Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live (SNL), back then known as The Not Ready For Primetime Players. Chevy was groomed for stardom, being the first anchor of Weekend Update became the staple of the show. Chevy left SNL the earliest of all the cast members, little over one year after SNL's premiere in 1975. He is the first and only original and former cast member to ever be banned from SNL.[citation needed] As both a performer and a writer, he earned three Primetime Emmy Awards out of five nominations and two Golden Globe Award nominations.
After the success of SNL he established himself as a leading man starring in a string of successful comedy films including the romantic comedies Foul Play (1978) and Seems Like Old Times (1980) opposite Goldie Hawn. He portrayed Clark W. Griswold in five National Lampoon's Vacation films including Vacation (1983), European Vacation (1985), Christmas Vacation (1989), and Vegas Vacation (1997). He also played Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher in Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989). He also starred in Caddyshack (1980), Spies Like Us (1985), and Three Amigos! (1986).
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 career resurgence with his lead role as Pierce Hawthorne on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2012. He also acted in Orange County (2000), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Vacation (2015), The Last Movie Star (2017), and The Last Laugh (2019).
Departure[]
Chase missed the second and third episodes of the second season, reportedly due to an injury sustained in the first episode. The injury was most likely a fabrication, as Chase could be clearly seen dancing at the end of the episode in which he was supposed to have been injured, which would have been impossible with a groin injury requiring hospitalization. His absences may have been, and in any event proved to be, an opportunity to see how the opening sketch and Weekend Update could function in his absence. He would return for another three episodes, before leaving for good.
Fight with Bill Murray[]
Chase is notorious for being difficult to others working on the show, an attribute that would eventually earn him a lifetime hosting ban (see below). When he returned to host for the first time in season 3, his attitude immediately angered Bill Murray, who had been hired to replace him the previous year. Words between the two turned to blows immediately before the beginning of the episode; marks can be seen on Chase's face as he does the opening sketch.
Ban[]
Chase returned eight times over the years to host the show (nine if counting the promotional trailer of the October 31, 1981 episode), more times than any other former cast member. However, he has gained a notorious reputation for being verbally abusive to the cast and crew over the years. In 1985, for example, he reportedly suggested a sketch where openly gay cast member Terry Sweeney had AIDS, and the sketch showed viewers how much weight he lost every week.[citation needed]
When Chase returned to host the February 15, 1997 episode, his behavior caused him to be the 12th person banned from the show.[citation needed] During dress rehearsal, after a week of dishing out abuse to several cast members, he slapped Cheri Oteri in the back of the head.[citation needed] While he swore it was meant as a joke, a furious Will Ferrell complained to Lorne Michaels, who decided that it was the final straw. Chase is the only cast member banned so far, as well as the only member of the Five-Timers Club to have been banned.[citation needed]
While Chase was reportedly banned from hosting the show, he has made several guest appearances since his supposed ban, which, if it ever existed, has not been formally repealed, as was Elvis Costello's. Chase's guest appearances include:
- In the 1999 25th anniversary special
- Cameoed in an episode hosted by Bill Murray in 1999.
- Cameoed in an episode hosted by Seann William Scott in 2001.
- He was interviewed for the 2005 special Live from New York: The First Five Years of Saturday Night Live
- Did a segment of Weekend Update in 2007 in an episode hosted by Seth Rogen
- Appeared twice in the March 9, 2013 episode hosted by Justin Timberlake: once in the introduction alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short, and again towards the end of the episode during the reunion of the Three Amigos!
- Appeared on the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special in 2015.
He was also interviewed on the 101 most Infamous SNL moments on E!.
Impressions/Characters[]
Impressions[]
- David Eisenhower
- Greg Allman
- Gerald Ford
- Jeffrey Dahmer
- Leonard Nimoy
- Mark Fuhrman
- Ronald Reagan
Characters[]
SNL Career[]
- October 11, 1975-October 30, 1976: Writer
- October 11, 1975-October 30, 1976: Not Ready For Primetime Player
- November 13, 1976: Cameo
- November 20, 1976: Cameo
- November 27, 1976: Cameo
- April 16, 1977: Cameo
- May 14, 1977: Cameo
- May 21, 1977: Cameo
- February 18, 1978: Host
- February 9, 1980: Host
- April 11, 1981: Guest/Weekend Update Anchor
- October 31, 1981: Promotional Trailer, never appeared on the fully broadcasted episode.
- September 25, 1982: Host
- November 16, 1985: Host
- December 6, 1986: Host
- March 17, 1990: Cameo
- January 18, 1992: Host
- October 7, 1995: Host
- December 7, 1996: Cameo
- February 15, 1997: Host
- October 25, 1997: Cameo
- February 20, 1999: Cameo
- October 6, 2001: Cameo
- October 6, 2007: Cameo
- March 9, 2013: Cameo
Gallery[]
| Weekend Update Anchor (October 11, 1975— October 30, 1976) |
Followed by: Jane Curtin |
| Preceded by: Mark King, Bill Murray, Charles Rocket as Saturday Night NewsLine anchors |
Weekend Update Anchor (one episode) (April 11, 1981— April 11, 1981) |
Followed by: Brian Doyle-Murray and Mary Gross as SNL Newsbreak anchors |