Chevy Chase Biography Quotes 30 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase was born on October 8, 1943, in New York City. He was the son of Edward Tinsley "Ned" Chase, a writer and book editor, and Cathalene Parker, who was active in the arts. His nickname, "Chevy", came from a grandmother who borrowed it from the old English ballad "The Ballad of Chevy Chase". He was named for his maternal step-grandfather, industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane, reflecting family ties to the Crane fortune. His parents divorced when he was young, and he grew up moving between households, an experience that he later said sharpened his observational humor and gift for social satire.

Chase attended Bard College, where he earned a degree in English and cultivated a love for both music and comedy. At Bard he played drums and keyboards and briefly performed in a campus band jokingly dubbed The Leather Canary alongside Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who would go on to form Steely Dan. The mix of music, wordplay, and satire that he experimented with in college foreshadowed the sensibility he brought to sketch comedy.

Early Comedy and National Lampoon
After college, Chase gravitated to New York's experimental comedy scene. He joined Channel One, an underground troupe that spoofed television; material from the group later surfaced in the 1974 cult film The Groove Tube, where Chase appeared on screen and contributed to sketches. He soon became part of the National Lampoon orbit. He performed in the off-Broadway revue National Lampoon's Lemmings, sharing the stage with John Belushi and Christopher Guest, and worked on the National Lampoon Radio Hour, crossing paths with Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and other future luminaries. Those collaborations honed his timing and introduced him to producer Lorne Michaels, who was assembling a new late-night sketch show for NBC.

Saturday Night Live Breakthrough
Chase joined Saturday Night Live at its debut in 1975 as a member of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. He quickly emerged as the show's first breakout star. As the initial anchor of Weekend Update, he helped invent the modern fake-news desk, launching each segment with deadpan authority and the signature sign-off, "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not". His pratfall-laced portrayal of President Gerald Ford became a defining early SNL bit, even though his lampoon relied more on physical comedy than strict impersonation.

In 1976 he won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the show, including one for writing. He departed early in SNL's second season to pursue film offers, but remained a visible presence, returning to host and to appear in specials. His rapid rise created tensions within the ensemble, and a notorious backstage scuffle with Bill Murray during a 1978 hosting stint became part of SNL lore. Nevertheless, his early partnership with Lorne Michaels and colleagues like Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner helped set the template for American sketch comedy.

Film Stardom
Chase translated his wry, offhand screen persona into a run of successful comedies. He teamed with Goldie Hawn in Foul Play (1978), earning Golden Globe nominations and establishing himself as a leading man. In Caddyshack (1980), directed by Harold Ramis and featuring Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Murray, he played the insouciant Ty Webb, crafting an understated counterpoint to the film's broader antics. He cemented his place in pop culture as Clark W. Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), written by John Hughes and directed by Ramis, opposite Beverly D'Angelo. The role returned in European Vacation (1985), Christmas Vacation (1989), and Vegas Vacation (1997), turning Griswold into an enduring comic archetype of the well-meaning suburban dad.

Mid-1980s highlights included Fletch (1985), directed by Michael Ritchie, in which Chase balanced sardonic wit with screwball disguises, and the Cold War romp Spies Like Us (1985) with Dan Aykroyd, directed by John Landis. Three Amigos (1986), co-starring Steve Martin and Martin Short for director Landis, showcased his interplay with other marquee comics. He continued to headline comedies such as Funny Farm (1988) and Fletch Lives (1989), and appeared in projects ranging from the Dan Aykroyd-directed Nothing but Trouble (1991) with Demi Moore to John Carpenter's Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992). Chase also hosted the Academy Awards twice in the late 1980s, including 1987 and 1988, reflecting his mainstream prominence.

1990s Turns and Television
The 1990s brought uneven box-office results and a high-profile misstep with The Chevy Chase Show, a 1993 late-night talk show that was canceled within weeks. Films like Cops and Robbersons (1994) and Man of the House (1995) kept him in circulation but did not match earlier hits. Even as his movie career cooled, his established characters, particularly Clark Griswold and Fletch, maintained a loyal following on television and home video, keeping his screen persona in the public eye.

Later Work and Community
Chase reemerged in a variety of projects, including Snow Day (2000), Orange County (2002), and a memorable appearance in Hot Tub Time Machine (2010). A major late-career chapter began with the NBC series Community (2009), created by Dan Harmon. As Pierce Hawthorne, a cantankerous, out-of-touch elder among a study group that included Joel McHale, Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Jim Rash, Chase introduced his comedy to a new generation. The show's meta humor and ensemble chemistry earned critical acclaim, though behind-the-scenes frictions, including clashes with Harmon, ultimately led to Chase's departure. He later made a cameo return to the Vacation franchise in 2015 alongside Ed Helms and Christina Applegate, nodding to his legacy as Clark Griswold.

Personal Life
Chase's personal life has been intertwined with the entertainment community. He married actress Jacqueline Carlin in the late 1970s, and in 1982 he married Jayni Luke. With Jayni, an environmental advocate, he has three daughters: Cydney, Caley, and Emily. The couple has supported environmental and educational causes, and Chase has appeared at numerous charity events over the years. He has also spoken publicly about seeking help for dependency on prescription medication in the 1980s and later entering treatment for alcohol, acknowledging the pressures and injuries that accompanied a long career in physical comedy. In later years he discussed health challenges, underscoring a renewed focus on family and well-being.

Legacy
Chevy Chase's imprint on American comedy is substantial. As the first star minted by Saturday Night Live, he helped define the show's voice and established the update-desk format later carried by anchors from Jane Curtin and Dennis Miller to Tina Fey and Colin Jost. On film, his collaborations with Harold Ramis, John Landis, Michael Ritchie, John Carpenter, and writer John Hughes produced characters who bridged satire and slapstick, with Clark Griswold and Fletch standing out as enduring creations. His work with peers such as Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Goldie Hawn reflects a central place in the comedy landscape of the late 20th century. Community demonstrated his ability to reshape his persona for contemporary television, even as it also highlighted the frictions that can accompany strong creative personalities. Across stage, television, and film, Chase remains a pivotal figure whose timing, deadpan delivery, and willingness to undercut his own leading-man looks with pratfalls and self-mockery helped set the tone for generations of American comedy.

Our collection contains 30 quotes who is written by Chevy, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Puns & Wordplay - Funny - Leadership - Writing.

Other people realated to Chevy: Harold Ramis (Actor), Jacques Barzun (Educator), Mark Shields (Journalist), Anthony Michael Hall (Actor), Joel McHale (Comedian), Gilda Radner (Actress), Michael Ritchie (Director), Michael O'Donoghue (Writer)