Over the last 50 years, Saturday Night Live has produced some of the biggest stars in the world of comedy. The original Not Ready For Primetime Players alone produced numerous movie stars. One member of that group who is often overlooked, however, is Garrett Morris. He was the only Black member of the cast when Saturday Night Live debuted, but 50 years later, he clearly understands just what kind of an impact he had on those who came after him.
In a recent conversation with People, Garrett Morris talked about his experience of being cast on Saturday Night Live originally, following a performance in the movie Cooley High, which Lorene Michaels had apparently seen at the urging of other members of the SNL cast. It led to him breaking new ground on the show, which led to him inspiring multiple generations of Black comedians that came after him. Morris said:
And also it meant that I admired and had myself been admired by Dave Chappelle, Eddie [Murphy], of course, Chris Rock, one of my favorites, Tracy [Morgan], who, by the way, came up to me and said some things I never expected them to say.
Garret Morris did some great work on Saturday Night Live, and he had a solid career when he left the show, but he never became a star on the level of Chevy Chase or Dan Aykroyd. It’s certainly possible that Morris himself had not previously understood the impact he had.
Morris left SNL in 1980. Eddie Murphy would then join the cast the same year. It’s not difficult to draw a line between the two comedians. Murphy would be followed by the likes of Chris Rock and Tracey Morgan. According to Morris, when he saw each of them at the SNL 50 event, they said something that made him realize what an impact he had. Morris said:
[They] whispered stuff in my ear that really made me feel very good about how they viewed my contribution. And it's part of that I'll take to my grave.
Garrett Morris has been open about the fact that being part of the Saturday Night Live cast at the beginning wasn’t easy. He has talked about the racism that he experienced, including having writers on the show who he says refused to write anything for him. Considering that, it must have been wonderful to have people who Morris clearly respects tell him how important he was to them.
It's great to see that a talent like Garrett Morris is being told what an impact he had. He paved the way for those other stars while being an incredibly funny comedian himself. Any comedy fan owes the man a great debt.
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