Chase Scene

Chevy Chase turns 70 today.  Years ago, people found it hard to believe he had the same name as the suburb of Washington, D. C.  Now they're surprised to find there's a place that shares the name with the celebrity.

Chase did great work as a writer and performer for National Lampoon's radio and theatre shows, but rocketed to fame the first year Saturday Night Live aired (even though he was originally meant to be just on the writing staff). He soon left and became a movie star, which lasted about fifteen years, twenty if you want to be generous.

He also hosted a talk show in 1993 that was one of the all-time flops. He kept working, making films no one saw, often not even released in theatres.  In the last several years he was a regular on one of the great sitcoms, Community, even if he never appreciated it, putting it down regularly and eventually quitting.

But today I want to look at the musical Chevy, who once even played in a band with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen before they founded Steely Dan.