We get it. Plaza is an acquired taste. Some people like oatmeal. Others like huge portions of truffle-covered deadpan. Fortunately, Amy Poehler and company saw something in Plaza and she nailed the role of April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation immediately after flunking out at her SNL audition.
Dave Chappelle mentor Charlie Barnett auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 1980. Barnett was doing quite well, when he thwarted himself toward the end of the process. Self-conscious about his reading abilities, Barnett said that he was too scared and embarrassed about reading lines out loud. “I read good, but I read slow.”
Eddie Murphy got the role when Barnett skipped the final reading. He often said that he regretted his decision and envied Eddie Murphy, who ended up as a ground-breaking cast member on Saturday Night Live. Barnett had a recurring role as Noogie on Miami Vice. Chappelle dedicated his special, Dave Chappelle: Killin’ Them Softly, to Barnett, who left the world too soon in 1996.
Townsend went up against Eddie Murphy in 1980, the year Lorne Michaels left and took a chunk of the cast and the writing staff with him. Producer Jean Doumanian had a slashed budget and a few months to recast SNL. Townsend did not want to be pitted against another black actor but it seems that Doumanian could only see the cast with one black cast member at the time.
Doumanian liked Townsend, but talent coordinator Neil Levy wanted Murphy. When Doumanian said she liked Townsend better, Levy said, “I went nuts, you know, I threatened to quit. She only wanted to hire one black actor, and Townsend hadn’t signed his contract yet, so she signed Eddie.” Townsend has made a career out of pointing out the disparity and racism in the industry with cult hits such as Hollywood Shuffle. He still produces and acts.
Here’s what happens when you lose out to Gilbert Gottfried: you get so pissed that you promise yourself that you’re going to go out and do something hugely successful, like Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Groundling Reubens auditioned in 1980 and so did Gottfried. It’s rumored that Gottfried got the gig because he was a friend of one of the producers. Reubens was super pissed. “I was so bitter and angry, I thought, ‘You better think about doing something to take this to the next level.’”
Bad news for Gottfried: he only lasted a year and even his inside connection couldn’t save his meh performance. Good news for Reubens: his SNL rejection sparked him to raise some money and create The Pee-wee Herman Show. Later, his Pee-wee’s Playhouse won several Emmys and became a cultural phenomenon.