Chevy Chase

Background

Cornelius Crane Chase, better known as Chevy Chase, was born on October 8, 1943, in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City. He is an American actor and writer who is a staple name in Hollywood. He’s a Libra and grew up in Woodstock. His father went to Princeton as a book editor/magazine writer, while his mother was a concert pianist. They divorced when he was four, and both parents remarried. Chase attended Riverdale Country School and graduated from Stockbridge School in 1962. He graduated from Bard College, New York, with a B.A. in English in 1967.

In 1967, Chase co-founded the comedy ensemble Channel One. In 1975, he became one of the original cast members for the first season of “Saturday Night Live.” He also committed to “S.N.L.” as a writer for a year. He received two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his comedy writing and acting on the show. He left “S.N.L.” in the middle of its second season. Chase’s earliest film roles go back to the late ‘60s. In the ‘70s, he earned recognition as an actor with “Tunnel Vision” (1976) and “Foul Play” (1978). In 1980, he starred in “Caddyshack.” The actor narrowly escaped death by a lightning strike on the set of “Modern Problems” (1981). He then starred in “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983), which raked in $61 million on a $15 million budget. By the late ‘80s, Chase was an in-demand actor and earned about $7 million per film. In 1993, he began hosting “The Chevy Chase Show,” but it got canceled after five weeks. That year, Chase got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1997, he starred as Clark Griswold in “Vegas Vacation,” which grossed over $60 million. Chase has appeared in several more productions, and in 2019, he played Al Hart in “The Last Laugh.”

Chase is a very successful actor and writer with many movies. As one that has been in the spotlight for decades, Chase’s personal life is public information. He married Susan Hewitt in 1973, and they divorced three years later. He then married Jacqueline Carlin in 1976, and they divorced in 1980. Chase married his current wife, Jayni Luke, in 1982, and they have three daughters.