Chevy Chase
{{short description|American comedian, writer and actor (born 1943)}}
{{for-multi|the town in Maryland|Chevy Chase, Maryland|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Chevy Chase
| image = ChevyChaseMar10.jpg
| caption = Chase in 2010
| birth_name = Cornelius Crane Chase
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| active = 1967–present
| alma_mater = Bard College (BA)
| medium = {{hlist|Stand-up|film|television}}
| genre = {{hlist|Sketch comedy|improvisational comedy|physical comedy|slapstick}}
| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Suzanne Hewitt|1973|1976|end=div}}|{{marriage|Jacqueline Carlin|1976|1980|end=div}}|{{marriage|Jayni Luke|1982}}}}
| children = 3
|relatives=Miles Browning (maternal grandfather)
Frank Swift Chase (granduncle)
Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane (adoptive maternal grandfather)
Edward Leigh Chase (paternal grandfather)}}
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɛ|v|i|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-chevy.wav}}; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live (1975–1976), where his recurring Weekend Update segment became a staple of the show. As both a performer and a writer on the series, he earned two Primetime Emmy Awards out of four nominations.
After leaving Saturday Night Live early in its second season, he established himself as a leading man, starring in some of the most successful comedy films of the 1980s, starting with his Golden Globe–nominated role in the romantic comedy Foul Play (1978). Most famously, he portrayed Ty Webb in Caddyshack (1980), Clark Griswold in five National Lampoon's Vacation films, and Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher in Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989). He also starred in Seems Like Old Times (1980), Spies Like Us (1985), ¡Three Amigos! (1986), and Funny Farm (1989).
He has hosted the Academy Awards twice (1987 and 1988) and briefly had his own late-night talk show, The Chevy Chase Show (1993). Chase had a popularity resurgence with his role as Pierce Hawthorne on the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2014).
Early life and education
= Family =
Cornelius Crane Chase was born in Lower Manhattan on October 8, 1943,{{cite web|title=Chevy Chase biography|url=http://www.biography.com/people/chevy-chase-9542517|publisher=Biography.com|access-date=October 17, 2013|archive-date=April 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403103538/https://www.biography.com/people/chevy-chase-9542517|url-status=live}} and grew up in Woodstock, New York.{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/48252/|title=Is Chevy Chase a Potential Successor to Johnny Carson?|website=New York Magazine|date=June 26, 2008|access-date=December 30, 2020|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919214158/https://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/48252/|url-status=live}} He has an older brother, Ned Jr.
His father, Edward Tinsley "Ned" Chase (1919–2005),{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/books/edward-chase-86-longtime-book-editor-is-dead.html|title=Edward Chase, 86, Longtime Book Editor, Is Dead (Published 2005)|date=June 17, 2005|access-date=December 30, 2020|website=The New York Times|archive-date=November 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119131910/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/books/edward-chase-86-longtime-book-editor-is-dead.html|url-status=live}} was a Princeton-educated Manhattan book editor and magazine writer.{{Cite web |url=https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/edward-tinsley-chase-%E2%80%9941 |title=Edward Tinsley Chase '41 | Princeton Alumni Weekly |access-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727213946/https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/edward-tinsley-chase-%E2%80%9941 |url-status=dead }} Chase's paternal grandfather was artist and illustrator Edward Leigh Chase, and his great-uncle was painter and teacher Frank Swift Chase. His mother, Cathalene Parker (née Browning; 1923–2005), was a concert pianist and librettist, whose father, Rear Admiral Miles Browning, served as Admiral Raymond A. Spruance's Chief of Staff on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway in World War II. Cathalene was adopted as a child by her stepfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane, heir to The Crane Company, and took the name Catherine Crane.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/07/11/archives/explorers-survivor-omitted.html | work=The New York Times | title=Explorer's Survivor Omitted | date=July 11, 1962 | archive-date=July 5, 2018 | access-date=July 27, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705064421/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/07/11/archives/explorers-survivor-omitted.html | url-status=live }} Her mother, also named Cathalene, was an opera singer who performed several times at Carnegie Hall.{{cite book|author1=Martha Burgin|author2=Maureen Holtz|title=Robert Allerton: the private man & the public gifts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWgmAQAAMAAJ|year=2009|publisher=The News-Gazette|page=132|isbn=978-0-9798420-7-8}}
Chase was named for his adoptive grandfather, Cornelius, while the nickname "Chevy" was bestowed by his grandmother from the medieval English ballad "The Ballad of Chevy Chase". As a descendant of the Scottish Clan Douglas, she thought the name appropriate.Fruchter, Rena. I'm Chevy Chase...and You're Not. Virgin Books, 2007.
According to his step-brother John:
{{cquote|[Chevy] once told me that people who defined themselves in terms of their ancestry were like potatoes—the best parts of them were underground. He disdained the pretension of his mother's side of the family, as embodied by her mother, Cattie.}}
=Early life=
As a child, Chase vacationed at Castle Hill, the Cranes' summer estate in Ipswich, Massachusetts.{{cite book|title=New York Magazine|website=Newyorkmetro.com|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zCYAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32|date=August 23, 1993|page=32|issn=0028-7369}} Chase's parents divorced when he was four; his father remarried into the Folgers coffee family, and his mother remarried twice. He has stated that he grew up in an upper middle class environment and that his adoptive maternal grandfather did not bequeath any assets to Chase's mother when he died.Chase, Chevy, interview on Howard Stern Show, Sirius Satellite Radio, September 18, 2008. In a 2007 biography, Chase stated that he was physically and psychologically abused as a child by his mother and stepfather, Dr. John Cederquist, a psychoanalyst.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chase-biography-idUSN2333396920070424|title=Chevy Chase says in book he was beaten by mother|work=Reuters|date=April 24, 2007|access-date=August 15, 2012|archive-date=October 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002142443/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/04/24/us-chase-biography-idUSN2333396920070424|url-status=live}} In that biography, he said, "I lived in fear all the time, deathly fear." Abuse he was subjected to as a child included being awakened in the middle of the night by his mother to be slapped repeatedly across the face, lashes to the backs of his legs, punches to the head by his stepfather, and being locked in a bedroom closet for hours. As a punishment for being suspended from school at the age of 14, Chase was locked in a basement for several days.Fruchter, Rena. [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781852273460 I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not]. London: Virgin Books Ltd., 2007, p. 11. Both of his parents died in 2005.
Chase was educated at Riverdale Country School,{{cite magazine|last=Jarvis|first=Jeff|url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-chevy-chases-new-high-fatherhood-vol-20-no-11/|title=Chevy Chase's New High: Fatherhood|magazine=People|date=September 12, 1983|access-date=October 22, 2019|archive-date=October 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023024340/https://people.com/archive/cover-story-chevy-chases-new-high-fatherhood-vol-20-no-11/|url-status=live}} an independent day school in the Riverdale neighborhood of The Bronx, New York City, before being expelled. He ultimately graduated as valedictorian in 1962 from the Stockbridge School,{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M9oVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2217,6446264|title=The Milwaukee Sentinel — Google News Archive Search|website=News.google.com|access-date=December 30, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} an independent boarding school in the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. At Stockbridge, he was known as a practical joker with an occasional mean streak. He attended Haverford College during the 1962–1963 term, where he was noted for slapstick comedy and an absurd sense of physical humor, including his signature pratfalls and "sticking forks into his orifices".Rudolph, Stephanie. {{cite web |url=http://www.biconews.com/2003/10/28/prankly-speaking/ |title=Prankly Speaking |work=The Bi-College News |date=October 28, 2003 |access-date=February 26, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421202900/http://www.biconews.com/2003/10/28/prankly-speaking/ |archive-date=April 21, 2015 }} During a 2009 interview on the Today show, he ostensibly verified the oft-publicized urban legend that he was expelled for harboring a cow in his fourth floor room,{{cite web |url=http://blogs.haverford.edu/haverblog/2009/10/08/happy-birthday-chevy-about-that-cow/ |title=blogs.haverford.edu |date=October 8, 2009 |publisher=blogs.haverford.edu |access-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-date=March 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306121324/http://blogs.haverford.edu/haverblog/2009/10/08/happy-birthday-chevy-about-that-cow/ |url-status=live }} although his former roommate David Felsen asserted in a 2003 interview that Chase left for academic reasons. Chase transferred to Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, where he studied a pre-med curriculum and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.{{Cite web |title=Chevy Chase Movies and Shows |url=https://tv.apple.com/us/person/chevy-chase/umc.cpc.3vw3q7x6nf4jq5x0iosq1ka5m |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=Apple TV |language=en-US}}
Chase did not enter medical school, which meant he was subject to the military draft. Chase was not drafted, and when he appeared in January 1989 as the first guest of the just-launched late-night The Pat Sajak Show, he said he had tricked his draft board into believing he deserved a 4-F classification by falsely claiming that he had "homosexual tendencies".[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/11/arts/review-television-late-night-chitchat-additions-pat-sajak-and-arsenio-hall.html Late-Night Chitchat Additions: Pat Sajak and Arsenio Hall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905141754/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/11/arts/review-television-late-night-chitchat-additions-pat-sajak-and-arsenio-hall.html |date=September 5, 2018 }}, a January 11, 1989, review from The New York Times
While at Bard, Chase played drums in a band called The Leather Canary. The other two members, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, went on to found Steely Dan.{{cite web |last1=Brunner |first1=Rob |title=The origins of Steely Dan |url=https://ew.com/article/2006/03/17/origins-steely-dan/ |website=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=10 June 2025 |language=en |date=March 17, 2006}} He also played drums and keyboards for a band called Chamaeleon Church, which recorded one album for MGM Records before disbanding.
Career
= 1967–1974: Early career =
Chase was a member of an early underground comedy ensemble called Channel One, which he co-founded in 1967. He also wrote a one-page spoof of Mission: Impossible for Mad magazine in 1970 and was a writer for the short-lived Smothers Brothers TV show comeback in the spring of 1975. Chase made the move to comedy as a full-time career by 1973, when he became a writer and cast member of The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a syndicated satirical radio series. The National Lampoon Radio Hour also featured John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, and Brian Doyle-Murray, all of whom later became the "Not-Ready-For-Prime Time Players" on NBC Saturday Night (later re-titled NBC's Saturday Night and finally Saturday Night Live). Chase and Belushi also appeared in National Lampoon's off-Broadway revue Lemmings, a sketch and musical send-up of popular youth culture, in which Chase also played the drums and piano during the musical numbers. He appeared in the movie The Groove Tube (1974), which was directed by another co-founder of Channel One, Ken Shapiro, featuring several Channel One sketches.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
= 1975–1976: ''Saturday Night Live'' =
File:President Gerald R. Ford Talking with Chevy Chase, Saturday Night Live Producer Lorne Michaels, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Others at the 32nd Annual Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner - NARA - 30805929.jpg with President Gerald Ford in 1976; Chase is at far left]]
Chase was one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live (SNL), NBC's late-night comedy television show, beginning in October 1975. During the first season, he introduced every show except two, with "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" The remark was often preceded by a pratfall, known as "The Fall of the Week". Chase became known for his skill at physical comedy. In one comedy sketch, he mimicked a real-life incident in which President Gerald Ford accidentally tripped while disembarking from Air Force One in Salzburg, Austria.{{cite news| title = Gerald R. Ford| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122601257.html| format = Obituary| newspaper = The Washington Post| access-date = September 16, 2008| first = Lou| last = Cannon| date = December 27, 2006| archive-date = May 11, 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080511194806/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122601257.html| url-status = live}}{{cite news
| first = Steve
| last = Chawkins
| title = Bush's Tribute to a Lofty Symbol
| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-22-me-reagan22-story.html
| newspaper = Los Angeles Times
| date = October 25, 2005
| access-date = September 16, 2008
}} This portrayal of President Ford as a bumbling klutz became a favorite device of Chase's, and helped form the popular concept of Ford as being a clumsy man despite Ford having been a "star athlete" during his university years. In later years, Chase met and became friendly with President Ford.{{cite news
| title = Chevy Chase recalls Ford as 'a terrific guy': 'SNL' comedian became famous in the '70s portraying president as klutz
| url = https://www.today.com/popculture/chevy-chase-recalls-ford-terrific-guy-wbna16370028
| publisher = Today.com
| date = December 27, 2006
| access-date = September 16, 2008
| archive-date = February 12, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170212042421/http://www.today.com/popculture/chevy-chase-recalls-ford-terrific-guy-wbna16370028
| url-status = live
| first = Chevy
| last = Chase
| title = Mr. Ford Gets the Last Laugh
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/06/opinion/06chase.html
| newspaper = The New York Times
| date = January 6, 2007
| access-date = September 16, 2008
| archive-date = July 3, 2011
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110703201702/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/06/opinion/06chase.html
| url-status = live
}}
Chase was the original anchor for the Weekend Update segment of SNL, and his catchphrase introduction, "I'm Chevy Chase… and you're not" became well known. His trademark conclusion, "Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow" was later resurrected by Jane Curtin and Tina Fey. Chase also wrote comedy material for Weekend Update. For example, he wrote and performed "The News for the Hard of Hearing". In this skit, Chase read the top story of the day, aided by Garrett Morris, who repeated the story by loudly shouting it. Chase claimed that his version of Weekend Update was the inspiration for later news satire shows such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.{{cite web|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2007/04/16/a-delusional-chevy-chase-says-he-created-the-daily-show/|title=A delusional Chevy Chase says he created The Daily Show|website=AOL TV|first=Joel|last=Keller|date=April 16, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094259/http://www.aoltv.com/2007/04/16/a-delusional-chevy-chase-says-he-created-the-daily-show/|archive-date=May 18, 2015|quote=[...] asked what he thought of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, [Chase] took credit for their success. "[I] think that, you know, I started it with my Weekend Update," he responds, implying that the ideas for both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report came directly from WU.}} Weekend Update was later revived as a segment on The Chevy Chase Show,{{cite news
| first = Bill
| last = Carter
| title = With Pratfalls, Chevy Chase's Plans For Late-Night TV
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/13/arts/with-pratfalls-chevy-chase-s-plans-for-late-night-tv.html
| newspaper = The New York Times
| access-date = September 16, 2008
| date = July 13, 1993
| archive-date = November 8, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121108063010/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/13/arts/with-pratfalls-chevy-chase-s-plans-for-late-night-tv.html
| url-status = live
}} a short-lived late-night talk show produced by Chase and broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company.
Chase was committed contractually to SNL for only one year as a writer and became a cast member during rehearsals just before the show's premiere. He received two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for his comedy writing and live comic acting on the show. In Rolling Stone{{'}}s February 2015 appraisal of all 141 SNL cast members to date, Chase was ranked tenth in overall importance. "Strange as it sounds, Chase might be the most under-rated SNL player," they wrote. "It took him only one season to define the franchise…without that deadpan arrogance, the whole SNL style of humor would fall flat."Rolling Stone, issue 1229, February 26, 2015, p. 32.
In a 1975 New York magazine cover story, which called him "The funniest man in America", NBC executives referred to Chase as "The first real potential successor to Johnny Carson" and claimed he would begin guest-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson within six months of the article. Chase dismissed rumors that he could be the next Carson by telling New York, "I'd never be tied down for five years interviewing TV personalities." Chase did not appear on the program until May 4, 1977, when he was promoting a prime-time special for NBC. Carson (who was never a fan of SNL) later said of Chase: "He couldn't ad-lib a fart after a baked-bean dinner."{{cite web |url=http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/nastiest_things_said_by_men/index.php |title=The 25 Meanest Things Ever Said by Men |publisher=Menshealth.com |date=June 25, 2011 |access-date=August 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810170931/http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/nastiest_things_said_by_men/index.php |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |url-status=dead }}
Chase acknowledged Ernie Kovacs's influence on his work in Saturday Night Live,Chevy Chase, "The Unique Comedy of Ernie Kovacs", TV Guide, April 9, 1977, p. 39–40. and he thanked Kovacs during his acceptance speech for his Emmy Award.Hofer, Stephen F.(2006). TV Guide: the official collector's guide, Bangzoom Publishers. In addition, Chase spoke of Kovacs's influence on his work in an appearance in the 1982 documentary called Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius.{{cn|date=January 2025}}
= 1976–1989: Film stardom and acclaim =
File:Chevy Chase 1976.jpg, December 1976]]
In late 1976, in the middle of SNL's second season, Chase became the first member of the original cast to leave the show. While he landed starring roles in several films on the strength of his SNL fame, he asserted that the principal reason for his departure was the reluctance of his girlfriend, Jacqueline Carlin, to move to New York.{{cite episode|title=Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live | series =Saturday Night Live |network=NBC |airdate=February 20, 2005}} Chase moved to Los Angeles, married Carlin, and was replaced by Bill Murray, although he made a few cameo appearances on the show during the second season.
Chase hosted SNL eight times from 1978 to 1997.{{cite news |title=The Saturday Night Live Season 2 Cast: Live from New York, It's Bill Murray |url=https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/saturday-night-live-season-2-cast-1977-photos |access-date=January 19, 2024 |work=NBC Insider |date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118204936/https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/saturday-night-live-season-2-cast-1977-photos |url-status=live }} In regard to Chase's 1997 appearance as a host, SNL creator and show-runner Lorne Michaels disputed reports that he was shocked by Chase's behavior or had banned him as a result, claims which he calls "idiotic".{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/chevy-chase-cant-change/ |title=Chevy Chase can't change |last=Edgers |first=Geoff |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 19, 2018 |access-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321123444/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/chevy-chase-cant-change/ |url-status=live }} While Chase has not returned to SNL to host since 1997, he appeared on the show's 25th anniversary special in 1999 and was interviewed for a 2005 NBC special on the first five years of SNL. Later appearances included a Caddyshack skit featuring Bill Murray, a 1997 episode with guest host Chris Farley, as the Land Shark in a Weekend Update segment in 2001, another Weekend Update segment in 2007, and in Justin Timberlake's monologue in 2013 as a member of the Five-Timers Club, where he was reunited with his Three Amigos co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short. He also participated in the 40th anniversary special in February 2015.{{cite news |last=McCoy |first=Terrence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/17/chevy-chase-after-saturday-night-live-too-mean-to-succeed/ |title=Chevy Chase, Too Mean To Succeed |date=February 17, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218002338/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/17/chevy-chase-after-saturday-night-live-too-mean-to-succeed/ |url-status=live }}
File:Chevy Chase 1980.jpg, December 10, 1980]]
Chase's early film roles included Tunnel Vision (1976); Foul Play (1978, a box-office hit that made more than $44 million{{Cite web|title=Foul Play |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2823980545/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022}} and earned Chase a Golden Globe nomination); and Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980). The role of Eric "Otter" Stratton in National Lampoon's Animal House was written with Chase in mind, but he turned the role down to work on Foul Play. The role went to Tim Matheson instead. Chase said in an interview that he chose to do Foul Play so he could do "real acting" for the first time in his career instead of just "schtick".Shales, Tom. Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay Books, 2003.
Chase followed Foul Play in 1980 by portraying Ty Webb in the Harold Ramis comedy Caddyshack. A major box office success that pulled in $39 million off a $6 million budget,{{Cite web |title=Caddyshack |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3326707201/ |access-date=May 15, 2022 |website=Box Office Mojo}} the movie has become a classic. It reached a 73% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics saying: "Though unabashedly crude and juvenile, Caddyshack nevertheless scores with its classic slapstick, unforgettable characters, and endlessly quotable dialogue".{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caddyshack |title=Caddyshack (1980) |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media |access-date=December 30, 2024 |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511163519/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/caddyshack/ |url-status=live }} That same year, he reunited with Foul Play co-star Goldie Hawn for Neil Simon's Seems Like Old Times, a box-office success that earned more than $43 million.{{Cite web|title=Seems Like Old Times|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl124683777/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022|archive-date=June 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626234747/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl124683777/|url-status=live}} He then released a self-titled record album, co-produced by Chase and Tom Scott, with novelty and cover versions of songs by Randy Newman, Barry White, Bob Marley, the Beatles, Donna Summer, Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Troggs, and The Sugarhill Gang.
File:President Ronald Reagan greeting Chevy Chase.jpg and Chevy Chase, 1985]]
Chase narrowly escaped death by electrocution during the filming of Modern Problems in 1980. During a sequence in which Chase's character wears "landing lights" as he dreams that he is an airplane, the lights malfunctioned and an electric current passed through Chase's arm, back, and neck muscles. The near-death experience followed the end of his marriage to Carlin, and Chase experienced a period of deep depression. He married Jayni Luke in 1982. Chase continued his film career by playing Clark Griswold in 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation. Directed by Ramis and written by John Hughes, the movie grossed $61 million{{Cite web|title=National Lampoon's Vacation|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl561612289/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022}} on a $15 million budget—his most successful movie at the time.
In 1985, Chase played Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher in Fletch, based on Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch books, which grossed more than $50 million off an $8 million budget.{{Cite web |title=Fletch |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl978486785/ |access-date=May 15, 2022 |website=Box Office Mojo}} That same year, he appeared in a sequel to Vacation, National Lampoon's European Vacation, which pulled in just shy of $50 million at the box office,{{Cite web|title=National Lampoon's European Vacation|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl709920257/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022}} and co-starred with fellow SNL alum Dan Aykroyd in Spies Like Us, which made $60 million.{{Cite web|title=Spies Like Us|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl745768449/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=December 15, 2024}} In 1986, Chase joined SNL veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short in the Lorne Michaels–produced comedy ¡Three Amigos! that made nearly $40 million,{{Cite web|title=Three Amigos!|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2738980353/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=December 20, 2024}} with Chase declaring in an interview that making Three Amigos was the most fun he had making a film.{{cite magazine |date=August 13, 2004 |author=Daniel Fierman | url = https://ew.com/article/2004/08/13/chevy-chase-reflects-his-best-work/ | title = Chevy Chase reflects on his best work |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} He also appeared alongside Paul Simon, one of his best friends, in Simon's 1986 second video for "You Can Call Me Al", in which he lip-syncs all of Simon's lyrics.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq-gYOrU8bA | title=Paul Simon - You Can Call Me al (Official Video) | website=YouTube | date=June 16, 2011 }}
File:Gerald Ford and Chevy Chase.jpeg with Chase before the Conference on Humor and the Presidency held at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in 1986]]
In 1987, his Cornelius Productions company signed a non-exclusive, first-refusal deal to develop four feature projects at the Warner Bros. studio, and set up a fifth project at Universal Pictures.{{Cite news |last=Tusher |first=Will |date=May 27, 1987 |title=Chevy Chase's Cornelius Prods. Lines Up Projects With WB, U |page=28 |work=Variety}} Chase hosted the Academy Awards in 1987 and 1988, opening the telecast in 1988 with the quip, "Good evening, Hollywood phonies!" In 1988, he starred alongside Madolyn Smith in Funny Farm, a sizeable hit at $25 million{{Cite web|title=Funny Farm|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2119534081/weekend/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=January 2, 2025|archive-date=December 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227221440/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2119534081/weekend/|url-status=live}} that reached 64% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes.{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007990-funny_farm/|title=Funny Farm (1988) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media |access-date=July 30, 2023}} That same year, he appeared (albeit via a glorified cameo) in a sequel to Caddyshack, Caddyshack II, which made less than $12 million,{{Cite web|title=Caddyshack II|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3343484417/weekend/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=January 3, 2025|archive-date=October 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031004133/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3343484417/weekend/|url-status=live}} becoming one of his few flops at the time.{{cite magazine |date=July 24, 2020 |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |title=The Inside Story of Caddyshack II |url=https://www.si.com/media/2020/07/24/caddyshack-2-worst-sequel-ever-inside-story |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726104124/https://www.si.com/media/2020/07/24/caddyshack-2-worst-sequel-ever-inside-story |url-status=live }}
In 1989, Chase starred in a sequel to Fletch, Fletch Lives, which went on to gross more than $35 million,{{Cite web|title=Fletch Lives|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097366/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=December 29, 2024|archive-date=December 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203050002/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097366/|url-status=live}} and made a third Vacation film, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which pulled in $71 million and, thanks to its holiday theme, has become one of his more durable films.{{Cite web|title=National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2454423041/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022}} At the height of his career in the late 1980s, Chase earned around US$7 million per film and was a highly visible celebrity.
= 1990–2009: Career fluctuations =
Chase played saxophone onstage at Simon's free concert at the Great Lawn in Central Park in the summer of 1991. Later in 1991, he helped record and appeared in the music video "Voices That Care" to entertain and support U.S. troops involved in Operation Desert Storm, and supported the International Red Cross. Chase had three consecutive film flops: Razzie Award-nominated Nothing but Trouble (1991), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), and Cops & Robbersons (1994). The three releases had a combined gross of $34 million in the United States.
In September 1993, Chase hosted The Chevy Chase Show, a weeknight talk show, for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Although it had high commercial expectations, the show was cancelled by Fox after five weeks. Chase later appeared in a commercial for Doritos, airing during the Super Bowl, in which he made humorous reference to the show's failure.{{Cite web| title=1994 Doritos advert| website=YouTube | date=August 31, 2017 |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=vgLFzkjMNhs|access-date=March 11, 2025}}
Chase found success with some of his subsequent movies. Man of the House (1995), co-starring Farrah Fawcett, was relatively successful, grossing $40 million,{{Cite web|title=Man of the House|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl811828737/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022}} and Vegas Vacation (1997, his fourth Vacation film) was a box office success, grossing $36.4 million.{{Cite web|title=Vegas Vacation|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2138670593/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022}} Snow Day (2000), in which Chase appeared, was also successful grossing over $60 million,{{Cite web|title=Snow Day|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl57705985/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022|archive-date=May 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516195202/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl57705985/|url-status=live}} as well as Orange County (2002), grossing more than $40 million.{{Cite web|title=Orange County|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3429271041/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022|archive-date=June 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625152649/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3429271041/|url-status=live}} Chase was Hasty Pudding's 1993 Man of the Year, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in that same year.{{cite web |date=October 25, 2019 |title=Chevy Chase |url=https://walkoffame.com/chevy-chase/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515230502/https://walkoffame.com/chevy-chase/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |access-date=May 15, 2021 |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce}} He also received The Harvard Lampoon{{'}}s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.{{cite web|url=http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |title=Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated |access-date=February 26, 2015 }}
He was roasted by the New York Friars Club for a Comedy Central television special in 2002. This roast was noted for being unusually vitriolic, even by the standards of a roast.{{cite web |last1=Heffernan |first1=Virginia |title=Chevy Chase, Humiliated Again |url=https://slate.com/culture/2002/12/chevy-chase-humiliated-again.html |website=Slate Magazine |access-date=October 19, 2019 |language=en |date=December 2, 2002 |archive-date=October 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019051239/https://slate.com/culture/2002/12/chevy-chase-humiliated-again.html |url-status=live }} Some of the more recent films starring Chase (e.g., Vacuums, Rent-a-Husband, Goose!) have not been widely released in the United States. He returned to mainstream movie-making in 2006, co-starring with Tim Allen and Courteney Cox in the comedy Zoom, though it was both a critical and commercial failure. Chase guest-starred as an anti-Semitic murder suspect in "In Vino Veritas", the November 3, 2006, episode of Law & Order. He also guest-starred in the ABC drama series Brothers & Sisters in two episodes as a former love interest of Sally Field's character. Chase appeared in a prominent recurring role as villainous software magnate Ted Roark on the NBC spy-comedy Chuck. In 2009, Chase and Dan Aykroyd voiced themselves in the Family Guy episode "Spies Reminiscent of Us".
File:DonaldGloverDannyPudiGillianJacobsChevyChaseSDCCJuly10.jpg, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs and Chase at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010]]
= 2009–2014: Return to television =
Starting in 2009, Chase returned to NBC in the sitcom Community, as aging moist-towelette tycoon Pierce Hawthorne. The show was created by Dan Harmon and starred Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, and Yvette Nicole Brown. The series received critical acclaim for its acting and writing, appeared on numerous critics' year-end "best-of" lists and developed a cult following.{{cite web|url= https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/20/20873299/community-comedy-netflix-hulu-nbc-yahoo-jeff-winger-annie-troy-abed-britta-shirley-pierce|title= Community was one of the most inventive shows in TV history|website= Vox|date= September 20, 2019|access-date= April 2, 2020|archive-date= May 26, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200526201654/https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/20/20873299/community-comedy-netflix-hulu-nbc-yahoo-jeff-winger-annie-troy-abed-britta-shirley-pierce|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/the-meta-innovative-genius-of-community/238740/|title= The Meta, Innovative Genius of Community|website= The Atlantic|date= May 12, 2011|access-date= April 2, 2020|archive-date= April 5, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130405020901/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/the-meta-innovative-genius-of-community/238740/|url-status= live}} The New York Times critic Alessandra Stanley praised the casting of Chase writing, "Jeff has the kind of sardonic repartee and slapdash nonchalance that the comedian Chevy Chase had when he was the young star of the Fletch movies", while adding, "Even that is an inside casting joke: Mr. Chase, who is farcically loopy and delightful in the pilot."{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/arts/television/17community.html|title= A Wink at Colleges and a Nod to Clichés|work= The New York Times|date= September 16, 2009|accessdate= June 20, 2023|last1= Stanley|first1= Alessandra}}
In 2010, Chase appeared in an online Vacation short film Hotel Hell Vacation, featuring the Griswold parents, and in the Funny or Die original comedy sketch "Presidential Reunion", where he played President Ford alongside other current and former SNL president impersonators. That same year, Chase appeared in the film Hot Tub Time Machine which received some praise,{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chevy-chase-jumps-hot-tub-84681 |title=Chevy Chase jumps in Hot Tub |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2009-05-28 |access-date=2011-04-30 |first=Jay A. |last=Fernandez |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415025158/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chevy-chase-jumps-hot-tub-84681 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hot_tub_time_machine/ |title=Hot Tub Time Machine Film Reviews |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=2022-08-24 |archive-date=December 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241230054519/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hot_tub_time_machine |url-status=live }} and a sequel.
Throughout the filming of Community, Chase became increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of Pierce's character arc. It was reported that in 2012 Chase had an outburst on set yelling if it continued he may be asked to call either Donald Glover or Yvette Nicole Brown's character the N-word. Chase later apologized for the outburst.{{cite web |date=October 20, 2012 |title=Chevy Chase Drops N-Word In Tirade On The Set Of 'Community' |url=https://deadline.com/2012/10/chevy-chase-has-racially-charged-tirade-on-the-set-of-community-357119/ |accessdate=June 20, 2023 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zach |date=February 15, 2022 |title='Chevy Chase Ignores Claims of Problematic Set Behavior: 'I Don't Give a Crap...I Am Who I Am' |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/chevy-chase-problematic-set-behavior-1235182226/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032900/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/chevy-chase-problematic-set-behavior-1235182226/ |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |access-date=March 8, 2023 |website=Variety |language=en}} While Chase apologized for his outburst, he proceeded to leave the show{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2012/10/chevy-chase-has-racially-charged-tirade-on-the-set-of-community-357119/|title= Chevy Chase Drops N-Word In Tirade On The Set Of 'Community'|website= Deadline Hollywood|date= October 20, 2012|accessdate= June 20, 2023}} due to increasing disagreements with his character and the show's creator Dan Harmon. After a mutual agreement with the network, his character was abruptly written out of the fourth season of Community.{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zach |date=February 15, 2022 |title='Chevy Chase Ignores Claims of Problematic Set Behavior: 'I Don't Give a Crap...I Am Who I Am' |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/chevy-chase-problematic-set-behavior-1235182226/ |website=Variety |language=en |access-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032900/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/chevy-chase-problematic-set-behavior-1235182226/ |url-status=live }} Chase later claimed that his exit was due to his personal opinions of the show rather than the outburst, claiming that it "wasn't funny enough".{{Cite magazine |date=September 26, 2023 |title=Chevy Chase Claims 'Community' Just "Wasn't Funny Enough" for Him |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/09/chevy-chase-claims-community-just-wasnt-funny-enough-for-him |access-date=October 11, 2023 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}} His departure was cemented by the writers, who killed off Pierce in the third episode of Community
= 2015–present =
In 2015, Chase reprised his role as Clark Griswold in the fifth Vacation installment, titled Vacation. Unlike the previous four films in which Clark is the main protagonist, he only has a brief though pivotal cameo appearance.{{Cite web |date=2015-07-31 |title=The Chevy Chase 'Vacation' Cameo Is A Hilarious Throwback To The Griswolds Of The Original Franchise |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/100702-the-chevy-chase-vacation-cameo-is-a-hilarious-throwback-to-the-griswolds-of-the-original-franchise |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Bustle |language=en |archive-date=January 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250113064154/https://www.bustle.com/articles/100702-the-chevy-chase-vacation-cameo-is-a-hilarious-throwback-to-the-griswolds-of-the-original-franchise |url-status=live }} In spite of largely negative critical reception,{{Cite web |title=Vacation |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vacation_2013 |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502105513/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vacation_2013 |url-status=live }} the film proved to be a financial success, grossing over $107 million worldwide.{{Cite web|title=Vacation|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3445917185/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 15, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407194300/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=newline15.htm|url-status=live}}
In 2019, Chase was in the Netflix movie The Last Laugh where he starred alongside Richard Dreyfuss.
In 2024, he was in the film The Christmas Letter with Randy Quaid and Brian Doyle-Murray.{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2024-05-30 |title=Comedy 'The Christmas Letter' Starring Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid Acquired By Scatena & Rosner Films |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/chevy-chase-movie-the-christmas-letter-acquired-scatena-rosner-films-1235944819/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Deadline Hollywood |language=en-US}}
Personal life
= Marriage and family =
Chase married Susan Hewitt in New York City on February 23, 1973. They divorced on February 1, 1976. His second marriage, to Jacqueline Carlin, was formalized on December 4, 1976, and ended in divorce on November 14, 1980; they had no children.{{cite web |url=https://bermudezfamilyfunerals.com/tribute/details/42051/Jacqueline-Melcher/obituary.html |title=Obituary: Jacqueline Carlin Melcher 1942–2021 |publisher=Bermudez Family |access-date=January 27, 2023}}
Chase resided in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles from 1980 until 1995 in a Tudor-style home. He was the Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades between 1986 and 1988.{{cite web | url=https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/hotproperty/article/chevy-chase-hunts-buyer-for-home-comedian-wants-3331481.php | title=Chevy Chase Hunts Buyer for Home / Comedian wants to leave L.A. | date=April 12, 1995 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.palisadeschamber.com/honorary-mayors/ | title=Honorary Mayors | access-date=October 17, 2024 | archive-date=May 23, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523190709/https://www.palisadeschamber.com/honorary-mayors/ | url-status=live }}
He married his third wife, Jayni Luke, in Pacific Palisades on June 19, 1982.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/15/movies/at-the-movies.html|title=At the Movies (Published 1982)|first=Lawrence Van|last=Gelder|date=October 15, 1982|access-date=December 30, 2020|website=The New York Times|archive-date=August 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828044618/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/15/movies/at-the-movies.html|url-status=live}} He and Luke have three daughters, Cydney, Caley, and Emily.{{Cite news|title=Chevy Chase is 74, sober and ready to work. The problem? Nobody wants to work with him.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/chevy-chase-cant-change/|access-date=June 30, 2021|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|archive-date=February 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218024811/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/lifestyle/chevy-chase-cant-change/|url-status=live}} The couple reside in Bedford, New York.{{Cite web|url=https://radaronline.com/photos/chevy-chase-sad-alone-hermit-hell/|title=Hermit Hell! Chevy Chase Living Like A Loner: 'He's Alienated Himself From Everyone'|website=RadarOnline|date=February 15, 2018|access-date=December 30, 2020}}
= Substance abuse =
In 1986, Chase was admitted to the Betty Ford Center for treatment of a prescription painkiller addiction. His use began after he experienced ongoing back pain related to the pratfalls he took during his Saturday Night Live appearances.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/12/us/chevy-chase-being-treated-for-addiction-to-painkillers.html | newspaper=The New York Times | date=October 12, 1986 | title=Chevy Chase Being Treated For Addiction to Painkillers | access-date=August 31, 2013 | archive-date=April 15, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415181808/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/12/us/chevy-chase-being-treated-for-addiction-to-painkillers.html | url-status=live }} In 2010, he said that his drug abuse had been "low level."{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/chevy-chase-interview-1010 |work=Esquire |title=Chevy Chase: What I've Learned |date=September 23, 2010 |access-date=August 31, 2013 |author=Fussman, Cal |archive-date=September 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924120830/http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/chevy-chase-interview-1010 |url-status=live }}
He entered the Hazelden Clinic in September 2016 to receive treatment for alcoholism.{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/06/entertainment/chevy-chase-rehab/index.html|title=Chevy Chase enters rehab|first=Lisa Respers|last=France|website=CNN|date=September 6, 2016|access-date=September 6, 2016|archive-date=September 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906163627/http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/06/entertainment/chevy-chase-rehab/index.html|url-status=live}}
= Political views =
An active environmentalist and philanthropist, Chase is a political liberal. He campaigned for Democratic presidential nominees Bill Clinton in the 1990s, and John Kerry in 2004.{{cite book |editor-last1=White|editor-first1=Mark|date=May 15, 2012|title=The Presidency of Bill Clinton: The Legacy of a New Domestic and Foreign Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BCMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA239|location=London, UK|publisher=I.B. Tauris |page=239|isbn=9780857722478}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jul-09-na-kerry9-story.html|title=Stars Raise Voices Against Bush|website=Los Angeles Times |date=July 9, 2004|access-date=September 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212035920/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jul-09-na-kerry9-story.html|archive-date=February 12, 2021}}
In 2004, during a speech at a People for the American Way benefit at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts he mocked Republican President George W. Bush, Kerry's opponent in the 2004 election, referring to Bush as an "uneducated, real lying schmuck" and a "dumb fuck". His comments upset both the organizers and the crowd.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3216-2004Dec15.html |title=It's the F-Time Show With Chevy Chase |newspaper=Washington Post |date=December 16, 2004 |access-date=August 8, 2011 |first=Richard |last=Leiby |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106122114/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3216-2004Dec15.html |url-status=live }}
He endorsed Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.https://thehill.com/homenews/news/5043-hugh-hefner-gives-2300-to-clintons-08-campaign/
= Fight with Bill Murray =
While filming an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1978, Chase got into a fistfight with Bill Murray in John Belushi's dressing room. Murray and Chase's backstage brawl took place when Chase returned to host the show after his exit as a full-time cast member in 1976. Murray had reportedly made a derogatory comment about Chase's troubled marriage to Jacqueline Carlin, leading Chase to criticize Murray's physical appearance. The fight was witnessed by cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner.{{cite web | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2002/09/snl200209 | title=It's Saturday Night! | website=Vanity Fair | date=June 4, 2008 | access-date=June 20, 2024 | archive-date=November 8, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108122914/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2002/09/snl200209 | url-status=live }}
In a talk show appearance in 2021, Newman noted of the altercation, "it was very sad and painful and awful". She went on to say, "I think they both knew the one thing that they could say to one another that would hurt the most and that's what I think incited it." Chase and Murray would later reconcile to star together in Caddyshack in 1980.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bill-murray-chevy-chase-backstage-fight-saturday-night-live-painful |title=Bill Murray and Chevy Chase's backstage fight at 'SNL' was 'painful' to watch, show alums say |website=Fox News |date=June 18, 2021 |access-date=June 18, 2021 |first=Melissa |last=Roberto |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618141119/https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bill-murray-chevy-chase-backstage-fight-saturday-night-live-painful |url-status=live }}
Filmography
= Film =
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |
---|
1968
| Walk... Don't Walk | Pedestrian |
1974
| The Fingers/Geritan/Four Leaf Clover | |
1976
| Himself | |
1978
| Tony Carlson | |
rowspan=3|1980
| Browning | |
Caddyshack
| Ty Webb | |
Seems Like Old Times
| Nicholas Gardenia | |
rowspan=2|1981
| Bruce Thorpe | |
Modern Problems
| Max Fiedler | |
rowspan=2|1983
| Clark Griswold | |
Deal of the Century
| Eddie Muntz | |
rowspan=4|1985
| Fletch | Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher | |
National Lampoon's European Vacation
| Clark Griswold | |
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird
| Newscaster | Cameo |
Spies Like Us
| Emmett Fitz-Hume | |
1986
| Dusty Bottoms | |
rowspan=3|1988
| Condom Father | Cameo |
Funny Farm
| Andy Farmer | |
Caddyshack II
| Ty Webb | |
rowspan=2|1989
| Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher | |
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
| Clark "Sparky" Griswold | |
rowspan=2|1991
| Chris Thorne | |
L.A. Story
| Carlo Christopher | Cameo |
rowspan=2|1992
| Nick Halloway | |
Hero
| Deke | Uncredited |
1993
| rowspan="2" | Himself | Cameo |
rowspan=2|1994
| A Century of Cinema |
Cops & Robbersons
| Norman Robberson | |
1995
| Jack Sturgess | |
1997
| Clark Griswold | |
1998
| Dr. Farthing | |
rowspan=3|2000
| Snow Day | Tom Brandston | |
Pete's Pizza
| Narrator | Voice; Short film |
The One Armed Bandit
| Cop | Short film |
2002
| Principal Harbert | |
rowspan=2|2003
| Vacuums | Mr. Punch | |
Bitter Jester
| Himself | Darren Watkins |
rowspan=2|2004
| Paul Parmesan | |
Bad Meat
| Congressman Bernard P. Greely | Direct-to-DVD |
2005
| Dennis Swartzbaum | |
rowspan=4|2006
| Henry Perkins | |
Doogal
| Train | Voice |
Goose on the Loose
| Congreve Maddox | Direct-to-DVD |
Zoom
| Dr. Grant | |
2007
| Cutlass | Stan |
rowspan=2|2009
| Principal Marshall | |
Jack and the Beanstalk
| Antipode | |
rowspan=2|2010
| Repairman | |
Hotel Hell Vacation
| Short film |
2011
| Not Another Not Another Movie | Max Storm | |
2013
| Gravedigger | |
rowspan=2|2014
| Lovesick | Lester | |
Shelby
| Grandpa Geoffrey | Direct-to-DVD |
rowspan=2|2015
| Repairman | |
Vacation
| Clark Griswold | |
rowspan=2|2017
| Sonny | |
Hedgehogs
| ThinkMan | Voice; Direct-to-DVD |
2019
| Al Hart | |
2020
| The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee | Chevy | |
2021
| King Karoth | Voice; Direct-to-DVD |
rowspan=2|2023
| Mezmarian | |
Glisten and the Merry Mission
| Voice |
2024
| Norm De Plume | |
= Television =
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |
---|
1975
| | Writer |
1975–2025
| Various characters / Himself (host) | 39 episodes; also writer; 8 episodes |
rowspan=2|1977
| The Chevy Chase Show | rowspan="3" | Himself | rowspan="3" | Television special; also writer |
The Paul Simon Special |
1979
| The Chevy Chase National Humor Test |
1987
| Himself (co-host) | rowspan="2" | Television special |
rowspan="2" |1988
| Himself (host) |
Untitled Dan Aykroyd Project
| Adin A. Oss | Pilot |
1990
| Vic's Buddy | Television special |
1993
| Himself (host) | 25 episodes; also writer and producer |
1995
| rowspan="2" | Himself | Episode: "Roseanne's Return" |
1997
| Episode: "A Decent Proposal" |
2002
| America's Most Terrible Things | Andy Potts | Pilot |
2003
| Various characters | 5 episodes |
2004
| Cho-Cho | Voice; Television film |
rowspan=2|2006
| General Nuisance | Television special |
Law & Order
| Mitch Carroll | Episode: "In Vino Veritas" |
2007, 2009
| Clark Griswold / Himself (voices) | Episodes: "Blue Harvest" |
2007
| Stan Harris | 2 episodes |
rowspan=2|2009
| Hjälp! | Dan Carter | 8 episodes |
Chuck
| Ted Roark | 3 episodes |
2009–2014
| 83 episodes |
rowspan=2|2014
| Ross | Episode: "People Feeding People" |
Wishin' and Hopin'
| Adult Felix (voice) | Television film |
2015
| Chevy | Chase | Pilot |
2016
| A Christmas in Vermont | Preston Bullock | Television film |
Awards and nominations
In 1976, he was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Awards for "Writing for a Variety Series" as part of The Smothers Brothers Show's writers room.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} Also in 1976 he was nominated at the Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the first season of Saturday Night Live. He won both nominations.{{cite web |title=Chevy Chase |url=http://www.emmys.com/bios/chevy-chase |access-date=June 21, 2017 |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences}}
On September 23, 1993, Chase received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- I'm Chevy Chase...and You're Not (The Authorized Biography) by Rena Fruchter. Virgin Books, 2007. {{ISBN|1-85227-346-1}}.
- Who's Who in Comedy by Ronald L. Smith. Pp. 102–103. New York: Facts on File, 1992. {{ISBN|0-8160-2338-7}}.
- Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller. Back Bay Books.
External links
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
- {{IMDb name|331}}
- [https://texasarchive.org/2013_04976 Interview with Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short about The Three Amigos in 1986] from Texas Archive of the Moving Image
- {{iobdb name|14526}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Chevy Chase
| list =
{{EmmyAward VarietyPerformance}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 1970s}}
{{EmmyAward VarietySpecialWriting}}
{{Hasty Pudding Man of the Year}}
{{2017 Television Hall of Fame}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Chevy}}
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