When Maya Rudolph steps onto the Studio 8H stage this weekend, it will mark her third time hosting Saturday Night Live. While she’s still got a ways to go before she earns a Five-Timers Club jacket, the Loot star is already part of another SNL fraternity: former cast members who have returned as hosts.
Given that the current season of the sketch comedy series kicked off with Pete Davidson at the helm and has since seen Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, and now Rudolph return to their old stomping grounds, it would seem like a relatively common occurrence. But of the more than 500 individuals who have hosted the show over the past half-century, only a few dozen of them have ever also called Lorne Michaels “boss.” And it all began with Chevy Chase.
On February 18, 1978, Chase became the first former SNL cast member to return as host. It was one of many firsts for Chase, who also happened to be the first cast member to depart the series (just a little over a year after its premiere).
His return was not welcomed by all. It was during that very episode that Chase and Bill Murray, who had essentially replaced him, came to near-blows after a brutal argument.
“Billy Murray and I came to fisticuffs,” Chase told Esquire back in 2010, “but we never really ended up hitting each other. We tried, but Belushi got in the middle and we both ended up hitting John. And if anybody deserved to be slapped in the forehead it was John, for instigating it all.”
In addition to being the former cast member to bank the most hosting gigs, Chase is also the first SNLer to reportedly be banned from the show after what some described as abusive behavior toward cast members during a 1997 appearance. (He’s never hosted again, although he has made some cameo appearances.)
Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Kristen Wiig are all members of the Five-Timers Club alongside Chase. And Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Norm Macdonald, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Molly Shannon, Tracy Morgan, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Jimmy Fallon are among the dozens of other former SNL players who have also returned.
No other near-fistfights have been reported.
