How featuring the rushed and imperfect work of brilliant, stressed-out comics made SNL a comedy bastion.

The news parody has launched comedy careers and courted controversy. Here, Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase, Tina Fey, Michael Che and others recount its influential history.

Bill Murray’s “Nick the Lounge Singer” made a big return for Friday’s 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” or the ...