Did Milton Berle flash Chevy Chase after hitting on the comedian’s fiance?
Just as Zweibel was marveling at Berle’s “enormous” package, Gilda Radner happened to walk in.
Was Lorne Michaels the original ‘Weekend Update’ anchor before turning it over to Chevy Chase?
The ‘SNL’ cast in ‘Saturday Night’.Sony Pictures Entertainment/YouTube
Surprisingly, this is rooted in some truth.
“Id done the equivalent of ‘Weekend Update’ in Canada,“Michaels told Deadline in 2014.
Ron Galella/getty
Did Garrett Morris sing a song about killing whities at soundcheck?
Chevy Chase anchors ‘Weekend Update’.Ron Galella/getty
Was ‘The Tonight Show’ host Johnny Carson openly hostile over ‘SNL’?
TheSNLboss regularly invited Carson to guest host, but the late-night legend never appeared.
Actually, it was Michaels who wanted a backup plan, but not ofThe Tonight Show.
John Belushi and Garrett Morris as the Bees in season 1 episode 7 with Walter Matthau.Fred Hermansky/NBC
And I don’t think he was kidding.”
Did John Belushi refuse to sign his contract until moments before the show went live?
Belushi was indeed without a contract until moments before starring in the cold open.
George Carlin hosts ‘SNL’ season 1 episode 1.Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank
I couldn’t believe NBC, in its stupidity, was pressuring him at such a time.”
“He said, ‘Okay, I’ll sign the contract if you manage me.’
“John says, ‘Thats Rosie Shuster.
Jim Henson and his Muppets.getty
Thats Lornes wife and Dannys girlfriend.’
It was wild,” Landis said.
“I had a thing with Danny for a while.
Lorne Michaels in 1976.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Did Chevy Chase and John Belushi get into a physical fight backstage?
“Its almost like I was goaded into that.
You know, I think everybody was hoping for it.
The end credits during the ‘SNL’ season 1 premiere on Oct. 11, 1975.NBC
I did sense that.
I think they resented Chevy for leaving, for one thing.
They resented him for taking a big piece of the success and leaving and making his own career go.
Paul Shaffer on ‘SNL’ in 1980.Alan Singer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Everybody else was from the improvisational world, where you didnt make it about you.
You were an ensemble, you were a company.
So when he left, there was resentment about that.
It was a shock.”
Although the fight was with Murray, Chase put most of the blame on Belushi.
Ultimately, Billys still Billy and Im still me, but it didnt faze me for the show.
And I dont even remember who threw the first punch, Billy or Chevy.
But it was ugly.
Id never seen guys fighting like that, let alone people I knew.”
“Watching him from the floor, he seemed shattered.”
And I thought, Ooh boy, thats funny.
In anger, he says, medium talent.'
That really impressed me.”
Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank
Did George Carlin do so much cocaine before hosting he got lockjaw?
Was Chevy Chase courted to replace Johnny Carson before he’d even been on one episode?
In real life, Chase did come across as handsome and charming once the cameras rolled.
Think what that means when Johnny leaves."
Carson did not “leave” until he hosted his finalTonight Showon May 22, 1992.
Was Dan Aykroyd embarrassed by wearing short shorts in a construction worker sketch?
‘Oh, but he wouldnt say this.’
Oh, sorry."
He was lynching Big Bird.
And thats how we all felt about the Muppets."
before being told “No, I need two minutes.
All you get is two minutes.”
Ultimately, it was Crystal’s team who pulled him fromSNL.
Crystal said he was already in makeup when his team emerged to tell him they were all leaving.
“I was upset mad, I guess because I had wanted to be there,” he said.
Crystal got his shot 17 episodes later, when he performed a different bit of stand-up on the show.
It’s a 10-cent stamp, but if you lick it, it’s a quarter."
Was Rosie Shuster on the fence about being credited as Rosie Michaels?
NBC
Was NBC exec David Tebet trying to prevent the show from airing?
“He wanted to wear a T-shirt.
And the compromise was a suit with a T-shirt instead of a tie.
That was a much greater distraction than can possibly be understood right now.”
Was a set designer laying bricks until minutes before showtime?
Though the Emmy-winning production designer, who worked atSNLfrom show No.
Was Paul Shaffer on ‘SNL’?
Did Chevy Chase’s fiance sneak into sketches?
The couple was married from 1976 to 1980.
Did Andy Kaufman come to save the day by lip-syncing the ‘Mighty Mouse’ theme song?
And they weren’t getting that anywhere else on television."
Kaufman performed many more times onSNLover the first couple of years.
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