As SNL prepares for 50-year anniversary, Chicago's Second City celebrates alumni involved with show

Note: Sunday night's broadcast of NBC 5 News will air at 10:15 p.m., following the conclusion of the Saturday Night Live 50-year anniversary special.

As cast and crew from a half-century of airtime prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of legendary NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, Chicago's Second City is celebrating its long list of connections with the renowned program.

Known as an iconic improvised comedy troupe, dozens of Second City alum have gone on to become SNL cast members or writers, with a link between the two tracing back to the show's first cast in 1975.

Three members of the "Not Ready for Primetime" cast that opened the show 50 years ago, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Gilda Radner, performed with Second City prior to their time on SNL.

Across five decades on the air, each generation of SNL cast members has been impacted by Second City alum, with several going on to accumulate further accolades in their career beyond the show.

A full list of Second City alum who have gone on to work on SNL can be found below:

Cast members

• Dan Aykroyd
• Peter Aykroyd
• Vanessa Bayer
• Jim Belushi
• John Belushi
• Aidy Bryant
• Brian Doyle-Murray
• Bill Murray
• Rachel Dratch
• Robin Duke
• Chris Farley
• Tina Fey
• Mary Gross
• Tim Kazurinsky
• David Koechner
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Tim Meadows
• Jerry Minor
• Alex Moffat
• Mike Myers
• Michael Patrick O’Brien
• Amy Poehler
• Gilda Radner
• Chris Redd
• Tim Robinson
• Tony Rosato
• Horatio Sanz
• Martin Short
• Cecily Strong
• Jason Sudeikis
• Nancy Walls

Writers

• Nate Herman
• Michael McCarthy
• Bob Odenkirk
• Cindy Caponera
• Tom Gianas
• Adam McKay
• Lori Nasso
• Ali Farahnakian
• Liz Cackowski
• Joe Kelly
• John Lutz
• Rich Talarico
• Matt Craig
• Tom Flanigan
• Shelly Gossman
• Katie Rich
• Tim Robinson
• Alison Gates
• Alan Linic

Other

• Del Close (“House Metaphysician”)

More information on Second City can be found here.