As "Saturday Night Live" prepares to launch its 51st season on Oct. 4 with some cast changes, we looked back at past casts, specifically, which of the 160 total performers have hailed from New Jersey or at least lived in the Garden State.

While New York and California are tied for first place with 19 cast members each, New Jersey's proximity to NBC studios in Rockefeller Center has given the Garden State its fair share of contributors during the show's 988 episodes.

These cast members are either New Jersey natives or spent some time here:

Eddie Murphy (1980 to 1984), a Brooklyn native, was just 19 when he joined the cast, but he created some of its most memorable characters, including Gumby, a Mr. Rogers takeoff named Mr. Robinson, and an adult version of the Little Rascals character B

See Full Page