Chevy Chase is a name known to film fans and those who cry back to the classic film atmosphere of the '80s. Even though Chevy Chase is still actively working today, he takes the viewer back to his youth and childhood, to an era when the world was calmer and watching movies was a daily routine.
Chevy Chase was born on October 8, 1943 in New York. His father worked as a book editor and journalist, while his mother was a lyricist and concert pianist. Among his ancestors were mayors, painters and musicians, so music and writing were in his blood, yet he chose acting.
In his autobiography, his stepbrother recounted that Chavy Chase never liked people who came up with their ancestors. As he said:
"Those who define themselves by their origins are like potatoes: the best part of them is underground."
It was therefore important for him to build only on his own strength, to reach the top on his own.
Although he was born Cornelius Crane Chase, his career name was not given to him by his profession, but by his grandmother. He nicknamed his grandson Chevy, because his last name reminded him of a medieval English ballad, Chevy Chase: there was a lot of hunting in the Cheviot Hills, also known as Chevy, on the Scottish-English border, and thus the ballad about it is Chevy Chase, i.e. Chevy was named persecution.
Although the name and habitus were given, the start of his career was not easy for Chase either. For a long time, he could only express his creativity at school; he was a true master of fun, who often made fun of others. This was at the expense of his studies, but in time he obtained a degree in English. During school, he played drums in a jazz band and took on odd jobs, at that time he was looking for what his vocation might be. Finally, when he joined an off-Broadway production in 1973, his fate was sealed.
He spent only two years here, and then NBC signed him as a writer for the comedy show Saturday Night Live, in which he eventually became not only a character, but also a main character. From there, the breakthrough in Hollywood was just one step away: in 1978, Beware of the Dwarf , for which he immediately received a Golden Globe nomination.
The second major milestone came five years later, when in 1983 he played one of the most family-oriented and lovable fathers of the 80s in the film Family Vacation
It was a defining decade for him: he was already the owner of two Emmy Awards, which he received for his work on Saturday Night Live, both as a writer and as a performer. He was nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year and Best Actor. He appeared in the most surprising places: he hosted the Oscars twice and appeared in the music video for Paul Simon's song You Can Call me Al The latter was actually a coincidence, as Paul Simon was unhappy with the original version, which was filmed in the same location as Saturday Night Live. The producer suddenly came up with Chevy Chase, who was also working there, to jump in and cover the song. So it was:
In the mid and late 1980s, he filmed the sequels to the highly successful Family Vacation , European Vacation and Christmas Vacation . However, at the beginning of the nineties, something changed: The Chevy Chase Show, which started in 1993, was only on the screen for five weeks, and the films shot in this decade did not bring the actor as much success as the previous ones. The star he received in 1994 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame gave him wings, because the 1995 Who is the master of the house? he had success again for the comedy film, and in 1997 came the Vegas vacation , the success of which was already less than that of his previous vacation films.
The actor's private life is free of major problems: he married his first wife in 1973, but they soon divorced. Three years later, their relationship with his second wife didn't last long either, and his colleagues mocked him several times for that. So did Bill Murray, with whom they had a fight once over this, of course they reconciled over time. They later starred together in the Golf Maniacs .
In the eighties, Chase found the partner of his life: in 1982, he married Jayni Luke, with whom he has lived happily ever since and raised three daughters.
Although critics don't take kindly to him, he doesn't care about opinions. He thinks that he is already at the age where he doesn't have to worry about anything, and as he has stated several times: he has reached the point where he doesn't have to worry about what others write or say about him. Even today, he has many friends and admirers in the industry, many consider him their master, including Johnny Galecki, who made a success of what he learned from Chase in the series Brainiacs He played Chevy Chase's son Rusty in Christmas Vacation As he said, he learned the importance of comic timing from the actor, among other things, for which he is very grateful.
So are we: we are grateful for the many heart-warming moments.
Featured image: Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images
