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Chevy Chase

Chevy ChaseAKA Cornelius Crane Chase

Born: 8-Oct-1943
Birthplace: Woodstock, NY

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Comic
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: He is, you're not

Chevy Chase was once widely considered the funniest man in America. As a skitwriter on the original Saturday Night Live and the first anchor of "Weekend Update", he virtually invented the satirical newscast, and after leaving SNL he became a bona fide movie star, with several comedies that were funny and well-received. Born Cornelius Chase, he was nicknamed "Chevy" by his grandmother, presumably for the Maryland suburb. As a struggling comic, he worked as a waiter and wrote for the Smothers Brothers and National Lampoon. He was a regular on The Great American Dream Machine, a short-running and long-forgotten sketch comedy show in 1971.

When National Lampoon launched its weekly National Lampoon Radio Hour in 1973, Chase was in the cast, alongside John Belushi, Christopher Guest, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Michael O'Donoghue, and Richard Belzer. The show drew rave reviews but tiny audiences, and it was soon canceled. In 1975, much of the radio show's cast reunited for Saturday Night Live, and Chase became SNL's first break-out star. He was then the first to leave the show, and made his leading man debut in the lightweight Hitchcockian comedy Foul Play, with Goldie Hawn. His other big screen hits included Caddyshack with Bill Murray, National Lampoon's Vacation with Beverly D'Angelo, and Three Amigos with Steve Martin and Martin Short.

His deadpan delivery made Chase popular, but with increasingly unfunny sequels to Vacation and a string of lame comedies like Funny Farm, Chase's career was in trouble by the early 1990s. In 1992's Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Chase tried to play a semi-serious role, and there was nothing wrong with his performance, but it was too late. In 1993 he hosted the very quickly-canceled Chevy Chase Show on Fox. His only success since then has come with small, supporting roles, in Snow Day with Chris Elliott and Orange County with Colin Hanks and Schuyler Fisk. He was offered the lead in American Beauty -- the role that won Kevin Spacey an Oscar -- but Chase turned it down, fearing the film could hurt his family-friendly image.

In 2003, Chase became celebrity spokesman for Cola Turka, a Turkish soft drink.

In 2004, Chase was widely scolded for his performance as host of the People for the American Way awards ceremony at the Kennedy Center. In ad libbed remarks, Chase called President Bush a "dumbfuck" and "an uneducated, real lying schmuck", and said Bush had started a jihad with the invasion of Iraq. PFAW issued an apologetic press release immediately after the ceremony, calling Chase's remarks "inappropriate and offensive."

Girlfriend: Blythe Danner (dated at Bard College)
Wife: Jacqueline Carlin (m. 1976, div. 1980)
Wife: Jaynie Luke (m. 16-Mar-1982, three daughters)
Daughter: Cydney Cathalene (b. circa 1983)
Daughter: Caley Leigh (b. circa 1985)
Daughter: Emily Evelyn (b. circa 1989)

    High School: Dalton School, New York City, NY (expelled after cow incident)
    University: Haverford College
    University: Bard College (1967)

    Endorsement of AFLAC
    Endorsement of Frito-Lay Doritos
    Hollywood Walk of Fame 7021 Hollywood Blvd
    Amnesty International
    Bill Bradley for President
    Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
    Friends of Hillary
    Gephardt for President
    Gore 2000
    Hillary Clinton for President
    Hillary Rodham Clinton for US Senate Committee
    John Kerry for President
    Kerry Victory 2004
    National Leadership PAC
    Expelled from School
    Driving While Intoxicated Beverly Hills, CA 26-Jan-1995
    Betty Ford Center 1986
    Roast: Lorne Michaels (2004)
    Wedding: Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky (2008)
    Risk Factors: Alcoholism, Depression, Marijuana

    TELEVISION
    Community Pierce Hawthorne (2009-)
    The Chevy Chase Show (1993)
    Saturday Night Live (1975-76)
    Celebrity Poker Showdown Contestant

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Love, Gilda (18-Apr-2018) · Himself
    Vacation (29-Jul-2015)
    Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (20-Feb-2015)
    Jack and the Beanstalk (24-Apr-2010) · Gen. Antipode
    Hot Tub Time Machine (25-Mar-2010) · Repairman
    Zoom (11-Aug-2006)
    Funny Money (9-Mar-2006)
    Doogal (24-Feb-2006) [VOICE]
    Ellie Parker (2005)
    The Karate Dog (5-May-2004) · Cho Cho [VOICE]
    Orange County (7-Jan-2002)
    Snow Day (29-Jan-2000)
    Dirty Work (12-Jun-1998) · Dr. Farthing
    Vegas Vacation (14-Feb-1997)
    Man of the House (3-Mar-1995)
    Cops and Robbersons (15-Apr-1994) · Norman Robberson
    Last Action Hero (18-Jun-1993) · Cameo
    Memoirs of an Invisible Man (28-Feb-1992) · Nick Halloway
    Nothing But Trouble (15-Feb-1991) · Chris Thorne
    Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991) · Himself
    National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1-Dec-1989) · Clark
    Fletch Lives (17-Mar-1989) · Fletch
    Caddyshack II (22-Jul-1988) · Ty Webb
    Funny Farm (3-Jun-1988) · Andy
    The Couch Trip (15-Jan-1988)
    ¡Three Amigos! (12-Dec-1986)
    Spies Like Us (6-Dec-1985)
    Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird (2-Aug-1985) · Newscaster
    National Lampoon's European Vacation (26-Jul-1985) · Clark W. Griswold
    Live Aid (13-Jul-1985) · Himself
    Fletch (31-May-1985) · Fletch
    Deal of the Century (4-Nov-1983) · Eddie Muntz
    National Lampoon's Vacation (29-Jul-1983) · Clark Griswold
    Modern Problems (25-Dec-1981) · Max Fielder
    Under the Rainbow (31-Jul-1981)
    Seems Like Old Times (19-Dec-1980)
    Caddyshack (25-Jul-1980) · Ty Webb
    Oh, Heavenly Dog! (11-Jul-1980)
    Foul Play (14-Jul-1978)
    Tunnel Vision (Mar-1976) · Himself
    The Groove Tube (23-Jun-1974)
    Lemmings (1973)


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