Chevy Chase

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8.6 Great
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Biography

Recent Role:
Pierce Hawthorne on Community
Gender:
Male
Born:
10-8-1943
Birthplace:
Woodstock, New York
Birth Name:
Cornelius Crane Chase
AKA:
Cornelius Chase
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 resume 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… More 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,/i> 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.

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    A funny actor hide show

    Chevy Chase is a great actor; he has played in some many good movies like Man of the House, Zoom, Snow Day and the National Lampoons movies.

    My favorite National Lampoon movie is Christmas Vacation, the movie is hilarious, and Chevy Chase as well the rest of the cast where superb in it.

    Chevy Chase always gives a superb performance and proves he can excel in any type of movie genre he's in.

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    Bountyhunterc28 Added Apr 5, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    8 Great
    empty hide show

    Funny actor. I have seen him in some good movies aroudn him, some good some not good, but overall I think that he is a great comedian actor. I particulary enjoy Fletch, which was very funny and very original, I really like his style and think he is very good.

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    NoOneIsAlone Added Mar 3, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    8 Great
    empty hide show

    his vacation movies sega make him one of the best comedy actors and most of his movies are relly good and funny as well.

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    CTUBauer24 Added Feb 20, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    10 Perfect
    empty hide show

    Chevy Chase is easily one of the top comedians that has ever lived. Getting his start on "Saturday Night Live" doing the news, he went on to star on the show for a year and a half before moving on to a fantatic film career. Chase is definitely known for not only his witty dialogue but also his great sense of slapstick comedy.

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    amauriel Added Feb 3, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    9.1 Superb
    He's Chevy Chase and we wish! hide show

    He wa one of the greatest comedians of our time starting his carrerr on the great Saturday Night Live as the fall guy and the great Weekend Update anchor. He was HElarious during his year and a half seasons on Saturday Night Live. He had a great movie carrerr up untill the 90's where all his films but Vagas Vacation stunk the big one. Then he had that falure of a show called The Chevy Chase Show that lasted a mere 5 weeks on the fox network. That is what he got for leaving NBC. Besides that he is HElarious.

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    AngelDoyle Added Dec 10, 2006 All my reviews
 
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