The Night Bill Murray Mistakenly Told America It Was Entering World War III

Way back in Saturday Night Live’s seventh season, Bill Murray went on live television and told America that the USSR had raided Poland. A few people in the audience laughed, but Murray assured them he was serious. “I guess that means this is World War III,” Murray said according to Ultimate Classic Rock. 

That bleak goodnight message is still on the edited Peacock version of the episode. “We’ve had a very good time tonight here in the studio,” began a somber Murray, surrounded by cast members decked out in Christmas sweatshirts and stocking caps. “But what all of us don’t know and what we’ve just found out is that the members of the Solidarity in Poland were all arrested and the country’s been taken over by the Soviets.”

The crowd chuckled uneasily, unsure if the invasion announcement was a War of the Worlds-style bit. Murray assured them it wasn’t: “It’s no joke, Jim. It’s real sad.”

Murray gestured to the Whiffenpoofs, the collegiate singing group dressed in tuxedos behind him. “These poor stiffs from Yale, they think this is the biggest night of their lives and now they got to go in the Army.”

After a final joke suggesting that viewers should head to department stores to shoplift last-minute gifts, Murray reminded everyone that “our hearts should be with — and they are with — the good people of Poland. God bless them, everyone.” 

Spoiler alert: World War III didn’t start that night. And for the record, the USSR didn’t invade Poland that night either. So why the heck was Murray scaring America? Blame it on producer Dick Ebersol, according to SNL writer Don Novello in Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.

Here’s what went down. During the short commercial break leading up to Murray’s goodnights, Ebersol came running up to his host. “It’s on the news, Russia’s invading Poland, and you should announce it,” Novello remembers Ebersol saying.

“What should I do?” asked Murray.

Novello, who was guesting as his popular SNL character Fr. Guido Sarducci that night, told Murray to ignore Ebersol. “That’s a news thing,” Novello argued. “This is a comedy show. Why would you want to do it?”

But Ebersol insisted. “Come on, we’ve got 30 seconds, you’re going to do it.”

Novello stood “way in the back” for the goodnights, wanting no part of Murray’s announcement. “It was really almost teary-eyed,” Novello remembers. Indeed, cast members Robin Duke and Christine Ebersole are visibly shaken as Murray delivers the news. “And it didn’t happen,” said the vindicated Novello. “The ‘invasion’ didn’t happen, at least not that night. But I guess Ebersol wanted this to be the comedy show that broke it to America that Russia invaded Poland.”

Not surprisingly, Ebersol didn’t share his version of the story in his SNL book, From Saturday Night to Sunday Night. But at least he appeared to learn a lesson, refraining from using SNL to break misunderstood national news on future shows.