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The late-night sketch comedy series "Saturday Night Live" is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025. With five decades of television history behind "SNL," it should come as no surprise that there has been plenty of drama behind the scenes. Aside from all the chaos depicted in Jason Reitman's movie "Saturday Night," depicting the evening of the show's premiere back in October 1975, the early seasons of "SNL" sparked a lot of tension backstage, especially when the series became a hit, and previously unknown comedians started becoming famous.

Chevy Chase was the first and biggest benefactor of the success of "SNL" right out of the gate, largely because, as the host of the news satire Weekend Update segment, he was the only one saying his name on the show on a regular basis. As has been recounted by many who worked at "SNL,...