Second City anniversary celebration photos - chicagotribune.com

Second City's 50th anniversary celebration photos

"We had no sponsors. No network. We were responsible only to each other."

All of the living members of the original SCTV cast were there: Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Count Floyd, Eugene Levy, and Dave Thomas as the Beaver. Only the late John Candy was missing.

Those six are small-time celebrities compared to the other legendary second city graduates. John Belushi was watching from the rafters with John Candy and Gilda Radner, but brother Jim was there, as were George Wendt, Don Castelleneta (aka Homer Simpson), Steve Carell, Steven Colbert, David Koechner, Richard Kind, Jack McBrayer, Fred Willard, Nia Vardalos, Martin Short, etc.

I never saw the performances in Chicago, but I would sneak up to see Second City performances at The Old Fire Hall on Lombard Street in Toronto, which is where the SCTV cast came from.