He”™s Chevy Chase and you”™re not.
He”™s the legendary comic star of the 1970s TV show “Saturday Night Live” who delivered the famous line with the characteristic deadpan expression, “I”™m Chevy Chase and you”™re not,” a line etched in memory long after most of the things that made you laugh three decades ago have been forgotten. He has been at the top of the show business mountain for more than 30 years and can remember when TV was just “The Big Three” NBC, CBS, and ABC.
Now, he”™s back. This time, the Bedford resident and one-time Not Ready for Prime Time Player returns to NBC in a new half-hour comedy series titled “Community,” which premiered Sept. 17.
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“Community” tells the story of a band of misfits who comprise a study group at Greendale Community College and eventually learn more about themselves then their course work.
Chase plays Pierre. “He”™s a dummy,” the actor said. “He”™s the CEO of a moist towelette company in his mid-50s. He”™s got money and he”™s socially inept with the rest of the kids.” ?The rest of the kids include Joel McHale, (“The Soup”), Gillian Jacobs (“The Book of Daniel”), Yvette Nicole Brown (“Rules of Engagement”), Danny Pudi (“Greek”), Alison Brie (“Mad Men”), Donald Glover (“30 Rock”) and Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”).
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Chase was not looking to do a TV series but his agent sent him the script. The actor said he fell in love with it and that was it.
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Commenting on the vast changes in the TV business in the last 20 years, he said, “Of course the business has changed. And with the advent of cable and the Internet the competition is much tougher. What doesn”™t change is the need for surprise and laughter. This is what people need in their lives. By and large, comedy will always relate to the period that it is in and to the reference point of the core audience. When networks put on shows today, they want to appeal to the core TV audience between the ages of 18 and 39.”
There have been four episodes filmed as of this writing. The show is not being filmed in front of a live audience. “But there is no piped in laughter,” said Chase, an asterisk that to this day bedevils another ”™70s comedic benchmark: M*A*S*H. He will probably work until October and will have finished 13 episodes. “It remains to be seen where we go from there. The schedule can be grueling. We shoot 12 hours a day, sometimes 15.”
With about 50 films in the can, Chase has no desire to present himself as a serious actor and considers drama much more difficult to do than comedy.
“I have never aspired to being a dramatic actor,” he said. “I am very attracted to physical comedy. I consider most comedy to be physical. Of course there”™s a certain athleticism to any acting, but I can”™t imagine comedy being harder than drama. To be able to cry on cue ”“ now that is difficult. But acting is acting, basically it”™s all the same. It”™s pretending.”
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Asked about his take on the funniest movie ever made, Chase became pensive. “There are so many. The Chaplin movies, the Marx brothers, Keaton was a genius, so was Harold Lloyd. They were great athletes and they had to work most of the time without sound. They are remarkable to watch.”
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On John Belushi, who died of a drug overdose: “He was a good friend of mine. We roomed together for a long time. John was a fine comedian and a very funny guy. I was angry about his killing himself. I miss him”
On Gilda Radner, who died of cancer: “Gilda was an extremely good comedian and also a wonderful person.”
On Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca of “Your Show of Shows”: “She was the sidekick. Sid was the star. He was the genius on that show.”
Chase”™s career has centered on his film and TV appearances. He has never done standup.
He was a writer for many years and was originally hired as head writer for “SNL.”
There was an election that year and Chase was writing a lot of political satire. The Carter/Ford race became a principal target for the show”™s comedy sketches.
From the beginning, director Lorne Michaels wanted Chase to do his own version of the news on the show and Chase moved into an entertainment spot.
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Chase famously did a lot of impressions of President Gerald Ford. Ford, one of the best athletes ever to sit in the Oval Office, nonetheless stumbled several times and the cameras caught him. And Chase made fun of him.
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In an election year, it behooved the show to continue to air these sketches. Ultimately, Chase”™s version gained traction and Ford was pictured as a buffoon by the media. It has been said the parodies had an effect on the election. Ford did eventually contact Chase. “We went down to the White House and he was very pleasant and polite, a very nice guy,” recalled Chase. But later on, Chase heard from one of Ford”™s sons that some of the impersonations had hurt Ford”™s feelings.
In a business that prides itself on risk taking, Chase has had his share of injuries. His pratfalls on “SNL” became a trademark, but eventually necessitated his undergoing back surgery. During the filming of “Modern Problems” (1981), he was nearly electrocuted during a sequence in which he is wearing “landing lights” in a dream sequence. Since he married, he has eschewed romantic roles out of concerns for his children who might not understand nondomestic romance splashed 20-feet high and 40-feet across in front of them.
Chase was the first member of the original cast to leave the show, after only one season, a decision he later said he regretted. He was replaced by Bill Murray?At 6”™4”, Chase was the tallest original “SNL” cast mate. Members more than 6 feet usually dwarfed the rest of the cast, but on “SNL” they kept coming. In addition to Murray, also above 6 feet, the other “tall guys” to follow included Dan Aykroyd, Will Ferrell and Anthony Michael Hall.
Chase was born Cornelius Crane Chase in October 1943 in Woodstock. He graduated from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson with a B.A. in English in 1967. Prior to his show business career, he worked as a cab driver, truck driver, waiter, bus boy, construction worker, salesman and theater usher. Chevy was a childhood name bestowed by his grandmother and possibly based on the Washington, D.C., suburb, Chevy Chase, Md. He no longer borrows names; he contributes them: He has a street named after him in New Orleans and another in Cochranton, Pa.
At 64, he says, “I love making films and I have the time to make more. And I have a great wife, great kids, and a great life because of them.”
