What the Hell Happened to Chevy Chase?

[TMC]

http://lebeauleblog.com/2013/04/16/w...o-chevy-chase/

In the late seventies and early eighties, Chevy Chase was the height of cool. He was the original break-out star of Saturday Night Live which was the hip show to watch and not an institution like it is today. When he went into movies, Chase was hailed as the next Cary Grant. But despite appearing in a few durable comedies, Chase has failed to live up to the promise he showed early in his career. These days, he is known for his tirades more than his comedy.

What the hell happened?

[cleverfun3000]

[EmoJoe]

The sad thing is, he was excellent in the first two seasons of Community. He's basically been on auto-pilot since then, but in those first two years, he was the best he'd been since his heyday. If he had just behaved, he could've seriously cleaned up his name and earned some respect back for himself. But he couldn't keep it together and now, after the way he acted on Community, I really doubt anyone's going to be interested in him anymore.

[Yong Fang]

I have read that Chevy Chase is simply a jerk. Many people in his industry do not like him, but like the OP stated, he was a bankable star for awhile in the 1970's and 1980's. I was never a big fan, but he was in some good 1980's films, especially the National Lampoon series.

Concerning Community, Chevy stated that he was more or less too big of a star to be in a sitcom, especially one that he is not headlining in. Can't blame him fully, probably difficult for him being old, and going from being a lead in films to being a side character in a sitcom.

But, if you ever met the man, you probably would come away with the sense of how much of a douche the man really is.

[TMC]

http://lebeauleblog.com/2014/11/08/l...-and-were-not/

We’re dedicating an entire show the the first breakout star of Saturday Night Live, Chevy Chase. Why? I really don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. We cover all three of Chase’s good movies and at least a third of his terrible ones. This episode has it all; cute dogs, little people and Princess Leia in her underwear. Daffy and I discuss why Billy Murray and Chevy Chase aren’t friends and why Chase probably won’t be appearing in any Marvel movies any time soon. Find out why Chase isn’t in Animal House and why Daffy believes the movie is over-rated anyway. We also name at least a handful of the many, many people Chase has offended over the years. It’s a podcast and a dessert topping!

The show is embedded after the jump. Hope you like it.

[Mace Dolex]

I've read he is a bit of a jerk but early in his career he was funny and movies from the 80's are great.

[TMC]

The real reason you don't hear from Chevy Chase anymore

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

I've read he is a bit of a jerk but early in his career he was funny and movies from the 80's are great.

Even if you take out the "Chevy Chase is a jerk" part from the equation, then at the end of the day, he really didn't have much to offer. I mean Hollywood rightly or wrongly, will seemingly tolerate alleged "a-hole" male performers (see Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Tom Hardy for instance) as long as they can deliver the goods. That article that I provided pretty much laid it all out for why Chevy with his limited range, wasn't going to get much mileage out of his popularity anyway. During his prime, he was basically a cool, good looking, charismatic guy who had the "gifts" for prat-falling and mugging for the camera. That sort of thing may work when you're in your 20s or 30s, but you can't keep doing that once you're well past middle aged (like Chevy was on Community).

[Yong Fang]

He is also probably seventy years old, and has made his money. Even if he threw it all away on booze, chicks and blow, he is from a wealthy family. So it isn’t like he has to work and it is surprising that he would do a sitcom as an ensemble character, since he used to headline hit films in the 1970’s and 80’s.

I never much cared for him or his comedy and think he is really dated. Some people love him and he does have a cult following. Then it goes without saying that he is a notorious jerk and a nasty person, at least from all the interviews and writings and everything else I have read about him over the years.

[king of comedy]

It was time for him to pass the torch.

[KRW]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Even if he threw it all away on booze, chicks and blow, he is from a wealthy family.

That's very true that he comes from a wealthy family. They owned the Bushwood Country Club for gosh sakes.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by KRW

That's very true that he comes from a wealthy family. They owned the Bushwood Country Club for gosh sakes.

I hate it when ALREADY rich people get even MORE rich! Julia Louise Dreyfuss comes from a BILLIONAIRE family yet has made many MILLIONS from acting!

Let an average Joe have that chance!!

[king of comedy]

Ditto!

[OH Nuts!]

More than anything else he was supposed to be a TOTAL JERK infamously hard to work with. And while he was quite talented, he WASN’T talented enough to be entitled to his prima Donna hissy fits. So everyone got tired of his bullsh*t and basically told him go to sit on it.

And age had nothing to do with it. For example, Betty White has ALWAYS had gigs from 20-95. Why? Because she’s versatile, adapts to the times, is grateful for her fame, and is a pro to work with—unlike doofus Chase. He can stay in oblivion for all I care. He’s one of the most disliked people in the business. Good riddance.

Also, many stars achieved fame even after coming from humble surroundings—for example Lucille Ball, Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand. But they compensating for their lack of $ With moxie, drive, and, up to achieving fame, taking any job and being grateful for it. Lucy especially. She did anything and everything, took a gamble on a new medium, and struck gold. So nobody is really excluded from reaching for the brass ring.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

But Betty White still looks pretty good while Chevy Chase has aged HORRIBLY!