Darrell Hammond turned 40 by the end of S21E2, October 7, 1995, hosted by Chevy Chase.
Chris Kattan turned 27 by the end of S23E3, October 18, 1997, hosted by Brendan Fraser.
Darrell Hammond turned 45 by the end of S26E1, October 7, 2000, hosted by Rob Lowe.
Tracy Morgan turned 34 by the end of S28E5, November 9, 2002, hosted by Nia Vardalos.
Tina Fey turned 33 by the end of S28E20, May 17, 2003, hosted by Dan Aykroyd.
Rachel Dratch turned 38 by the end of S29E13, February 21, 2004, hosted by Christina Aguilera.
Fred Armisen turned 39 by the end of S31E7, December 3, 2005, hosted by Dane Cook.
Chris Parnell turned 39 by the end of S31E12, February 4, 2006, hosted by Steve Martin.
Darrell Hammond turned 51 by the end of S32E2, October 7, 2006, hosted by Jaime Pressly.
Michaela Watkins turned 37 by the end of S34E11, December 13, 2008, hosted by Hugh Laurie.
Kenan Thompson turned 31 by the end of S34E21, May 9, 2009, hosted by Justin Timberlake.
Bobby Moynihan turned 33 by the end of S35E13, January 30, 2010, hosted by John Hamm.
Vanessa Bayer turned 29 by the end of S36E6, November 13, 2010, hosted by Scarlett Johansson.
Fred Armisen turned 45 by the end of S37E8, December 3, 2011, hosted by Steve Buscemi.
Jay Pharoah turned 25 by the end of S38E4, October 13, 2012, hosted by Christina Applegate.
Nasim Pedrad turned 31 by the end of S38E8, November 17, 2012, hosted by Jeremy Renner.
Pete Davidson turned 21 by the end of S40E6, November 15, 2014, hosted by Woody Harrelson.
Kenan Thompson turned 37 by the end of S40E20, May 9, 2015, hosted by Reese Witherspoon.
Melissa Villasenor turned 29 by the end of S42E2, October 8, 2016, hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Aidy Bryant turned 30 by the end of S42E19, May 6, 2017, hosted by Chris Pine.
Beck Bennett turned 33 by the end of S43E1, September 30, 2017, hosted by Ryan Gosling.
Ego Nwodim turned 31 by the end of S44E15, March 9, 2019, hosted by Idris Elba.
Michael Che turned 36 by the end of S44E21, May 18, 2019, hosted by Paul Rudd.
Kenan Thompson turned 42 by the end of S45E18, May 9, 2020, the SNL@Home episode "hosted" by Kristen Wiig.
Bowen Yang turned 32 by the end of S48E5, November 5, 2022, hosted by Amy Schumer.
Ego Nwodim turned 36 by the end of S49E14, March 9, 2024, hosted by Josh Brolin.
Michael Che will have turned 41 by the end of S49E20, May 18, 2024, which is scheduled to be hosted by Jake Gyllenhall.
Both "Salt... And PEPPA!" and "Foo Fye-tahs" were birthday episodes, cool haha
Nearly everyone is so much younger than I would've thought. Especially the early casts.
This is true for old movies too, someone will be the old man character and be like 42 years old. I think it was all the smoking.
Ann Bancroft was 36 in the Graduate. On the flip side Audrey Hepburn was 31 in Breakfast at Tiffanyās.
I stared at Fred Armisenās thinking for sure it was a typo. Heās 57!?!?
I'm stunned that Keenan hasn't had like 35 birthdays on show days.
i remember colin saying on update that it was sarahs 30th on an episode maybe last season and she did a funny ass sarahs corner
(in 3 days) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNgGsRgi5wE
nice
Pete's birthday is November 16th, not 19th.
Luckily the only mistake I made was a typo in the caption! That episode aired November 16, 2019.
Stoked to know I share a bday with Tina Fey
Kenan Thompson has been on the show forever, certainly he must've...
Isnāt that Fred armisen screenshot from the episode where John Malevich hosted with musical guest T.I. in 2008?
No I definitely pulled it from the one when Robert DeNiro was the guest. It's very well possible that he made identical appearances in other La Rivista Della Televisione sketches. He had also appeared as Barack Obama, Muammer Kaddafi, and Giuseppe (from "What's Up With That"), and I thought this image was the closest to his true appearance.
Holy shit, I never realized that Tim Meadows is 63! He looks incredible for his age.
Lots of Scorpios!
Thatās because the show isnāt on in the summer and a couple of lengthy hiatuses each season.
Yeah I made this a few years ago, but the most consistent times for the show to air are in the middle of November, December, April, and May. https://preview.redd.it/kjsyf0vg6r581.png?width=681&format=png&auto=webp&s=c42c8d7f9500bf7e1d71e6bfaebbeaf5525717f7
Cool that you did this good job
Not at all the intent of your post, but thanks for making me look up who Teenage Fanclub is.
This is so cool. A lot of Aquarius and Scorpio, but that could just be a function of timing
Yes definitely the biggest part is timing. Che is the latest in the season to have his birthday on air, May 19th, and Beck Bennett is the earliest with October 1st. So there's 64 cast members in between there who never had a chance (and it's almost the same list of the people who never got to celebrate their birthdays while at school). Then you get other specifics of the SNL schedule: Shearer, Wells, Rosato, Seth Meyers, Don Novello, Michael McKean, Kate McKinnon are all in the usual Christmas to mid-January break, and then they usually take another month off around March. But if you have a birthday in October or May, you have a pretty good shot, and then we're just down to random chance as to whether your birthday fell on a Saturday that year. I had been making a list of people whose birthday was on a Saturday but the show was off that week, but it was just as long as this list and I didn't think it was so interesting that I needed to share it.
No!!!! I actually love this stuff. Astrology, sure, but Iāve done this in my work centers. Theoretically, all signs should be equally distributed, but theyāre usually not. Itās just an interesting application of statistical probability to me, and I like it.
Firstly, of course, birthdays are not evenly distributed among the general public even. People are more likely to ... be doing actions that lead to conception at certain times of the year, which leads to a glut of July/August/September babies. https://www.zippia.com/advice/most-least-common-birthdays/
But I've also seen that if you look at the distribution of professional athletes in any sport, you will find a different distribution. And basically what I've heard is that if you are older than your peers while playing sports at a young age, you are more likely to be better than them, and receive better coaching, which makes you a better player, and this continues so much that it's noticeable among those at the highest level. I did consider the possibility that somehow there's some environmental factor that similarly makes it more likely for you to be a funny person who might end up on SNL based on your birthday, but I can't for the life of me imagine what it would be.
Just in terms of raw numbers of cast members with a birthday in a certain month (and SNL cast members are certainly not all created equal, they range from single-episode cast like George Coe and Emily Trager and Alan Zweibel to Darrell Hammond's 14 years and Kenan Thompson's 20+), it's 8 in January, 13 in February, 16 in March, 11 in April, 16 in May, 18 in June, 15 in July, 10 in August, 16 in September, 17 in October, 14 in November, 9 in December. At a glance this seems approximately equal to the general public given the small sample sizes involved (maybe a little higher than you'd expect for February since it's a short month in a relatively lower birth time).
Thank you so much for this response!
Astrology doesnāt go by months though, thatās why it was an interesting excel side project for me, but thanks so much for replying with this!
Personally, I donāt think any signs are funnier than others (although I wonder how many Virgo cast members there are), and I donāt think astrology is any kind of predictor, itās just an interesting sample size.
So Tim Meadows wandered into that Erotic Cake shop on his actual birthday!
I was just about to say that he was the first SNL cast member to get a sexy cake for their 33rd birthday.
The Beck Bennett sketch that the photo is from is hilarious. One of my faves.
Seems criminal not to use a photo of Bowen as Spectrum from that episode š¤£
Op can I just say that as a birthday aficionado I am in love with this post. Thanks for making it!
This is very cool. Thanks. Not a single person over 40. I think my chances of getting on SNL at 44, are about as good as my chances of getting the old lady's dusty ass womb pregnant at 44.
Oldest cast member ever hired was Leslie Jones, who was 47. Although wikipedia says that was explicitly to hire an African-American woman, so odds are, that option isn't available to you. Michael McKean was 46, so you just have to have his kind of resume within the next few years, and then who knows!
So there's still a chance for me??? Great! Thanks!