Chevy Chase

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Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon. He quickly became a key cast member in the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live, where his Weekend Update skit soon became a staple of the show. Chase is also well-known for his portrayal of the character Clark Griswold in four National Lampoon's Vacation films, and for his roles in other successful comedies such as Caddyshack (1980), Fletch (1985), and ¡Three Amigos! (1986). He has hosted the Academy Awards twice (1987 and 1988), briefly had his own late-night talk show, The Chevy Chase Show, and is currently a regular on the NBC comedy series Community.

Early life

Family

Chase was born in Lower Manhattan, New York City. His father, Edward Tinsley "Ned" Chase, was a prominent Manhattan book editor and magazine writer. His mother, Cathalene Parker, a concert pianist and librettist, was the daughter of Miles Browning, who served a critical role at the Battle of Midway in World War II; she was adopted as a child by Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane, and took the name Cathalene Crane. Chase's maternal grandmother was an opera singer who performed several times at Carnegie Hall. Chase is a fourteenth-generation New Yorker, and was listed in the Social Register at an early age. His mother's ancestors arrived in Manhattan starting in 1624. Among his ancestors are New York City mayors Stephanus Van Cortlandt and John Johnstone; John Morin Scott, General of the New York Militia during the American Revolution; Anne Hutchinson, dissident Puritan preacher and healer; and Mayflower passengers and signers of the Mayflower Compact, John Howland and the Pilgrim colonist leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony, William Brewster. Chase's paternal grandfather was artist/illustrator Edward Leigh Chase, and his great-uncle was painter/teacher Frank Swift Chase.

Chase was named for his adoptive grandfather Cornelius. The name Chevy was a nickname bestowed by his grandmother, derived from the medieval English Ballad of Chevy Chase. As a descendant of the Scottish Clan Douglas, the name "Chevy" seemed appropriate to her.

Chase's parents divorced when he was four; his father remarried into the Folgers coffee family, and his mother was remarried twice. Both his parents died in 2005. Chase has stated that he grew up in an upper middle class environment and that his maternal grandfather did not bequeath any assets to Chase's mother when he died. Chase has made recent claims that he was abused as a child by his mother and stepfather, John Cederquist. Chase discussed on the Howard Stern Show one instance in which his stepfather locked him in a cellar for a week while he was suspended from school for brandishing a knife when another student attacked him. Chase also stated that his mother would, at times, slap him in the face repeatedly while Chase slept.

Schooling and music

He did well at the Stockbridge School in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and attended Riverdale Country School in The Bronx. He then attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, where he studied a pre-med curriculum and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Chase did not enter medical school, which meant he would be subject to the military draft only months before the Tet Offensive, at a time when public support was dwindling for the escalating ground war in which U.S. troops were involved. Chase was not drafted; when Chase appeared in January 1989 as the first guest of the just-launched late-night Pat Sajak Show, he revealed why: he had convinced his draft board he deserved a 4-F classification by "falsely claiming, among other things, that he had homosexual tendencies.

Instead Chase played drums for a time with the college band The Leather Canary, headed by school friends Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. At the time, Chase called the group "a bad jazz band", but Becker and Fagen became successful later, after changing their band's name to Steely Dan. Chase is gifted with absolute pitch. He played drums and keyboards for a rock band called Chamaeleon Church, which recorded one album for MGM Records before disbanding in 1969. Before becoming famous as a writer, actor and comedian, Chase worked in many odd jobs including as a cab driver, truck driver, motorcycle messenger, construction worker, waiter, busboy, fruit picker, produce manager of a supermarket, audio engineer, salesman in a wine store, and a theater usher.

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 on Mission: Impossible for Mad Magazine in 1970 and was a writer for the short-lived Smothers Brothers TV show comeback in the early 1970s. Chase made the move to comedy as a full-time career by 1973, when he became a cast member of The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a syndicated satirical radio series aired on Sunday nights. The Lampoon Radio Hour also featured John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, and Brian Doyle-Murray, all of whom later became "Not-Ready-For-Prime Time Players" on NBC Saturday Night (later retitled 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 during the musical numbers). He appeared in the theatrical release The Groove Tube which was directed by another co-founder of Channel One, Ken Shapiro, and which featured several Channel One sketches.

Saturday Night Live

Chase was one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live (SNL), NBC's late-night comedy television show. During the full first season, he introduced every show except one by saying, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" The remark was often preceded by a pratfall, known as "The Fall of the Week." Chase has since become known as a genius of 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. This portrayal of President Ford as a bumbling klutz became a favorite device of Chase and helped form the popular concept of Ford as being a clumsy man. In later years, Chase met and became friendly with President Ford. Chase's physical stunts led to at least one self-injury. During a skit in the second season of SNL, the comedian was injured when he fell on an unpadded podium and bruised a testicle. This injury forced him to broadcast two of the show's segments live from his hospital bed.

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 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 would read the top story of the day, aided by Garrett Morris, who would repeat the story by loudly shouting it. Chase claimed that his version of Weekend Update would later be the inspiration for other mock-news shows such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.(Weekend Update was later revived as a segment on The Chevy Chase Show, a short-lived late-night talk-show produced by Chase and broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company.)

Chase also performed in other skits on SNL, including a recurring gag as a Landshark. His racially-charged "word association" skit opposite Richard Pryor from SNL's first season is frequently cited by television critics as one of the funniest (and most daring) skits in the show's history.

Chase became the first breakout star of SNL. He was committed contractually to Saturday Night Live for only one year as a writer, not an SNL cast member. He had signed a one year writing contract and became a cast member during rehearsals just before the show's premiere. Nonetheless, he received two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for his comedy writing and live comic acting.

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 actually never did guest host the Tonight Show during his early peak years of success, and in fact did not even appear on the program until 1978, when he was promoting a prime time special for NBC. Carson later said of Chase after guest-hosting the Tonight Show; "He couldn't ad lib a fart at a baked bean dinner".

Leaving SNL

Chase was the first member of the original SNL cast to leave the show in 1976. After leaving SNL, Chase moved to Los Angeles and married his girlfriend, Jacqueline Carlin. Chase made a few cameo appearances as the second season wound down; he was eventually replaced by Bill Murray.

Chase hosted SNL eight times after he left, most recently in 1997. He appeared on the show's twenty-fifth anniversary special in 1999 and was interviewed for a 2005 NBC special on SNL's first five years. He also made later four cameo appearances: once in a Caddyshack skit (featuring Bill Murray), the October 25, 1997 episode with guest host Chris Farley, as the Landshark in Weekend Update during the October 6, 2001 episode, and again on Weekend Update, delivering a political news/commentary, on the October 6, 2007 episode.

Film

Chase's early film roles included Tunnel Vision, Foul Play, and Oh Heavenly Dog. The role of Eric 'Otter' Stratton in National Lampoon's Animal House was originally 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 doing "schtick". Chase followed Foul Play with the successful Harold Ramis comedy Caddyshack, in 1980. That same year, he also starred with Goldie Hawn in Neil Simon's Seems Like Old Times and 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.

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 current in the lights short-circuited and arced through Chase's arm, back, and neck muscles. The near-death episode caused Chase to experience a period of deep depression, as his marriage to Jacqueline had ended just prior to the start of filming. Chase continued his film career in 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation, directed by Ramis and written by John Hughes. He married Jayni Luke in 1983, and in 1985, he starred in Fletch, the first of two films based on Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch books. Chase joined SNL veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short in the Lorne Michaels-produced comedy ¡Three Amigos! in 1986, declaring in an interview that making ¡Three Amigos! was the most fun he had had on a film. The trio hosted SNL that year, the only time the show has had three hosts on one show.

At the height of his career in the late 1980s, Chase earned around $7 million per film and was a highly visible celebrity. He 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. Chase hosted the Academy Awards in 1987 and 1988, signing on to the proceedings in 1987 with the opener, "Good evening, Hollywood phonies!" Chase filmed a sequel to Vacation, 1985's National Lampoon's European Vacation and then a third, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, in 1989, which, thanks to its holiday theme, has become his most durable film, airing on NBC every December. He 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 was offered the role of Buzz Lightyear in the film Toy Story, but he turned the role down (This is what tempted Tim Allen to take the role, as Chase was a big influence on Allen's career).

Later work

Chase's career took a downturn in the early 90s. Chase had three consecutive film flops from his later period: 1991's Razzie award-nominated Nothing But Trouble, 1992's Memoirs of an Invisible Man, and 1994's Cops and Robbersons. The three releases grossed $34 million in the U.S., combined. Even the durable Vacation series ground to a halt, following 1997's Vegas Vacation installment. Some of the more recent movies starring Chase (e.g., Vacuums, Rent-a-Husband, Goose!) have not been 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.

In the early 90s, Chase was identified by Steven Spielberg as his choice to play Willy Wonka in a mooted Warner Bros. remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Spielberg said he favored Chase because, like the fictional Wonka, he had been well-loved before more or less disappearing from the public eye. The project spent the decade in development hell, with Roald Dahl's estate concerned that any film might not respect the work's integrity. In 2005 a new version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.

In September 1993, Chase hosted The Chevy Chase Show, a weeknight talk show, for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Though it had high commercial expectations, the show was cancelled by Fox after only six 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.

In 1998, Chase was offered the lead role of Lester Burnham in the Academy Award-winning drama, American Beauty, but turned it down, fearing that it would tarnish his family-friendly image. The role was played by Kevin Spacey, who received the Academy Award for Best Actor.

He was roasted by the Friars Club for a Comedy Central television special in 2002. This roast was noted for being unusually mean, even by the standards of other roasts, and has never re-aired.

Still, Chase received some accolades during this period of his career. He was Hasty Pudding's 1993 Man Of The Year, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. After having starred with Farrah Fawcett in the relatively successful Man of the House in 1995, he received Harvard Lampoon's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. In 2005, Chase was the keynote speaker at Princeton University's Class Day, part of commencement activities.

Return to television

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 provided voices for the Family Guy episode "Spies Reminiscent of Us".

Chase is currently starring in the NBC sitcom Community, as aging moist-towelette tycoon Pierce Hawthorne. Since the series began in September 2009, Chase has appeared more frequently in mainstream culture. In 2010, he appeared in the film Hot Tub Time Machine, as well as a short online film featuring the Griswold Family, and in the Funny or Die original comedy sketch "Presidential Reunion", where he played President Ford alongside other current and former SNL president impersonators.

Personal life

On September 18, 2008, Chase appeared on Howard Stern's show on Sirius XM Radio. Chase was a guest and gave a raucous toast at the wedding of Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky on October 3, 2008.

Chase is the father of three girls, Cydney Cathalene (born January 4, 1983), Caley Leigh (born January 19, 1985), and Emily Evelyn (born September 29, 1988). He lives with his wife, Jayni, in Bedford, New York. He took part in Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Ball in 2006.

Chase is an avid fan of jazz music, recently manifested when he hosted the 2007 Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.

Chase is a registered Democrat, and is an outspoken liberal. He endorsed President Barack Obama on his appearance on The Howard Stern Show on September 18, 2008.

Chase is an active environmentalist and charity fundraiser. He raised money and campaigned for Bill Clinton in the 1990s and John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. Following the 2004 elections, Chase criticized President George W. Bush during a speech at a People For the American Way benefit at the Kennedy Center, referring to the President as an "uneducated, real lying schmuck" and a "dumb fuck". Event organizers and several Bush detractors present at the event distanced themselves from Chase's comments, with Norman Lear remarking, "he'll live with it, I won't."

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