Saturday Night Live has been a springboard to international success for many of its cast members, but Chevy Chase – part of the original cast at the show’s premiere on October 11, 1975 – was the very first. The rest of the original and now iconic cast included John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, and Laraine Newman, all of whom went on to careers beyond the show.
His stint on the show led to National Lampoon’s Vacation and other notable successes on the big screen through the 1990s. More recently, Chase has appeared on Community, but it’s probably safe to say he’s still best known for his time on SNL.
10 He Went From A Jazz Band With Steely Dan Founders To Writing Comedy
Before he started working on Saturday Night Live, Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase was in what he called a “bad jazz band” with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who would go on to form Steely Dan. His goal switched from music to comedy, and he went on to co-found Channel One, an underground comedy troupe in 1967, and write for the celebrated Smothers Brothers TV show. He was also a writer and cast member on The National Lampoon Radio Hour.
9 He Hesitated To Join SNL At First
With a career in comedy that was finally starting to take off, Chase was happy to stay where he was – at first. In Chase’s 2007 biography, he recalls going to a movie premiere and seeing his friend Rob Reiner with Canadian producer Lorne Michaels, who was already in the process of creating SNL. After the introduction, he met with Michaels at Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont, and was offered a job writing for the sketch comedy show. At first, he said no to what was a completely new idea at the time, but reconsidered not long after.
8 He Made $800/Wk To Start As A Writer
Chase was 32 when he made the move from Los Angeles to New York City to be part of the SNL starting writing staff. His pay was $800 per week, which was a considerable sum back in October 1975 when the show first aired (worth about $3,600+ today with inflation). But, with his trademark deadpan delivery, he quickly joined the cast on stage as well. The show was initially called NBC’s Saturday Night, and the cast were known as The Not Ready For Primetime Players.
7 He Was Talented At Impressions And Physical Comedy – Sometimes Both At Once
One of Chevy Chase’s gifts as a comedian was his understated delivery, and the impressions that became fan favorites. He spoofed celebrities like Leonard Nimoy and Greg Allman, creepy serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and president Ronald Reagan.
His most famous – and influential, as it turned out – impression was of Gerald Ford. Instead of portraying his character, he opted for physical comedy, constantly falling and stumbling, something that came to be associated with the former President Gerald Ford in real life – even though he apparently wasn’t actually known for clumsiness.
6 He Created The ‘Weekend Update’ Segment
Chase went from the writing desk to become the first major star of the show, but he maintained his writing duties even after joining the rest of the cast on camera. As a writer, he created the now famous (and still running) weekly fake newscast called Weekend Update, along with co-writer Herb Sargent. That’s how he took over the first anchor desk on the weekly skit, which quickly became a much talked about fan favorite of the show. Chase would play the anchor role for 31 episodes in the first two seasons.
5 He Was The First To Leave The Show
With his growing popularity, Chase was being featured more and more on the show, but he had actually opted not to sign a performer’s contract. His only commitment was a one-year writer’s contract. Anticipating a future in the movies (which didn’t launch, as it would turn out, for another two years), and with an Emmy Award for his work on the show in 1976, he renegotiated his contract with NBC. It resulted in leaving SNL altogether – a fact that came as a surprise to Lorne Michaels.
4 A Beef – And Physical Altercation – With Bill Murray Led To His Being Banned
In season 3, after he’d left the show, he was asked back to host. The rest of the cast, reportedly, had some ill will because of the way he’d left, and felt that he had a superior attitude. That included Bill Murray, who’d been hired to replace Chevy on the show.
The tensions erupted into insults, and actually resulted in a backstage fistfight between the Murray and Chase. He was banned from the show after another guest appearance where he slapped a cast member on the head backstage.
3 He Was The First Cast Member Banned From SNL… But He Came Back Often
Despite his alleged ban from hosting the show, and continued rumors of tensions with cast and staff, producer Lorne Michaels apparently softened enough to have Chase on the show several times over the years in guest spots (including about a half dozen hosting gigs). He appeared in the 25th anniversary special in 1999, and appeared in several cameos. He did the Weekend Update in 2007 (hosted by Seth Rogen), and appeared in the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special in 2015.
2 Chase And Murray Bonded While Shooting ‘Caddyshack’
Chevy Chase and Billy Murray would find themselves both cast in a movie that would become a huge hit – Caddyshack. The 1980 Rodney Dangerfield golf comedy was initially not supposed to include any scenes of the two comedians together, but that changed over the course of production. Murray was reportedly not pleased to have to work directly with Chase, but in the end, the two approached their scene as pros and made the most out of the comedy. It apparently buried the proverbial hatchet between them, and the two remain friends decades later.
1 He Can’t Stand The Modern Version Of The Show
Chase apparently has little good to say about the show now. He’s quoted in The Washington Post. “I’m amazed that Lorne [Michaels] has gone so low. I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn’t f—ing believe it,” Chase told the Washington Post. “That means a whole generation of s—heads laughs at the worst f—ing humor in the world. You know what I mean? How could you dare give that generation worse s— than they already have in their lives? It just drives me nuts.”
