Biography

Chevy Chase is often considered one of the most likeable comedic personalities of his generation, even though the immediate popularity he achieved following a single season on Saturday Night Live never translated into more than a couple hit movies, and none after the 1980s. The prematurely balding, intelligent, fast-talking Chase created a couple classic characters, notably Irwin M. Fletcher (aka Fletch) and Vacation's Clark Griswold, but his career is often thought of as plagued by misfires and missed opportunities, rather than touched by comic brilliance.
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Born on October 8, 1943, in New York City, Cornelius Crane Chase became known as "Chevy" when his grandmother nicknamed him after Chevy Chase, the wealthy Maryland community. The 6'4" future writer and actor was valedictorian of his high school class before attending Bard College, where he earned a B.A. in English. With a pre-celebrity resumé as varied as any (tennis pro, truck driver, bartender), Chase spent his twenties as a comedy writer for such outlets as the Smothers Brothers and National Lampoon, the latter of which eventually led to a lucrative franchise of Vacation movies. Chase's first stint as a performer was with the New York comedy video workshop Channel One, which evolved into the 1974 film Groove Tube. This afforded Chase the necessary exposure to be hired by Lorne Michaels for the first season of Saturday Night Live in 1975.

Initially hired on as a writer, Chase soon began appearing in front of the camera as the anchor of the popular Weekend Update segment of the ensemble variety show. With the catchphrase opening "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not," and aided by his bumbling impersonation of President Gerald Ford, the actor quickly assumed breakout status, earning Emmys for both his writing and acting. He left after a single season to pursue film opportunities, but did not really strike gold until Caddyshack (1980), in which he played a rich golf pro who oozed confidence and a dry sarcastic wit three steps ahead of anyone else. These would become Chase's trademarks.

During the filming of his next project, Modern Problems (1981), Chase was nearly electrocuted when a gag involving landing lights attached to his body short-circuited. The experience sunk him into a deep depression. But he recovered his stride in 1983 with the release of National Lampoon's Vacation, the first of four in an eventual series of epic misadventures of the Griswold family (European Vacation [1985], Christmas Vacation [1989], Vegas Vacation [1997]). As daffy father Clark, Chase turned the film into a huge hit, harnessing a likable befuddlement that kept the series going even as the sequels were increasingly less well received and tiresomely slapstick.

Chase's other big hit came in 1985, when he starred as the title character in Fletch, the film widely considered the actor's best and most complimentary of his sharp talent for wordplay. As an undercover newspaper reporter with a quick answer -- not to mention a goofy disguise -- for every situation, Chase created a classic comic hero with a genius for confusing his adversaries. He reprised the role in the lesser sequel Fletch Lives (1989).

Chase achieved moderate success by pairing with other Saturday Night Live alums in the mixed-bag comedies Spies Like Us (1985) and Three Amigos! (1986); though these had dedicated fans, they didn't achieve the critical praise of Fletch or Vacation. Despite an all-star cast, Caddyshack II (1988) went nowhere, and by the beginning of the 1990s, Chase had slipped from his status as a reliable comedic performer. Such well-documented failures as Nothing But Trouble (1991) and Cops and Robbersons (1994) became his crosses to bear during a decade that also saw the colossal failure of his Fox comeback variety show, which was canceled two months after it premiered in 1993. Chase was also arrested for drunk driving in 1995, just one incident in a career sometimes checkered by drug and alcohol abuse.

In later years, Chase has preferred family oriented films, starring in such features as Man of the House (1995) (opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and the kiddie-on-holiday flick Snow Day (2000). This stance prompted Chase to turn down the comeback-worthy role that won Kevin Spacey an Oscar in American Beauty (1999); had he accepted, it might have resulted in a very different film. As Chase's work has shifted more to the supporting role variety, including Dirty Work (1998) and Orange County (2002), he has seemed more comfortable. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Great Goose Caper, The (2003) .... Congreve Maddox
Rent-a-Husband (2003)
America's Most Terrible Things (2002) (TV) .... Andy Potts
Unleashed (2002) .... Voice of Cho-Cho
Vacuums (2002)
"Hamptons, The" (2002) (mini) TV Series .... Himself
Saturday Night Live: TV Tales (2002) (TV) .... Himself
SNL Remembers John Belushi (2002) (TV)(archive footage) .... Himself
Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (2002) (TV)(voice) .... Narrator
Orange County (2002) .... Principal Harbert
Pete's a Pizza (2001) .... Narrator
Snow Day (2000) .... Tom Brandston
One Arm Bandit, The (2000) .... Cop and second man with briefcase
... aka Crash Pad and the One Arm Bandit (2000) (USA: festival title)
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Saturday Night Live Christmas (1999) (V) .... Gerald Ford
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Steve Martin (1999) (TV) .... Lee P413
Saturday Night Live: Game Show Parodies (1998) (V) .... Lee P413
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998) (TV) .... Himself
Dirty Work (1998) .... Dr. Farthing
Vegas Vacation (1997) .... Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.
... aka National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation (1997)
Man of the House (1995) .... Jack Sturgess (Squatting Dog)
... aka Pals Forever (1995)
Century of Cinema, A (1994) .... Himself
Cops and Robbersons (1994) .... Norman Robberson
"Chevy Chase Show, The" (1993) TV Series .... Host
Last Action Hero (1993) .... Cameo appearance
Oscar's Greatest Moments: 1971 to 1991 (1992) (V) .... Himself
Hero (1992)(uncredited) .... Deke, Channel 4 News Director
... aka Accidental Hero (1992)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) .... Nick Halloway
... aka Aventures d'un homme invisible, Les (1992) (France)
Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991) (TV) .... Himself (Host/Narrator)
Voices that Care (1991) (TV) .... Choir Member
Party for Richard Pryor, A (1991) (TV) .... Himself
63rd Annual Academy Awards, The (1991) (TV)(uncredited) .... Himself
Nothing But Trouble (1991) .... Chris Thorne
L.A. Story (1991)(uncredited) .... Carlo Christopher
Earth Day Special (1990) (TV) .... Himself
Life of Python (1990) (TV) .... Himself
... aka Life of Python: Monty Python 20th Anniversary Omnibus (1990) (TV) (UK)
Best of Gilda Radner, The (1989) (V) .... News Commentator/Various
Christmas Vacation (1989) .... Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.
... aka National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
... aka National Lampoon's Winter Holiday (1989) (UK)
Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversay (1989) (TV) .... Himself
Fletch Lives (1989) .... Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher
Caddyshack II (1988) .... Ty Webb
Funny Farm (1988) .... Andy Farmer
Couch Trip, The (1988) .... Condom Father
59th Annual Academy Awards, The (1987) (TV) .... Himself/Host
Best of Dan Aykroyd, The (1986) (V) .... Himself/Various Characters
¡Three Amigos! (1986) .... Dusty Bottoms
Best of John Belushi, The (1985) (V) .... Himself/Various Characters
Kennedy Center Honors, The (1985) (TV) .... Himself
Spies Like Us (1985) .... Emmett Fitz-Hume
Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird (1985) .... Newscaster
... aka Follow That Bird (1985)
European Vacation (1985) .... Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.
... aka National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
Fletch (1985) .... Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher
Deal of the Century (1983) .... Eddie Muntz
Vacation (1983) .... Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr.
... aka American Vacation (1983) (Europe: video title English title)
... aka National Lampoon's Summer Vacation (1983) (USA)
... aka National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius (1982) (TV) .... Himself
Under the Rainbow (1981) .... Bruce Thorpe
Modern Problems (1981) .... Max Fielder
Oh, Heavenly Dog! (1980) .... Browning
Seems Like Old Times (1980) .... Nicholas 'Nick' J. Gardenia
... aka Neil Simon's Seems Like Old Times (1980)
Caddyshack (1980) .... Ty Webb
Foul Play (1978) .... Tony Carlson
Paul Simon Special, The (1977) (TV)
49th Annual Academy Awards, The (1977) (TV) .... Himself (presenter)
28th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, The (1976) (TV) .... Himself (Recipient)
Tunnel Vision (1976) .... Himself
... aka Tunnelvision (1976)
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) TV Series .... Himself (1975-1976)
... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" (1975) (USA)
... aka "SNL 25" (2000) (USA: new title)
... aka "SNL" (1975)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 80" (1980) (USA: new title)
... aka "Saturday Night" (1975)
Groove Tube, The (1974) .... The Fingers/Geritan/Four Leaf Clover
Lemmings (1973) (V)(as Chevey Chase) .... Various
... aka National Lampoon Lemmings (1973) (V) (USA: video box title)
... aka National Lampoon's Lemmings (1973) (V) (USA: complete title)
"Great American Dream Machine, The" (1971) TV Series