3个月前

Chevy Chase, the beloved comedian who was a monster off camera: ‘Not everyone hated him, just the people who’ve worked with him’

english.elpais.com Chevy Chase, the beloved comedian who was a monster off camera: ‘Not everyone hated him, just the people who’ve worked with him’

A film about ‘Saturday Night Live’ has revived interest in its first star’s controversial career as a beloved icon of humor who was a real nightmare for those with whom he shared a set

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The long-awaited Community movie seems to have been given the green light, but Pierce Hawthorne doesn’t seem to be returning to its cast.
Well, yeah. Pierce has been dead for like 3 seasons.
- Nobody wants to work anymore.

Why is the headline, and article, talking about Chevy in the past tense? I had to do a quick DDG to verify that he was still alive because this had me thinking it was an obit!

I was more than surprised to see him on Community, not just his appearance but also that he was working at all. Once you know what he's really like, you can't help but see that in every role he plays.
- There is so much lore behind Community and Chevy Chase. My understanding is that Community was supposed to be his show, where he was the good guy and was the main protagonist, not Joel McHale. (You sort of see hints of this in the gas leak year.)
  As the series went on, it was clear that Chevy was annoyed about their long hours, shooting schedules, etc. TBF to Chevy, Dan Harmon made every episode into a movie that required a lot of shots, something that made him disliked by network executives. It's why he got fired over Chevy in season 4.
  What every executive failed to realize is that these "movies" were absolutely awesome and that's why the fans love the show. They were smart, funny, and gave you a sense that they weren't taking things seriously.
  In the end, the show was better without Chevy.
- His character is killed off because he couldn't be bothered to film one of the Post-Credits scenes that was actually well written and emotional, which pissed the director off so much he fired his ass
  
  Do you remember which post credits scene? Going through the show again and trying to think which one it could be.
- I actually enjoyed his 'vacation' movies far more once i knew what a jerk he was since those movies' make his struugles the punchline.
  kinda makes me wonder if part of what makes those movies work is how cathartic watching scenes of chase get hurt was for his director and co-stars.
  
  Taken as a whole, the vacation movies were funny. But not because of anything Chevy did. They could have cast that role with a mop and it would have rated just as well.

Belushi, for example, boycotted sketches written by women.
Finding this out about Belushi was disappointing, to say the least.
The final nail was hammered during his celebrity roast, which was strangely bereft of any actual celebrities, given that Chase had no friends.
Sad. I’m not surprised that he had no friends, but it still kinda makes me feel sorry for him.
- No major celebrities, I suppose.
  Stephen Colbert’s bit was exceptionally well crafted. I recall it being one of the few that Chevy actually reacted well to.
  Colbert still said all the true shit on everyone’s mind but wrapped it up nicely in the joke.
  
  A true craftsman.

Sorry for the Reddit links, but somebody did a great writeup of the infamous roast:
https://old.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/xk73sy/comedy_how_to_piss_off_everyone_youve_ever_met_so/
And Yvette Nicole Brown did an AMA where she compliments all of the Community cast except for Chevy Chase:
https://old.reddit.com/r/community/comments/xgc5z/hey_guys_lets_do_this_im_yvette_nicole_brown_ama/
- That's painful to read. How can someone maintain such a collosal air of arrogance after failing time, and time again?
  
  Pretty sure it's like the definition of narcissism
- Holy shit. I had somehow never seen this before and, while I heard Chevy was a grade A asshole, I didn't realize he was the Japanese A5 Wagyu of assholes (that's not fair to steak). Damn.
- holy shit that was even before they went public about him.

I'm still curious as to why he was so popular back in the day if this arrogance showed through. I guess the public love a heel if they are funny with it?
- I've seen his movies, and i had no idea he was such a colossol tool behind the scenes. I suspect a lot of other people didn't know either.
  But, on the flip side, back in the day, I think you could get away with a lot more without the media crucified you for it.
  
  Some of his best characters were also perfectly suited to him in hindsight. Spies like us where he was the charming but sleazy face man and Dan Akroyd was a tech nerd, Caddyshack where he was the cocky upstart golf pro...
  Man was acting but not by much.
  
  Imagine thinking of being held extremely mildly accountable for your shitty actions as "getting crucified".
- You have to remember, pre-internet he was a tall, charismatic, handsome, very funny man and he was a movie star, of course he was arrogant. The industry knew he was a jerk, but he was a jerk who got everyone paid. He also had family money, which allowed him to call people's bluffs and take risks most people trying to build a career wouldn't dare take.
  And the fans, the parasocial thing just didn't exist back then, they weren't our friends. They were an elite class who could do no wrong. If you wanted to talk to Chevy and he didn't talk to you, you apologised to him for taking up his time.
- I feel like that was a vibe for 80's comedians. I don't know if they were all jerks or not. Dan Aykrod, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Danny devito... a lot of these guys played jerks. In a lot of movies and shows.
  There was probably a lot of cocaine too. I doubt that helped. I wonder if we underestimate that sometimes.
- Because he's Chevy Chase, and you're not.
- Have you seen the Christmas Vacation?
  
  Favorite Christmas Movie by generation (according to me):
  Silent Gen - Miracle on 34th Street
  Boomers - It's a Wonderful Life
  Jones/Elder Gen-X - A Christmas Story
  Gen-X/Xennials - Christmas Vacation
  Millennial - Elf
  All of the above - Die Hard
  
  I've seen at least one national lampoon's vacation but I have no idea which one it was. I think I've probably seen Spies like us the most if that dates me.
- There are a lot of shitty people in movies and tv that we used to hear nothing about due to the "celebrity" status. Celebrities are to be revered not reviled and so the asshole was and still is overlooked for the so called talent.
- He really was not when you compare him to other snl cast like belushi and murphy and murray.
- I personally don't have an answer to that, but then again I was the weird child at 7 watching cartoons Saturday morning and then SNL at night....the shenanigans on that show are deep, deep burnt memories coupled with Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS (again, way too young to fully absorb) but probably shaped the type of unconscious humor my person embodies.
  Chevy was funny and his behind the scenes performance didn't interact in a way that was fully appreciated by the regular American audience.

Real life Bojack Horseman

That's depressingly common.

R.I.P. Fletch

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