Cornelius Crane Chase was born October 8th, 1943 in New York, New York. Chase was the son of a plumbing-company heiress. He was nicknamed "Chevy" by his grandmother, after the wealthy Maryland community of the same name.
Chase attended Bard College and graduated with a BA in English. After graduation he worked at various jobs including a truck driver, bartender and tennis pro before seeking work as a comedy writer. Throughout his twenties he wrote for the Smothers Brothers, National Lampoon, and Mad magazine.
His performing career began with the New York based comedy video workshop, "Channel One" which evolved into the 1974 feature film Groove Tube. Chase's quick wit and flippant stage presence impressed producer Lorne Michaels into hiring him for the first season of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1975. Chevy and the new comedy show became an instant hit. Chase's spectacular slapstick falls, satirical "Weekend Update" news report, and impression of President Gerald Ford made him a star on the show. He left Saturday Night Live after only one season to pursue a movie career.
His success on the big screen has had its ups and downs. He appeared opposite Goldie Hawn in the 1980 hit Seems Like Old Times. The same year produced another victory for Chase. It was in the Caddyshack with fellow Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Murray. Unfortunately for every huge hit like National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and "Fletch" (1985) there were major bombs like Nothing But Trouble (1991) and Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992).
In recent years, Chase has chosen to work in family films, such as Man of the House (1995) and Snow Day (2000).
Chase has also made several television cameos - in 2006, he guest-starred as an anti-Semitic murder suspect in an episode of Law & Order, and as Sally Field's former love interest in the television drama Brothers & Sisters. In 2009, Chase appeared as a recurring villain in the spy sitcom, Chuck.
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