Who's More Successful? SNL Edition

[imported_The Vibesman]

[ QUOTE ]
This success you speak of is what exactly? Indie cred? He has undoubtedly made some great movies over the years. Somehow, the absolute stinkers and mail-ins go completely unnoticed. Regardless, a solid 30 year career is nowhere near as successful as being the biggest star in the world for a decade.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Outside of Ghostbusters, Stripes, and Groundhog Day, Murray's pictures have not done great boxoffice.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's gotta be Murphy. He was the biggest thing in the prime of his career, and ushered in stand-up comedy's most successful era. Every stand-up comedian wanted to be Eddie Murphy, to come on stage to explosions and dancers, wearing a leather suit in front of a packed Madison Square Garden. He was a stand-up comedian that was as big as a rock star. As a movie star he was also A-list, one of the top paid film stars of his era, and every film was a guaranteed hit because he was in it. Beverly Hills Cop was one of the biggest movies ever, still 42st on top grossing movies of all time (Ghostbusters made almost 4 million more, but was not carried by Murray alone), and even the terrible sequel Bev Hills Cop II did better than superior movies like Gremlins, Lethal Weapon II and True Lies.

I also considered Mike Myers, due to the big success of Wayne's World, Shrek and the massive success of the Austin Powers films. But, despite his movie success, Mike never affected the world of stand-up the way Eddie did. It is however worth noting, when talking of "success" that there are four Mike Myers movies in the top 100 all-time grosses: Shrek II (3rd), Shrek (27th) and the 2nd and 3rd Austin Powers movies (58th and 55th respectively.)

So for me it's Eddie Murphy 1st and Mike Myers 2nd. If Steve Martin counts I'd put him 3rd, but he wasn't really a cast member.