Name: The Real Reason Chevy Chase Quit "Saturday Night Live" | Letterman
Uploaded: 2024-06-05T22:00:11.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Real Reason Chevy Chase Quit "Saturday Night Live" | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-06-05. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Real Reason Chevy Chase Quit "Saturday Night Live" | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2024-06-05. Transcript available.

Our first guest began his career on Saturday Night Live and went on to star in
many beloved
blockbuster motion pictures. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Chevy Chase.
Oh, nice to have you here. Good to have you. There you go.
That's very cute. You know, thank you. Do these glasses make you look heavy?
Hey, that's fine. You look fine. Don't worry about a thank you.
Thanks. I feel good. You know, um, a lot of people wonder, you know, what you
say, what
you whisper to people as they come in. Right. You usually greet them there.
Sure. And I might as well tell them. Go ahead.
That you always say, try not to make Schaefer look too funny.
I don't know.
But it never works. It never works.
Ah, every time. That's what he does.
So, uh, Gerald Ford, uh, passed away in, in the spring, I believe.
Really?
In a couple of weeks.
Yes, you're right.
A couple of weeks after that, I was, uh, looking through the, uh, the Saturday
Times,
I believe. And there was a lovely piece in the op-ed section about Gerald Ford
and his
life and your relationship with him, uh, written by yourself. And I thought it
was a wonderful
thing and a, and a very beautifully done. Thank you.
Yeah. Tell us about your written. Would you like to know about that experience?
Yeah, your, your friendship with Gerald Ford. Well, I mean, it wasn't, uh, uh,
uh, a long lasting
friendship, but, uh, uh, you know, uh, basically, uh, for those of you who were
live, uh, when I was
doing Saturday Night Live. Um, uh, I did, uh, I did, uh, uh, take offs on
Gerald Ford. I mean, I'd fall
down and I'd trip and this and that. And he was, he was, this president was, as
you know, the best
athlete of all the presidents who'd been, you know, you know, with the
exception of, of course, George
Bush, who, and, um, uh, excuse me. And, um, uh, we were, we, he invited, uh, me
and Janie to, uh, Janie's my
wife. Uh, he invited us to lunch and Janie and, uh, Betty, uh, were, uh, uh, at
the time, Betty was very
important and big. She had had breast cancer and been very open about it. And
she'd also, uh, uh, uh,
started the Betty Ford, uh, clinic for alcoholism. Uh, so she was drunk as a skunk.
No, no. Uh, they were doing a special on CBS on, on the, on the, uh, Betty Ford
story.
Uh, and, um, and, um, I was sitting at the table waiting for lunch with, uh,
the president
and, uh, uh, ex-president and, um, uh, my wife and Betty, we could all, all we
could see was their,
their asses. I mean, their, their bums. They're, you know, excuse the
expression.
Mm-hmm .
Why would I say that? And, uh, I would go crazy. And, um, uh, I, I said to the
president, uh, uh,
Uh, Mr. President, maybe we ought to, maybe we should help with, you know, they're
trying
to fix the tape machine. They got it working. It's one of these old, uh, two-inch
helical scan,
you know, like, 60 Bs. And, uh, and, um, uh, I started to stand up and he took
my arm and he said,
he said, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't. I'll get electrocuted and you'll be
picked up for murder.
Uh, that's, uh, but, you know, I mean, he was very, he was a very sweet man. I
just simply
didn't want him to be president at the time. And, uh, uh, at that time I was
doing, uh,
weekend update on Saturday Night Live. It was the first year and my only year,
by the way. And, um,
I was saying such things as, uh, you know, when Wallace was running against, uh,
Carter for the
nomination, uh, uh, such stories as, uh, the O'Donoghue one, which is, uh,
George Wallace
doesn't, uh, uh, doesn't judge, uh, a man according to the color of his skin.
He judges him according to
the size of his nostrils. And, you know, George Wallace was an ugly bigot from
the South at the time.
And, and, and you portrayed Gerald Ford as the guy who, as you mentioned,
falling down. And he,
he, he didn't care for it in the beginning, but then sort of kind of had to go
along with it,
didn't he? Well, yeah, I, I, and not only go along with it, but I, and Paul
will remember very well.
He tried to co-opt us by sending his press secretary, Ron Nesson, as a host, uh,
on the show.
Ron Nesson, that's correct. Yeah, press secretary, host Saturday Night Live.
His press secretary, yeah.
Yeah. You go figure. Yeah, go figure. And, um, no, no, and, um,
uh, that, uh, show, I simply played, uh, uh, scene that I had written with, uh,
Ron Nesson, uh, as my press secretary. And, uh, uh, I just made Ford look sillier,
you know? And, uh, eventually, uh, we did it again with Buck Henry. That one
got the Emmy for,
uh, a, a great show, uh, which is very important to me because, uh, you've got,
like, 27 Emmys. Oh, yeah. And I have three.
Where is the justice there, for God's sakes? I know, no.
Um, but it's, it's, uh, two things,
two things about this, uh, are interesting. Do you think the applause on a late
night show
is a little incommensurate with what's actually taking place? It's just two
guys,
two funny guys talking. Yeah. Yeah. People are like, hey, hey, hey. You think
it was, it was, it was the debates.
Uh, but it was. Hold your questions. Thanks, Wolf. It was, uh,
30 years ago. Is that right? Has it been 30 years ago since the first year of
Saturday Night Live?
Oh, gosh. Yeah. I was 12. Uh-huh. Uh. Wow. Yeah. It has been. You left your
paper route to go on.
30 years. And then you were only, you were only on, as you mentioned, only on
one season. Now,
why after, because the show and yourself received such tremendous acclaim in
its first year. Uh,
Paul, of course, was a part of that as well. Why did you decide that you would
leave the show after
just one year? Well, uh, Lauren was on the phone continually. Uh, in fact, I
remember giving him
mouth to mouth, uh, from OD'ing on the phone. Um, I just couldn't get a word in.
No, I, uh, the real reason,
uh, as it has not been publicized correctly, uh, was a girl. And, uh, everybody
on the show knew that,
particularly, uh, Lauren, with whom I shared everything. He's like a brother to
me. Uh, but
there was a girl who lived in Los Angeles who I was infatuated with and wanted
to marry. Uh, and, uh,
uh, she wouldn't move to New York. And, uh, when I say infatuated, I mean, I,
you know, uh, had an erection every day, all day, just thinking about it.
And, um, wow. Did you? You know, you do things. That's just a metaphor. Yeah.
That's a metaphor
for how, for what love feels like. I really shouldn't have said that word. Did
you notify,
did you notify your doctor because you're supposed to. Yeah, no, no. Let it
last.
Are you kidding? We couldn't fit in the same room. Anyway.
So, you know, I said to Lauren, she's not going to move. And, um, I'm sorry.
That's all right. And, uh, and, and I, I, she said, if I don't come back after
one year here,
uh, and I was the only one with the contract, um, I, I'm not going to marry you.
Uh, I'm going to go
out with Warren Beatty and people like that. And, uh, I, I went bats and I, I
really, uh, I really left
because of a girl. Wow. And then you actually married the woman. Is that right?
Yes, I did.
And it lasted about nine months. And, uh, she threw a hot iron at me and
various other things.
And, uh, it was really the wrong choice.
Yeah. Well, uh, but, uh, that, and, and, uh, many, many more fascinating
details about your life
and career contained, uh, here in the book. And, and this is, uh, an authorized
bio is a pack of lies.
And I, this one is a pack of lies. Yes. My apologies to James Leno for, uh, the
things I said about him.
Uh-huh. Uh, and, uh, but not to Rosie O'Donnell, uh, what we had was, uh, what
we had together
many years ago. You and, you and Rosie, really? Yeah. Uh, it was a partnership.
It was a very, uh,
tough parting for me. Okay. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. It's, uh, I'm Chevy
Chase and you're not,
and it's, uh, in bookstores now. I'm sure it'll be a big success. Chevy, always
a pleasure, my friend.
Always a pleasure, my friend. Always good to see you. Come back any time.
Chevy Chase, ladies and gentlemen.