When a (SNL) cast member, or even host, depicts a fictional character, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The best ones come back again and again, like ’s Drunk Uncle, ’s Canteen Boy, ’s Target Lady, ’s Roseanne Roseannadanna, and ’ David S. Pumpkins. Some SNL characters became so popular that they ended up getting their own movies and/or TV shows, like ’s MacGruber and and ’s The Roxbury Guys.

But there are iconic SNL characters that remain memorable from their appearances on the sketch comedy show alone. These ones, and those that starred in movies, made such an impact that even decades later, fans still reference and quote them.

Cast members and had a bright idea: they wanted to wear suits and hats along with dark glasses, even during the day, then sing on stage while dancing ridiculously. It didn’t really sound like a sketch. Indeed, as noted in the documentary , the show’s creator initially said no, saying he didn’t think it was funny. As luck would have it, however, there was a few minutes gap in the live show, and the duo was given the go-ahead to “make fools of themselves.” They did, and were born.

The sketch was so memorable, so funny that The Blues Brothers really became an actual band and technically rank as one of . What really stood out is that while they were acting silly, they could actually sing. From performances outside of the show to the musical film, The Blues Brothers offer the perfect balance of comedy and musical talent.

These brothers are just, well, two “wild and crazy guys” who have fun in the U.S. after emigrating from Czechoslovakia. Yortuk (Dan Aykroyd) and Georg () travel to bars and dance clubs where they try to acclimate but aren’t quite familiar with American culture. They desperately attempt to pick up attractive young women they call “foxes,” but they’re totally obnoxious and always end up being rejected.

Despite never actually having been a cast member on SNL, Martin hosted so many times and devised great recurring characters like this one. The sketch had viewers in stitches, particularly women who had encountered men like them before and could relate.

Adam Sandler had so many funny recurring characters on SNL, but arguably none so much as Opera Man. He was a recurring guest on Weekend Update who would summarize the weekly news in operatic form. But he would add an “ah” or “oh” at the end of English words to make it sound authentically Italian. Think lines like “TV Guide-ah, 40 years-ah, you know what-ah? Nobody cares-ah,” or covering a recent celebrity arrest by singing “you unnah arrestah, you unnah arrestah, aero porto no sweet, you pack-ah da heat.”

The words he’s singing are so cleverly written to sum up controversial moments of the week. Sandler’s passionate delivery with his signature baby-like tone and wonderful weaving of operatic styles truly bring each performance home as he shifts from loud and angry to soft and quiet along with the background music. It’s a segment viewers don’t want to see end, sad whenever he sings the usual “bye byyyyye” and it’s clear it’s over until next time.

’s best known character and by the far the funniest is Debbie Downer, a play on the actual term that references a person who always darkens an otherwise happy mood with their constant pessimism. But Debbie takes this to exaggerated heights with her unrealistic concerns and unwelcome mentions of things like feline AIDs, apparently the number one killer of domestic cats. The most iconic sketch was in 2004 with as host. A group are at Disney World, excited about their day. But Debbie keeps killing the mood, to hilarious results.

Dratch didn’t usually break character, but in the aforementioned sketch, every single cast member burst into laughter. The cherry on top each time she makes a comment is the camera closing in on Dratch’s face while she makes an odd expression and the sound effect “wah-wah” plays.

Mary Catherine Gallagher was ’s breakout character on SNL that contributed to her being named among the . She’s an exaggeration of an unpopular Catholic high school girl who is awkward, eccentric, and hyperactive. She’s seemingly afraid of being in the spotlight, which leads her to do odd nervous things when on stage, like stick her hands under her armpits and smell them.

She dances around wildly in each sketch where she’s seemingly at an audition, usually flashing her underwear under her short school skirt. The sketch will usually end with her jumping into or on something, like a pile of chairs. But by the end, she always crosses her legs and jumps with her hands out declaring that she’s a “superstar.” For this reason, the character ended up getting her own movie called in 1999.

was a valuable cast member on SNL during the 2000s and early 2010s. One of his most memorable characters, and one of the most memorable characters ever from that era, is Stefon. A frequent guest on Weekend Update, he is a club promoter looking to tell viewers about the newest, hottest club in town. Each one has a ridiculous name that he says in a different voice, even sound effect. They were constructed from a torn down CVS, built “on a dare,” or even located at “the upper east side of a dumpster.” Each one is more bizarre then the next, a parody of real-life clubs with strange hooks.

He describes the club in an effeminate voice, always with his side-swept hair and signature Ed Hardy shirt. The club always sounds cool at first. But as he discusses the details, they get weirder and weirder. The clubs are for people like “dumb folks looking to get murdered” and they always “have everything,” like “rooms full of broken glass” or “a shaved lion that looks like Mario Batali.” Hader could rarely keep it together during the segments, which led to his signature hands over the mouth pose to cover it up. The character was reportedly inspired by characters that Hader and met in real life, and he modeled his mannerisms after a barista at a local coffee shop.

“Well, isn’t that special.” That’s the catchphrase from the recurring The Church Lady sketch where plays a deeply religious older woman who tries to sound righteous, but she’s also very judgemental, pious, and smug. She interviews guests under the guise of helping them promote a project. But really, she wants to call them out on their sins. Her sweet grandma persona that hides her true intentions. Like when she tells that his then wife “doesn’t quite live up to her namesake,” tries to exorcise the demons from ’s (played by Bobby Moynihan), and spanks because of his sex tape, only to become aroused by him and accuse his butt of being possessed by Satan.

Developed initially for Carvey’s stand-up routine prior to being a cast member, The Church Lady became iconic on the show once she was introduced. Her passive-aggressive style delivered with a smile made fans love the character and reminded everyone of at least one person they know in real life. Fans loved sees Carvey reprise the role as one of .

“Wayne’s World! Party time! Excellent!” Anyone who grew up in the ‘90s and watched Saturday Night Live, or at least the 1992 movie born from this recurring sketch, know and love the two starring characters. is Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey Garth Algar, two hard rock music fans who run their own cheesy public access TV show from their basement. Wayne is the leader while Garth is his quieter sidekick, but together, the two make comedy magic.

The sketch was so popular that it returned often and led to the movie and its sequel . It’s also responsible for catchphrases many still use to this day. Think ones like “party on,” “extreme close-up!” “schwing!” “excellent,” and “no way! Way!” It’s also Wayne’s World that led the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” to soar up the charts more than a decade after it was released. That’s the power of these two iconic, long-haired characters.

A parody of the lovely PBS children’s show , starred as Mr. Robinson, a soft-spoken man just like who talked about the goings-on in his neighborhood like in the real show. Except Mr. Robinson lives in a less affluent area, and he’s far from the sweet man he pretends to be on screen.

He'll run into Mr. Landlord, for example, who is looking for his monthly rent and handing him an eviction notice, or he will dodge police looking to arrest him for selling stolen goods. He delivers useful tips about important things like nutrition and being kind, but the underlying truth is that he has done something wrong, like stolen the groceries he’s talking about. Mr. Robinson is one of many memorable Murphy characters from the show and the episodes still get laughs decades later. He’s one of the reasons SNL is one of the .

Chris Farley was known for his loud, physical comedy and outlandish characters, but none so much as Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker. He’s often called in to help parents deal with their troubled kids in a warped version of Scared Straight!, but only after he has spent all day drinking coffee. The idea is that he scares them into no longer engaging in their bad behavior, and he uses his own messed up life to do so. They don’t want to end up like him, after all. Why not? Because he “lives in a van down by the river” after dealing with all the hardships in his own life, including “eating a steady diet of government cheese” and being “thrice divorced.”

It's not just what he says, however, but the way he says it, legs spread wide, crouched down with his face right in the person’s face and screaming loudly while gesticulating with his hands. Written by Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk, the character was to be featured in a movie prior to Farley’s untimely death. The most popular of his many appearances is one with David Spade and Christina Applegate playing troubled kids, the father and mother played by Phil Hartman and Julia Sweeney.