Chevy Chase Bio
Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer whose career has spanned stand-up, television, and film since the late 1960s. He first rose to national fame as a breakout original cast member and writer on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in 1975 and 1976, where his physical comedy and Weekend Update anchor role defined an era of sketch comedy. Chase went on to become a leading man of 1980s comedy cinema, headlining hits such as Caddyshack, Foul Play, the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, Fletch, and Three Amigos. After box-office struggles in the 1990s, he enjoyed a popularity resurgence as Pierce Hawthorne on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014.
Early Life and Background
Cornelius Crane Chase was born in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on October 8, 1943, and grew up in Woodstock, New York. He has an older brother, Ned Jr. His father, Edward Tinsley “Ned” Chase, was a Princeton-educated Manhattan book editor and magazine writer, while his mother, Cathalene Parker (later Cathalene Crane), was a concert pianist and librettist. Through his mother’s adoption by Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane, heir to The Crane Company, Chase inherited a prominent industrial lineage, and his maternal grandfather, Rear Admiral Miles Browning, served as Chief of Staff to Admiral Raymond A. Spruance aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway. The nickname “Chevy” came from his grandmother, who named him after the English ballad “The Ballad of Chevy Chase” because of his Scottish Clan Douglas ancestry.
Chase’s parents divorced when he was four. He later described an upper-middle-class upbringing shaped by physical and psychological abuse from his mother and his stepfather, Dr. John Cederquist. He attended the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx before being expelled, and ultimately graduated as valedictorian in 1962 from the Stockbridge School, an independent boarding school in Massachusetts, where he was known as a practical joker. He attended Haverford College for the 1962 to 1963 term, where he developed his signature slapstick pratfalls, before transferring to Bard College, where he studied a pre-med curriculum and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. While at Bard, he played drums in a band called The Leather Canary with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who later founded Steely Dan.
Path to Celebrity
Chase co-founded the underground comedy ensemble Channel One in 1967, marking his entry into professional performing. He contributed a one-page Mission: Impossible spoof to Mad magazine in 1970 and wrote for the short-lived 1975 Smothers Brothers TV show comeback, sharpening the comedic voice that would soon reach a national audience. By 1973 he had committed to comedy full time as a writer and cast member on The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a syndicated satirical radio series that also featured John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, and Brian Doyle-Murray, all future Saturday Night Live stars.
Chase and Belushi appeared together in National Lampoon’s off-Broadway revue Lemmings, where Chase also played drums and piano, and Chase appeared in the 1974 film The Groove Tube, directed by Channel One co-founder Ken Shapiro. These early sketch, radio, and stage credits positioned him as one of the founding talents of NBC’s Saturday Night when it premiered in October 1975, completing his transition to television stardom.
Chevy Chase Career
Early Career (1967–1974)
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Chase built his reputation through Channel One, National Lampoon Radio Hour, and off-Broadway revue work. He won his first Primetime Emmy Award in 1976 as part of the writing team for the Smothers Brothers show, formally recognizing his early craft. His appearance in the 1974 film The Groove Tube introduced his physical comedy to cinema audiences.
That same creative circle produced the eventual original cast of Saturday Night Live, with Chase, Belushi, Radner, Murray, and others forming the nucleus of NBC’s late-night revolution. By the time Saturday Night Live premiered in October 1975, Chase was already established as a versatile writer-performer ready for the national spotlight.
Breakthrough (1975–1976)
Chase became one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live in October 1975 and quickly emerged as the breakout star of the first season. He introduced nearly every episode with the line “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” usually preceded by a pratfall known as “The Fall of the Week.” His Gerald Ford impression, mocking the president’s public stumbles, helped shape the era’s political satire and turned Chase into a household name.
As the original Weekend Update anchor, Chase introduced himself with the catchphrase “I’m Chevy Chase… and you’re not,” and signed off with “Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.” He won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his writing and live comic acting on the show and earned a Golden Globe nomination for the 1978 romantic comedy Foul Play. He left the show midway through its second season in late 1976.
Notable Works and Milestones
Chase’s signature work is the Clark Griswold character, whom he portrayed across five National Lampoon’s Vacation films from 1983 to 2015, including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which grossed $71 million and remains a holiday staple. He earned two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe nomination across his career, was named Hasty Pudding’s 1993 Man of the Year, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993 at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. He hosted the Academy Awards in 1987 and 1988, opening the 1988 telecast with the quip “Good evening, Hollywood phonies!”
Chevy Chase Award Nominations
Chase earned a Golden Globe nomination for his starring role in the 1978 romantic comedy Foul Play, opposite Goldie Hawn, marking one of his earliest major film recognitions. He also received Primetime Emmy nominations as a writer-performer on the first season of Saturday Night Live, two of which converted into wins. Across television, film, and writing awards, his nominations reflect a career consistently honored by peers in comedy and variety programming.
Chevy Chase Awards Won
Chevy Chase has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series, earned during his groundbreaking tenure on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1970s. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, honoring his contributions to the entertainment industry across film and television. Additional honors include The Harvard Lampoon’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1998.
Chevy Chase Family
Chase married Susan Hewitt in New York City on February 23, 1973, and they divorced on February 1, 1976. He then married Jacqueline Carlin on December 4, 1976, with the marriage ending in divorce on November 14, 1980. He has been married to his third wife, Jayni Luke, since June 19, 1982, and the couple share three daughters, Cydney, Caley, and Emily. Chase also has an older brother, Ned Jr., and is descended from Rear Admiral Miles Browning and industrial heir Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane through his mother’s side.
Personal Life
Chase and Jayni Luke reside in Bedford, New York, after previously living in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, from 1980 to 1995, where he served as Honorary Mayor from 1986 to 1988. He was admitted to the Betty Ford Center in 1986 for treatment of a prescription painkiller addiction linked to back pain from his pratfalls, and he entered the Hazelden Clinic in September 2016 for treatment of alcoholism. In 2021, he was placed in a medically induced coma for eight days following heart failure, an experience he has said contributed to ongoing memory loss. Politically active as a liberal Democrat, Chase has campaigned for Bill Clinton, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton across multiple presidential cycles.