Bill Murray and Chevy Chase’s Infamous Fight Was “Awful,” Say ‘SNL’ Co-stars

Saturday Night Live may seem to be all about the laughs, but apparently, there’s more behind-the-scenes drama than meets the eye. Two legendary comics, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, reportedly had a bitter feud (climaxing in a spontaneous physical fight before the live show) that created tension on set. And last night (June 17) on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, former SNL stars Laraine Newman and Jane Curtin opened up about the dispute.

The discussion came after a guest asked what the SNL set was like back in the ’70s — specifically, what happened in the infamous fight between Murray and Chase, when the latter returned to host.

“I can’t see the stick that you’re trying to stir up the pot with!” Newman joked. “I think Jane and I — and Gilda [Radner] — both witnessed it. But, you know, it was very sad and painful and awful.”

The beef between the pair reportedly began after Chase’s departure from the show; he left on poor terms in 1978. Still, he decided to return, though he soon realized he was performing in an environment that was “poisoned” against him. Murray, an SNL novice who already worked with Chase on National Lampoon, confronted the ex-SNL star, telling him that everyone hated him. Naturally, a shouting match followed, with tensions continuing to rise throughout the show’s dress rehearsal.

After rehearsal, Murray targeted Chase’s well-known marital issues with Jacqueline Carlin, and Chase fired back with an insult saying Murray’s face looked like a landing spot for Neil Armstrong. Right before the show aired, Chase confronted Murray again, persistent in winning the fight. Chase challenged his opponent to a physical fight in John Belushi’s dressing room, and when the fists started flying, Belushi threw himself between the two brawling comedians.

And after the fight? To audiences, the show went on as if nothing had happened. Chase waltzed right onto the classic SNL stage and delivered his monologue, seemingly unscathed.

WWHL‘s Andy Cohen inquired further about the duel, asking the ladies if it was like “watching family members fight.”

“It was that same kind of tension that you would get in a family,” Curtin continued, “and everybody goes to their corners because they don’t want to have to deal with the tension. It was uncomfortable. You could understand, you know, there were these two bull mooses going at each other, so the testosterone was surging and stuff happens.”

Newman continued to discuss the quarrel, ready to diagnose where the issue may have begun. “I think they both knew the one thing that they could say to one another that would hurt the most,” Newman concluded, “and that’s what I think incited it.”

Curtin nodded, agreeing with her co-star. Apparently, the battle is over for both comedy icons, as they later starred in films together and addressed burying the hatchet in interviews.

“And by the way,” Cohen said, “then they went and filmed Caddyshack right after, so what can I tell you? Everything worked out.”

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