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    Cecily Strong leaves “Saturday Night Live” after 11 seasons

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1229 Views
    Cecily Strong arrives at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 19, 2021, at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. After 11 seasons, Cecily Strong has said farewell to Saturday Night Live. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
    NEW YORK (AP) --

    After 11 seasons, Cecily Strong has said farewell to "Saturday Night Live."

    A few hours before the last episode of the season Saturday, the TV show's Instagram account posted a cue card saying, "we'll miss you, Cecily." The caption read "Tonight we send off one of the best to ever do it."

    A two-time Emmy nominee for her work on the show, Strong was known for characters like the Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With At a Party and impressions of people like Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green.

    During Saturday's show, she broke character as Michael Che's drug-addicted neighbor Cathy Anne on Weekend Update to give a personal statement.

    "I had a lot of fun here," she said. "And I feel really lucky that I have had so many of the best moments of my life in this place, and with these people that I love so much."

    It's latest in a string of high-profile departures for "Saturday Night Live" this year, including Pete Davidson, Chris Redd, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney and Aidy Bryant. Strong joined the show in 2012, during the 38th season, and has since gone on to appear in movies, including the 2016 "Ghostbusters," and television shows, like Apple TV+'s "Schmigadoon!"

    She and host Austin Butler closed out the episode with a performance of "Blue Christmas."

     

    Tags:Cecily StrongSaturday Night Live



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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