Chevy Chase Vs. Bill Murray: The SNL Feud That Led To A Brutal Blowup

Co-workers disliking one another is nothing new, but actual throwdowns tend to be fairly rare, so when we heard about Chevy Chase and Bill Murray's behind-the-scenes brawl, you bet we raised our eyebrows. And, while Murray himself has tried to downplay the situation, Chase has said it really did get ugly. 

Chase was one of the original cast members of "SNL," but after his departure in 1976 to pursue bigger opportunities, Bill Murray was brought in to replace him. Chase returned as a guest host in 1978, and in an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," he described his mindset at the time. "I was probably a little full of myself after a year of fame or whatever," he admitted. That would probably be enough to annoy Murray in itself, but Chase explained that Murray's former co-star John Belushi, who couldn't stand Chase, had also badmouthed Chase to Murray. While Chase didn't go into specifics, he suggested that everything Belushi said had likely "worked Bill up a little bit."

Unfortunately, everything came to a head shortly before the show started, particularly after the two funnymen started taking low blows at one another. In "Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever," Nick de Semlyen wrote that Chase had made fun of Murray's acne scars, while Murray had thrown out a jab about the state of Chase's marriage. John Landis recalled to de Semlyen that things only escalated from there. "It was a huge altercation. They were big guys and really going at it. They were slapping at each other, screaming at each other, calling each other terrible names," the director recounted. In his own recollection, Murray didn't remember it being quite so bad, but it turns out there was more than one witness to the chaos.

John Landis saw the drama between Bill Murray and Chevy Chase as it played out, but he wasn't the only one. As Murray shared in his conversation with Nick de Semlyen, his late brother got between the two of them. Chase has corroborated that himself, but during his appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," he added that John Belushi had tried to intervene, too, which is pretty ironic considering the part he'd played in the beef in the first place. "I was ready to level [Murray], and he was probably ready to scratch me up, and at the same time, John rushed to the door. ... John's like 5'7", Bill, he's like 6'1", and I'm at like 6'3 ½" at the time, and John puts his hands in the door to block it off," he laughed. Chase also recounted the incident in a 2010 interview with Esquire. He said he didn't believe he or Murray ever actually touched each other, but that Belushi did end up being collateral damage, which he saw as just. "If anybody deserved to be slapped in the forehead it was John, for instigating it all," he said.

Like we said, Murray has downplayed how bad the altercation really was. In 2012 he told Empire, "It was really a Hollywood fight, a Don't-touch-my-face kind of thing." He also added, "Chevy and I are friends now. It's all fine."

Chase has shared similar sentiments himself, and though he clarified in his "Howard Stern" interview that he and Murray weren't super close, he said, "We've been very friendly, we've played golf together." The National Lampoon star added, "I think we've made an effort over the years to get to know each other better and to put that stuff behind." Glad to hear it!