Murphy Protege, Second City Vet to Join ‘SNL’ Crew

Chris Rock, a stand-up comic from New York, and Chris Farley, a veteran of the Second City improvisational comedy troupe in Chicago, will join NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” as new cast members this season.

Rock, a protege of comedian Eddie Murphy, will be the first black cast member on the long-running late-night show in several years.

Like Murphy and current “SNL” star Mike Myers, Rock and Farley will start out as featured players on the show, not as full-fledged members of the “SNL” repertory cast.

Nora Dunn, who boycotted the show last spring to protest an appearance by controversial comedian Andrew Dice Clay as guest host, is not returning to the show, nor is Jon Lovitz.

But singer Sinead O’Connor, who joined Dunn in her protest, will be singing on the show this season. O’Connor will be the musical guest when “SNL” premieres Sept. 29, with Kyle MacLachlan of “Twin Peaks” as the host.

Rock, who draws his humor from his native Brooklyn, was discovered by Eddie Murphy when he appeared at New York’s Comic Strip club. He had a featured role in the movie “I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka!” Executive Producer Lorne Michaels said in an interview Tuesday that he did not regret last spring’s show with Clay, which was protested by women’s groups and others offended by the comedian’s depiction of women and gays.

Farley has toured the country with Second City.

Executive producer Lorne Michaels said in an interview Tuesday that he also is planning to add a new female cast member in November or December.

“We didn’t set out to cast guys first, women later,” said Michaels, who added that he had narrowed the casting down to “seven or eight” female comics. “I think we have a strong castnow with Victoria Jackson, Dana Carvey and others in the show, and I didn’t want to add a lot of new people. Out of the hundred of people we saw, I think Rock and Farley are both originals.

“But from my experience with the first cast of the show, I think it’s better for their mental health and for the show if people can sneak on the air, to be discovered by the audience before the critics.”