Chevy Chase – Net Worth, Money and More
NET WORTH: $50 MILLION
PROFESSION: ACTOR, DIRECTOR, COMEDIAN & SCREENWRITER
BORN: OCTOBER 8, 1943
OVERVIEW
Birth name Cornelius Crane Chase has spent most of his career working in comedy. His very first works were small comedy gigs here and there, which eventually transitioned to comedy full time in 1973 while working on “The National Lampoon Radio Hour”. He became one of the original members of the show Saturday Night Live. He gave huge hits such as Caddyshack in 1980, the National Lampoon’s Vacation in 1983, National Lampoon’s European Vacation in 1985, Fletch in 1985 and Amigos in 1986. Eighties was Chevy’s highpoint. Chase’s career took a down turn in the 1990′s where none of the films he starred in did well at the box office. He is quite active in politics when he is not acting. He has campaigned for Bill Clinton and John Kerry during there respective campaigns.
EARLY LIFE
Chevy Chase was born in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Born to a prominent book editor and magazine writer. father and a concert pianist and librettist mother. Chase was named after his grandfather Cornelius. His grandmother gave him the nickname Chevy. When Chase was four years old, his parents divorced. Both of his parents remarried. Chase has claimed in his biography to be abused as a child by his mother and stepfather, John Cederquist. Both his parents died in 2005.
Chase graduated from Stockbridge School in Stockbridge, Massachusettes. He attended the Haverford college. He was popular in college for his slapstick comedy and a weird sense of physical humour.
Chase played drums with his college band ‘The Leather Canary.’ Chase also used to play drums and keyboards for a rock band called ‘Chamaeleon Church’. They recorded an album for MGM Records before they disbanded in 1969. Chase has worked in many odd jobs, before he became famous as a writer, actor and comedian. Some of his odd jobs included working as a cab driver, motorcycle messenger, audio engineer, waiter, product manager of a supermarket, fruit picker, truck driver, salesman in a wine store, construction worker, a theater usher and a busboy.
Saturday Night Live
Chase was one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live, NBC’s late night comedy television show, which started in October 1975. His catchphrase introduction “I’m Chevy Chase… and you’re not” on the ‘Weekend Update’ segment of SNL became well known. He was the original anchor of the show. Chase also produced a late night talk show “The Chevy Chase Show” which was broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company.
Chevy left the show in 1976, after his contract ended. He was the first member of the original cast to leave Saturday Night Live. He says he left the show because he wanted to be with his girlfriend, Jacqueline Carlin, who did not want to move to New York. After leaving SNL, Chase moved to Los Angeles and married Carlin. Chevy was offered starring movie roles because of his SNL fame.
TV Commercials and Films
Chase has done various commercials. He appeared in two television commercials for the soft drink Cola Turka in 2003. It was a soft drink developed to be in direct competition with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi, while keeping the money in the Turkish economy. Chase plays a confused American who notices his friend and family using Turkish idioms and exhibiting Turkish customs after consuming the drink. The commercials were comic and nationalistic in theme. The commercials were exclusively shown in Turkey, although they were filmed in New York in English. They had Turkish subtitles. Other commercials that Chase has to his credit are ’Dollar Rent-a-Car’, Doritos in 1996, History Channel in 1999, T-Mobile and Chase Manhattan Bank.
Chase earned around US$7 million per film at the peak of his career in the late eighties. He was a highly visible celebrity. Some of his early films are Foul Play and Oh Heavenly Dog. In 1985, he starred in Fletch, the first of two films based on Gregory McDonald’s Fletch books. Chase did the comedy film Three Amigos in 1986 with SNL veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short produced by Lorne Michaels. Chase hosted the Academy Awards for two consecutive years; 1987 and 1988.
At a time in his career, Chase had three consecutive flop films. Nothing But Trouble in 1991, 1992′s Memoirs of An Invisible Man and Cops and Robbersons in 1994.
He made guest appearances and starred in different TV series. He has guest starred on Law & Order, ABC’s drama series Brothers & Sisters. He had a recurring role on the NBC spy comedy Chuck. Chase has also lent his voice for an episode of Family Guy in 2009.
Chey Chase most recently starred in the NBC sitcom Community, as a business tycoon Pierce Hawthorne. Chase left the show in 2012 after he completed majority of the episodes of Season 4. He returned on the show for a cameo appearance in the Season 5 premiere.
WEALTH AND EARNINGS
Chevy owned a 12,000-sq ft, 10-bedroom estate in East Hampton, New York. It was 2.3 acre property, which he sold it to Rallye Motors founders, Peter and Julianna Terian, for $10.1 million.
Chase’s home in East Hampton
He owns a house in Bedford, New York. Recently, in 2013, Chevy Chase put his pool house in Mt. Kisco, New York, for rent. A large separate house and a pool house at 48 Fox Lane in Bedford Corners were put up for rent last summer. The main house rented for $20,000 a month while the pool house rents for $1,800.
Chevy Chase’s house in Mt. Kisco, New York
TRIVIA
Chase prefers to do family-oriented movies and has turned down roles in several films including the lead in American Beauty (1999).
Suffers from a fear of snakes.
Chase is a huge jazz fan.
At 6′ 4″, he was the tallest original Saturday Night Live cast member and was the first “tall guy” on the show.
He has streets named after him in Cochranton, Pennsylvania; Brea, California; Port Charlotte, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana.
He plays piano, drums and saxophone.
PERSONAL LIFE
Chevy Chase with wife Jayni Chase and one of their daughters
Chase has three daughters with wife Jayni Chase. He currently lives with wife Jayni in Bedford, New York.Chase has been married twice before; once to Susan Hewitt and the second time with Jacqueline Carlin.
He is an environmentalist and charity fundraiser. He raised money and campaigned for Bill Clinton in the 1990′s and John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election.
