Chevy Chase
Parrots make great pets. They have more personality than goldfish.Collection: Funny
A laugh is a surprise. And all humor is physical. I was always athletic, so that came naturally to me.Collection: Humor
I was always the guy getting kicked out of my classes at school for having an attitude problem.Collection: Attitude
Comparing 'Christmas Vacation' to 'It's A Wonderful Life' is the silliest thing. That film starred the greatest movie actor of all time, and the idea that our movie could ever be connected in some fashion to something so brilliant and beautiful always made feel like, 'That's all they had to write about?'Collection: Christmas
It took me 20 years of making movies to learn how to do it.Collection: Movies
Once I got married and had kids, I moved away from romantic roles, because it seemed wrong to have my three-year-old wondering why Daddy was kissing someone else.Collection: Romantic
Let's not call physical comedy falling down and pratfalls. All humor is physical, no matter how you dish it out. It's timing, like a dancer or an athlete would have.Collection: Humor
Who made me laugh when I was growing was Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, and then moving on, there were so many that I was a writer for for many years: I was a writer for the Smothers Brothers, Lily Tomlin, then I started on 'Saturday Night Live' as the head writer the first year we started it.Collection: Moving
Frank Capra's grandson was a second Assistant Director on 'Christmas Vacation.'Collection: Christmas
All my children inherited perfect pitch.Collection: Funny
You may have read that I went to M.I.T. In 1982 I filled out a Who's Who survey with joking responses, and they never bothered to check the facts.
You can't observe as much if you're observed by others.
Live a life of grace. You'll be a better person for it, and so will your children.
I have three daughters. I wanted them to be raised where there are real seasons and where everyone their age wasn't trying to get into movies.
I've always loved the 'Weekend Update' people.
I learned a lot about handling fans from established stars.
Laughter kills lonesome. It's one of the great things in our lives.
The best advice I can give you about falling is to never land.
I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not.
Most of the films I've done were ruined in the postproduction, not during filming.
It's never a good idea for a celebrity to sign autographs or take pictures if a crowd is gathering.
I tell the person I won't take a picture or sign the autograph, but I will shake their hand. That kind of personal touch is all they're really seeking.
Every Vacation movie didn't just make the studio money. They each made the studio a lot of money.
With Clinton, there's no question that I would have made fun of his out-and-out lying. But he's also a good friend.
If you're in the White House, it's your house, and you can invite whatever friend you want.
Anyone who wants to run has to be a Jimmy Swaggart, minus the default.
I watched every single Charlie Chaplin film.
The fact was, Ford kept stumbling around. I didn't want him in the White House. I wanted Carter in, and I had a forum of 20 million people watching.
We never could have performed live for an hour and a half every week if we were doing drugs.
I made about 28 movies, and I think about five of them were good.
They can't make any of these talented young actors Fletch. You might as well make a movie called Chevy Chase.
There are very few solid family films. A lot of the writing is awful.
I think the Clintons are brilliant. I've never met a person as intelligent as Bill, and I think Hillary is right up there with him. They're too smart for Washington.
The first thing that happens is that you're overwhelmed by so much attention. It's just so unnatural. Only people who've been in that position can realize what it's like. I mean, you have to be there.
Television doesn't make stars. It's the written media, the press, that makes stars.
The best comedy I ever did was when people didn't know who I was.
I don't know if my looks will ever get any better, but my pratfalls sure won't.
Last good pratfall I did, I broke bones in both hands. I still feel it when people shake my hand.
I just went into this business for laughs. I guess I don't mind being an actor so much now.
I guess I look so straight and normal, nobody expects me to pick my nose and fall.
My father was the funniest guy I ever met. I'm not sure if I stole his stuff or if I inherited it.
You could knock my teeth out and break my nose, and there'd be something funny about it to me.
I am just happy that I have children. I don't care what they want to do!
I would love to do a movie with Albert Brooks; we're so different, but I find him so funny, and I can be just as seemingly narcissistic as he comes off, the 'it's all about me' kind of thing.
Any good actor has to have a good sense of humour, too; they have to be able to manipulate people.
What interests me is being alive and being with friends that I care about and being as creative as I can given circumstance.
In this business, you can come and go in a second.
Nobody prepares you for what happens when you get famous, and I didn't handle it well.
I was a young, new, hot star, and I had this unbelievable arrogance. As time went on, the strident narcissism and arrogance slowly diminished. But I was definitely there. I'm older now. And a big crybaby.
I really love making movies. I just have this yearning in my stomach to go back and somehow subversively screw up television a little bit again.