Chevy Chase to Talk ‘Christmas Vacation’ at Sunday Event • St. Pete Catalyst

Comedic actor Chevy Chase performs Sunday in Morsani Hall at Tampa’s Straz Center for the Performing Arts. He will follow a screening of the 1989 film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacationthe third (and most successful) in a series in which he played Clark Griswold, the grumpy head of a Midwestern suburban family.

Chase, 81, will share his memories of making the film and follow a Q&A with an audience. Departure time is 19:30

Cory Michael Smith portrayed Chase in Jason Reitman’s 2024 film Saturday eveningabout the early days of television’s pioneers Saturday Night Live; Chase was hired as a writer in 1974 and became the breakout star of the debut season.

He became the first of dozens of SNL alumni to leave for a career in the movies; for a few years he was one of America’s top draws.

Like all Not Ready For Prime Time players who followed a similar trajectory, Chase made some great movies (Caddyshack, Fletchthe first and the third Holiday movies) and some real stinkers (Memories of an invisible man, nothing but trouble, spying on us).

Of the latter opus from 1985, Washington Post stated, “That Chase is terrible is no surprise – he’s been idling around for years with variations on the tired ‘I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not’ riff.”

Four years laterNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was no. 1 at the box office for two weeks and earned $72 million in theaters.

However, film critic Roger Ebert gave it the old thumbs down. “The film is curious about how close it comes to delivering on its material: sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material to be well on its way to a payoff, and then somehow it doesn’t work ,” he wrote.

Through home video and streaming, the film has gained a reputation as something of an enduring Christmas classic. “Sure, it’s crude, episodic, and half the jokes don’t work, but Christmas holiday may be the only modern Christmas comedy that really holds up to repeat viewings,” said TimeOut.com.

The homepage Cracked.com has a certain fault with something-or-other about mr. Chase. For a story published Nov. 21 titled “Is Chevy Chase King of the Comedy Cash Grab?,” writer Matt Solomon went to great lengths to describe 35th Anniversary Christmas Vacation Legacy Box LIMITED EDITION, available on the comedian’s website.

Included are seven trading cards, a custom anniversary poster signed by Chase, two limited edition ornaments, a set of cards, a bag of popcorn and a card possibly autographed by Chase or one of the film’s co-stars (from Beverly D’Angelo to Juliette Lewis, or even the relatively unemployed Randy Quaid).

The box retails for $300, and what exactly it doesn’t contain is a replica Christmas holiday in any home video format.

In 2023, Cracked reported that Chase was selling – at $500 per pop – small cards with his autograph and a piece of the “Land Shark” costume he wore during his single season on SNL.

According to several online sources (including Cracked), Chase’s net worth is $50 million.

Tickets for Sunday’s event are available here.