Born Cornelius Crane Chase, he changed his name to Chevy Chase, joined the Saturday Night Live crew, and embarked on a highly successful movie career. Chase scored in the eighties with hits such as _Caddyshack (1980)_ , the National Lampoon movies and the Fletch movies. All his films show his talent for deadpan comedy. Sadly, his career has generally worsened throughout the nineties, starring in flops such as the wholly mediocre Memoirs of an Invisible Man, and Cops and Robbersons.
SNL 25 (1975): $750/week (1975 season)

Prefers to do family-oriented movies and has turned down roles in several films including the lead in American Beauty. His now-famous "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" opening line on the "Weekend Update" segments of SNL 25 was a takeoff of New York news anchor Roger Grimsby's "Here now the news" opening line. Sat in with the college band The Leather Canary a couple of times. The band also included Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, later of Steely Dan fame. Winner of Harvard Lampoon Lifetime Achievement Award 1996. He appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care." Convicted of drunk driving. [1995] His short-lived TV talk show was billed as a Cornelius Production, Cornelius being Chevy's real first name. Was nearly killed (electrocuted) during the filming of Modern Problems when, during the sequence in which he is wearing "landing lights" as he dreams that he is an airplane, the current in the lights short-circuited through his arm, back, and neck muscles. The near-death experience caused him to experience a period of deep depression. Attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Was valedictorian of his high school class. Has perfect pitch, a musical ability to remember the exact frequency of a note. Was the drummer for what he called "a bad jazz band." That band became Steely Dan. Parents divorced when he was four, and his father remarried into Folger coffee family, while mother's third marriage was to Juilliard School professor/ composer Lawrence Widdoes. He and wife Jayni's three daughters are named Cydney Cathalene, Caley Leigh and Emily Evelyn. Chevy was actually a childhood nickname -- possibly based on the Maryland suburb -- bestowed by his grandmother. The Chase family was affluent and distinguished, and Chevy was listed in Social Register at early age. His paternal grandfather was painter/teacher Frank Swift Chase; his father, Ned Chase, was a prominent Manhattan book editor and magazine writer. His mother was descended from the Crane plumbing-fixture family. He appeared alongside Paul Simon in the music video "You Can Call Me Al," in which he lip-syncs all of Simon's lines. Was a long-time class clown expelled from private schools like NYC's Dalton but did well at Stockbridge School in Massachusetts. Expelled from Haverford College after bringing a cow into the third floor of a campus building. Transferred to Bard College, where he dated actress Blythe Danner and graduated in 1967. Used to spend his summer and other vacations at a castle on a beautiful beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts. His middle name, Crane, refers to Crane Castle, his childhood vacation home in Massachusetts. Roasted into the New York Friar's Club on September 28, 2002. Suffers from a fear of snakes. Chevy Chase is also the name of a 16th century ballad about the battle between Earl Douglas and Earl Percy. He was the first member of the original "Saturday Night Live" cast to leave the show. He was replaced by Bill Murray. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 102-103. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387. Paul Simon is one of his best friends. At the height of his career he earned around $7 million per film. Is a huge jazz fan. Runs five miles a day to stay fit and healthy. Admitted in an interview that making ¡Three Amigos! was the most fun he has had on a film. Helped campaign for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. Attended Riverdale Country School in New York City. His big break was performing on _"Saturday Night Live"_ (1975) . Ironically, he was never signed as a cast member. He signed a one year writer contract and became a cast member during rehearsals. Has said that he regrets leaving SNL 25 after just one year. Chase is a member of the exclusive Hollywood Gourmet Poker Club with fellow card players Johnny Carson, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Carl Reiner, Barry Diller and Neil Simon. In a 1975 New York magazine cover story, NBC executives referred to Chase as "The first real potential successor to Johnny Carson" and claimed he would begin guest-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson within 6 months of the article (which proved to be false). At 6' 4", he was the tallest original cast member of "Saturday Night Live" and was the first tall guy on the show, cast members over 6 feet who usually dwarf their smaller cast mates. Among the other tall guys to follow were Dan Aykroyd, Dean Edwards, Will Ferrell, Anthony Michael Hall, David Koechner, Norm MacDonald, Finesse Mitchell, Bill Murray, Kevin Nealon, Randy Quaid, Rob Riggle, Charles Rocket, Damon Wayans, and Fred Wolf. Only Nealon and Quaid equaled Chase in height. The role of Eric 'Otter' Stratton in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) was originally written with him in mind, but due to a scheduling conflict, he had to turn the role down. The role went to Tim Matheson instead. His brother roomed across the hall from Ted Kaczynski "The Unabomber" at Harvard. Has a street named after him in Cochranton PA (NWPA). - Chevy Chase Street In 2003, he appeared in two television commercials for Cola Turka, a soft drink developed to be in direct competition with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi, while keeping the money in the Turkish economy. The commercials, which were both comic and nationalistic in theme, feature Chase playing a confused American who notices his friend and family using Turkish idioms and exhibiting Turkish customs after consuming the drink. The commercials, exclusively shown in Turkey, were filmed in New York in English, but have Turkish subtitles. Wanted to be a doctor when he was younger. Has a street named after him in New Orleans, Louisiana.