• Chase to appear on 'Brothers & Sisters'

Chevy Chase was born on October 8, 1943 in Lower Manhattan, New York City. He is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, writer, and television and film actor.

Initially hired on as a writer, Chase soon began appearing in front of the camera as the anchor of the popular Weekend Update segment of the ensemble variety show. With the catchphrase opening "Good evening, I'm Chevy Chase and you're not," and aided by his bumbling impersonation of President Gerald Ford, the actor quickly assumed breakout status, earning Emmys for both his writing and acting. He left after a single season to pursue film opportunities, but did not really strike gold until Caddyshack (1980), in which he played a rich golf pro who oozed confidence and a dry sarcastic wit three steps ahead of anyone else. These would become Chase's trademarks.

During the filming of his next project, Modern Problems (1981), Chase was nearly electrocuted when a gag involving landing lights attached to his body short-circuited. The experience sunk him into a deep depression.

Chase's other big hit came in 1985, when he starred as the title character in Fletch, the film widely considered the actor's best and most complimentary of his sharp talent for wordplay. As an undercover newspaper reporter with a quick answer not to mention a goofy disguise for every situation, Chase created a classic comic hero with a genius for confusing his adversaries. He reprised the role in the lesser sequel Fletch Lives (1989).

Chase achieved moderate success by pairing with other Saturday Night Live alums in the mixed-bag comedies Spies Like Us (1985) and Three Amigos! (1986); though these had dedicated fans, they didn't achieve the critical praise of Fletch or Vacation. Despite an all-star cast, Caddyshack II (1988) went nowhere, and by the beginning of the 1990s, Chase had slipped from his status as a reliable comedic performer. Such well-documented failures as Nothing But Trouble (1991) and Cops and Robbersons (1994) became his crosses to bear during a decade that also saw the colossal failure of his Fox comeback variety show, which was canceled two months after it premiered in 1993.

In later years, Chase has preferred family oriented films, starring in such features as Man of the House (1995) (opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and the kiddie-on-holiday flick Snow Day (2000). This stance prompted Chase to turn down the comeback-worthy role that won Kevin Spacey an Oscar in American Beauty (1999); had he accepted, it might have resulted in a very different film. As Chase's work has shifted more to the supporting role variety, including Dirty Work (1998) and Orange County (2002), he has seemed more comfortable. A series of appearances in such innocuous comedies as Bad Meat, Goose on the Loose, and Doogal found Chase continuing to plateau, and in 2006 the former SNL heavyweight would take to the lab to help save the world in the children's superhero adventure Zoom.

Credits by Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Filmography

• Jack and the Beanstalk (2008)
• Cutlass (2007)
• "Family Guy" (1 episode, 2007)
• "Law & Order" (1 episode, 2006)
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (2006)
• Zoom (2006)
• Funny Money (2006)
• Doogal (2006)
• Goose on the Loose (2006)
• Ellie Parker (2005)
• The Karate Dog (2004)
• Mariti in affitto (2004)
• Bad Meat (2003)
• Orange County (2002)
• Vacuums (2002)
• America's Most Terrible Things (2002)
• "Saturday Night Live" (32 episodes, 1975-2001)
• Ellie Parker (2001)
• Pete's a Pizza (2001)
• Snow Day (2000)
• The One Arm Bandit (2000)
• Dirty Work (1998)
• Vegas Vacation (1997)
• Man of the House (1995)
• Cops and Robbersons (1994)
• Last Action Hero (1993)
• Hero (1992)
• Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
• Nothing But Trouble (1991)
• L.A. Story (1991)
• "The Dave Thomas Comedy Show" (1 episode, 1990)
• Christmas Vacation (1989)
• Fletch Lives (1989)
• Caddyshack II (1988)
• Funny Farm (1988)
• The Couch Trip (1988)
• ¡Three Amigos! (1986)
• Spies Like Us (1985)
• Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird (1985)
• European Vacation (1985)
• Fletch (1985)
• Deal of the Century (1983)
• Vacation (1983)
• Modern Problems (1981)
• Under the Rainbow (1981)
• Seems Like Old Times (1980)
• Caddyshack (1980)
• Oh Heavenly Dog (1980)
• Foul Play (1978)
• The Groove Tube (1974)
• Lemmings (1973)
• "The Great American Dream Machine" (1971)
• Walk... Don't Walk (1968)

Awards

• Emmy Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Variety or Music Special "The Paul Simon Special" 1977 - 1978
• Emmy Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series "Saturday Night Live" 1975 - 1976
• Emmy Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance By an Actor in a Supporting Role in Variety or Music "Saturday Night Live" 1975 - 1976