Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American Emmy Award-winning comedian, writer, and television and film actor. Born into a prominent family, Chase quickly became a key cast member in the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live, where his Weekend Update skit quickly became a staple of the show. Chase is also well known for his portrayal of the character Clark Griswold in four National Lampoon’s Vacation films. In addition to his numerous movie roles, he has hosted the Academy Awards twice (1987 and 1988) and briefly had his own late-night talk show, The Chevy Chase Show.
Chase began to branch out into comedy (he cited Ernie Kovacs as one of his biggest influences), making it a full time career by 1973, when Chase became a cast member of The National Lampoon Radio Hour, a syndicated satirical series aired on Sunday nights. (prior to this, he had been in an early
underground comedy ensemble called Channel One which he co-founded in 1967, he had written a one-page spoof on Mission: Impossible for Mad Magazine in 1970 and was a writer for the short lived Smothers Brothers TV show comeback in the early 1970s among other things) The Lampoon Radio Hour also featured John Belushi, another future “Not-Ready-For-Prime Time Player” on NBC’s Saturday Night. The two also appeared at this time in National Lampoon’s off-Broadway production of Lemmings, a sketch and musical send-up of popular youth culture (in which Chase also played the drums during the musical numbers). He appeared in theaters in The Groove Tube which was directed by another co-founder of the aforementioned Channel One comedy group, Ken Shapiro which featured several Channel One sketches.
Chase had a long running feud with Howard Stern, prompted by Stern calling Chase’s home and speaking with his housekeeper on the air. After experiencing continued harassment from Stern fans at public events, Chase initiated ending their feud. On September 18, 2008, Chase appeared on Howard Stern’s show on Sirius XM Radio. Chase was a guest and gave a 
raucous toast at the wedding of Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky on October 3, 2008.
Chase is the father of three girls, Cydney Cathalene (born January 4, 1983), Caley Leigh (born January 19, 1985), and Emily Evelyn (born September 29, 1988). He lives with his wife, Jayni (née Luke), in Bedford, New York. He took part in Amnesty International’s The Secret Policeman’s Ball in 2006.
Chase is an avid fan of jazz music, recently manifested when he hosted the 2007 Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
Chase is a registered Democrat, and is an outspoken liberal. He endorsed President Barack Obama on his appearance on The Howard Stern Show on September 18, 2008.
