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Every Celebrity in SNL's Five-Timers Club, from Buck Henry to Martin Short

28 people have graced the Studio 8H stage (at least!) five times over 50 seasons of Saturday Night Live, earning them that sweet velvet jacket. Martin Short is the newest inductee.

By Samantha Vincenty

Each episode of Saturday Night Live features a Host who takes center stage, co-starring in sketches with the cast after a frantic week of meetings, writing sessions, table reads, and rehearsal. And the nimble Hosts who are asked to return four more times to do it all over again become part of an exclusive group: The Five-Timers Club.

How to Watch

Watch Saturday Night Live Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and Peacock, streaming next day on Peacock.

While the overwhelming majority of SNL Hosts could be considered celebrities—largely actors, musicians, and athletes, such as Season 48 Host Travis Kelce—that wasn’t always the case in the show’s first few seasons. In the show’s early days, it also wasn’t unusual for sharp, up-and-coming comic performers to host twice a season (looking at you, Steve Martin).

The most recent Five-Timers Club members are Season 49 Hosts Emma Stone, who was inducted by Tina Fey and Candice Bergen, and Kristen Wiig, as well as its newest member Martin Short.

RELATED: Watch Martin Short's Monologue & Sketches from the December 2024 Christmas episode

As of 2024, there are 28 members in SNL's Five-Timers Club. Despite its expanding roster, given that there has been over *900* episodes of SNL since 1975, it remains an elite honor. 

Read on to see every person in Saturday Night Live's Five-Timers Club, in order.

Steve Martin during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Which Five-Timer has hosted SNL the most times?

Alec Baldwin. 

The 30 Rock actor has hosted 17 times since 1990, most recently in 2017. Baldwin's most recent SNL cameo appearance came in Season 49, in a sketch from Timothée Chalamet's November 11 episode

Buck Henry was the first SNL Five-Timer

Buck Henry as Frank Nolan during the Talk Back sketch.

Became a Five-Timer on: November 19, 1977
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 10 

The concept of the Five-Timer's Club wasn't introduced until December 8, 1990, when fifth-time Host Tom Hanks was "inducted" during a sketch. But Hanks wasn't the first person to notch five SNL hosting gigs: That would be Buck Henry.

Best known for creating the TV series Get Smart and writing the 1967 film The Graduate, Henry hosted not once but twice during each of Saturday Night Live's first five seasons—so 10 times in total between 1976 and 1980. Henry also played Liz Lemon's dad on 30 Rock.

Steve Martin

Backstage with Steve Martin Cold Open

Became a Five-Timer on: April 22, 1978
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 16

Steve Martin has never been a Saturday Night Live cast member. But he's hosted SNL a whopping 16 times and appeared on SNL so often (three times in the 1978 calendar year alone!), you'd be forgiven for thinking he was.

RELATED: SNL's Longest-Running Cast Members

Elliott Gould

Elliott Gould during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: February 16, 1980
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 6

Long before Elliott Gould played Ross and Monica Geller's dad on Friends, he hosted SNL six times between 1976 and 1980.

Paul Simon

Paul Simon performing on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: May 10, 1986
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 4

This one would be debatable, as Simon has technically hosted just four times—including the second-ever episode, back when it was simply titled NBC's Saturday Night. Buuut, a.) he's been a musical guest 13 times, and b.) he was the first Five Timer to greet Tom Hanks in the original sketch while wearing the jacket, so he's indisputably in. 

Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase during the Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on:  December 6, 1986
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 8

A member of the show's original Not Ready for Prime Time Players cast, Chase returned to host eight times between 1978 and 1997. He hosted his fifth episode alongside his Three Amigos! costars Steve Martin and Martin Short. 

Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen during the Adopt Belushi for Christmas skit.

Became a Five-Timer on: May 19, 1990
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5

The Hollywood icon was the fourth and eighth-ever host of SNL. Though she last hosted in 1990 during the original run of her iconic sitcom Murphy Brown, Bergen has returned for several Five Timers Club sketches. 

RELATED: Watch the Most Memorable SNL Cold Opens in History

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks Monologue

Became a Five-Timer on: December 8, 1990
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 10

Hanks's fifth episode famously introduced him—and viewers—to the Five-Timer's Club, where he joined Paul Simon, Steve Martin, and Elliott Gould (with a cameo from then-writer Conan O'Brien as the club's doorman Sean, years before he went on to host Late Night). You'll notice that the Five-Timer's jacket, called a "club robe" here, has slightly different details than its newer versions. 

Danny DeVito

Danny Devito Monologue

Became a Five-Timer in: January 9, 1993
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 6

Danny DeVito acknowledged becoming a Five-Timer in his 1999 monologue, though it was technically his sixth time hosting. The December 11, 1999 episode marked DeVito's fifth time as a solo Host, as he'd also co-hosted with his wife, actress Rhea Perlman, in 1983.

John Goodman

Chris Kattan and John Goodman during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer in:  May 7, 1994
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 13

The Roseanne and The Righteous Gemstones star is, in fact a 13-Timer, first hosting in 1989 and most recently in 2013. Goodman has also made a dozen cameos over the years, including a recurring guest role as Linda Tripp during then-President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial (Tripp became famous for illegally recording conversations with Monica Lewinsky). 

Alec Baldwin

Became a Five-Timer on: December 10, 1994
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 17

Baldwin's record-setting amount of shows as Host doesn't even count his cameo appearances, which include appearing in over 40 episodes as former president Donald Trump. 

Bill Murray

Bill Murray during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on:  February 20, 1999
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5

While former cast member Bill Murray is indelibly associated with SNL, he's hosted exactly five times. Murray's most recent SNL cameo was in 2018. 

Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken as Dominique de Villepin during Hardball skit.

Became a Five-Timer on: May 19, 2001
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 7

Walken, Will Ferrell's co-star in the famous "More Cowbell" sketch, has hosted SNL seven times.

Walken's also fondly remembered for playing the world's worst ladies man in his recurring sketch "The Continental" (not to be confused with The Continental, Peacock's John Wick spinoff series). He most recently returned for a cameo in a Season 49 cold open for Nate Bargatze's episode, playing Papa Pumpkin, the "spirit of Halloween." He later introduced musical guest Foo Fighters, which he'd famously done previously in 2003.

Drew Barrymore

Will Forte as E.T and Drew Barrymore during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: May 19, 2001
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 6

At seven years old, Drew Barrymore was the youngest person ever to host SNL in 1982. She returned to host six times in total over the years.

RELATED: Drew Barrymore Looks Back on Hosting SNL at Age 7

Justin Timberlake

Became a Five-Timer on: March 9, 2013
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 (2 as Host, 3 as Host and musical guest)

Timberlake first appeared on SNL as musical guest performing with NSYNC in 2000. No one could've guessed he'd go on to host five times—and score four Emmy Awards for his work on the show, including writing on "D*** in a Box." Timberlake has also been "just" a musical guest three times, first as a member of NSYNC in 2000 and most recently in Season 49

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: May 18, 2013
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

Fun fact about Five-Timer Ben Affleck on SNL: Prior to becoming a "Weekend Update" fixture, Bill Hader's Stefon made his debut in a sketch as the strange brother of Affleck's character.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey on stage during Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: December 19, 2015
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 6 

As a former Saturday Night Live head writer, "Weekend Update" anchor, and creator of the SNL-inspired 30 Rock (to say nothing of her many appearances as Sarah Palin), it should come as no surprise that Tina Fey has hosted six times. 

Scarlett Johansson

Became a Five-Timer on: March 11, 2017 
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 6 

Scarlett Johansson has hosted SNL six times, most recently in 2019. She also first met her husband, co-head writer and "Weekend Update" Host Colin Jost—while hosting the show in 2010.

NEXT: Colin Jost Has an Update on Pete Davidson's Ferry

Melissa McCarthy

Became a Five-Timer on: May 13, 2017 
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

For Melissa McCarthy's fifth (and most recent) time as Host, Steve Martin surprised her during the show's goodnight credits to gift her Five-Timer's jacket, as Martin's fellow Five-Timer and faux nemesis Alec Baldwin looked on. McCarthy famously played Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer, often driving a wheeled podium, multiple times in 2017 and 2018.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Became a Five-Timer on: May 20, 2017 
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

Johnson received his Five-Timer's jacket from Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin during his opening monologue, which turned into a debate on whether Hanks or Johnson would make a better president. 

Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill during the monologue on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: November 3, 2018
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

Tina Fey, Drew Barrymore, and Candice Bergen welcomed Hill into the Five-Timer's Club.

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell during a promo for Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: November 23, 2019
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

Though Ferrell has "only" hosted five times since his departure as a cast member in 2002, we're still hoping he'll return for a sixth time. 

Paul Rudd

Became a Five-Timer on: December 18, 2021
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5

External circumstances made Paul Rudd's Five-Timer induction a bit different than the others: Due to the pandemic, there was no live studio audience, and several cast members were out sick.

In brighter news, Tom Hanks and Tina Fey were there in person to present Rudd with his velvet jacket, while Steve Martin and Martin Short put in a hilarious video appearance. 

John Mulaney

Five-Timers Club

Became a Five-Timer on: February 26, 2022
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 6 

Former SNL writer and stand-up comic John Mulaney's Five-Timer's sketch was a star-studded one, with 2021 inductee Paul Rudd joining Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Candice Bergen, Elliott Gould, and Conan O'Brien. 

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson in the 30 Rock hallway

Became a Five-Timer on: February 25, 2023
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

During his fifth run as SNL Host in Season 48, Woody Harrelson wondered aloud whether Jack White would also get a Five-Timer's jacket for being musical guest five times...

Jack White

Jack White, Woody Harrelson, and Scarlett Johansson during Goodnights & Credits on Saturday Night Live.

Became a Five-Timer on: February 25, 2023
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

...And sure enough, both White and Harrelson got theirs during the closing credits, courtesy of Scarlett Johansson. 

Emma Stone

Tina Fey, Emma Stone and Candice Bergen stand on stage during saturday night live episode 1850

Became a Five-Timer on: December 2, 2023
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

Stone—who, like fellow Five-Timer Scarlett Johansson, met her husband on the set of SNL—is the newest member of the club, inducted during her Season 49 episode.

"Thank you. This is amazing," Stone told Fey and Bergen. "This has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and it means so much that I get to share this moment with you guys." 

Then she pulled something from her Five-Timer jacket pocket. "Is this a joint?" 

"Oh," Bergen nodded, "that must be Woody Harrelson's jacket."

Emma Stone Five-Timers Monologue

Kristen Wiig

Kristen Wiig during her monologue for the 5 Timers Club on SNL episode 1860

Became a Five-Timer on: April 6, 2024
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

SNL legend Wiig knocked it out of the park in her fifth time hosting, and she received her jacket with help from Paul Rudd, four-timer Martin Short, plus previous Hosts Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, and Ryan Gosling. Wiig's former costars Will Forte and Fred Armisen, as well as former SNL writer Paula Pell, were also on hand to honor Wiig.  

RELATED: Kristen Wiig's Five-Timers Induction Was Packed with Celebrities
RELATED: Watch Kristen Wiig's SNL Sketches from April 6 
RELATED: Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, and Fred Armisen Brought Back Classic Characters on SNL

Kristen Wiig Five-Timers Monologue

The monologue's bit hinged on the idea that the Five-Timers Club has gotten too big. "I think it's so sweet that you're so excited about getting a Five-Timers jacket," Pell told Wiig, "But you know, they basically hand those out to everybody like free maxi-pads." But Wiig ultimately received a well-deserved serenade in honor of her massive impact on the show. 

Martin Short

Became a Five-Timer on: December 21, 2024
Number of SNL episodes as Host: 5 

Martin Short stands on stage during promos for Saturday Night Live Season 50 Episode 10

Originally a cast member in Season 10, Martin Short has hosted SNL solo three times as of his Season 50 Christmas episode, and twice with Steve Martin: In 1986 alongside Chevy Chase, and again in December 2022.

RELATED: Martin Short's SNL Cast Included Billy Crystal and Julia-Louis Dreyfus

Short has also appeared in several other members' induction sketches, making his own star-studded ceremony all the more meaningful. 

Originally published Sep 7, 2023.