Legends, obscurities, opera men: a look back at the funniest concoctions to grace Studio 8H

Saturday Night Live characters: Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna; Bill Hader as Stephon; Eddie Murphy as Mr. Robinson NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images; Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images; RM Lewis Jr./NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images

No comedy empire has ever given us as many unforgettable characters as Saturday Night Live. Fans develop an intense bond with their favorite SNL heroes—we love our Stefons, our Mr. Robinsons, our Roseanne Rosannadannas. So here’s a salute to our picks for the 50 best characters—not necessarily the most famous, just the funniest. Some are legendary, others are deep cuts. Some appeared week after week; others only showed up once or twice. (Better one dose of Gene Frenkle than a herd of Goat Boys.) There’s no celebrity impersonations here—that would be a whole other list. (Painful as it is to leave out Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery or Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin.) But these unforgettable characters come from every era of SNL’s wild and crazy 50-year history. The one thing they have in common is that they’re classics. Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.