He dresses in a rhinestone-studded leather jacket, fills his routines with obscenities and has offended more people than any other stand-up comic since Lenny Bruce. The perfect guest host for NBC's cutting-edge comedy series Saturday Night Live? Well, Andrew Dice Clay may have looked good on paper. But when the Diceman cameth, two performers bowed out, and the show endured perhaps the most tumultuous week in its controversy-filled 15-year history.
The boycott began when Nora Dunn, a cast member since 1985, announced she would not share the stage with Clay, in protest against his foul-mouthed material denigrating women, homosexuals and minority...