Laughter kills lonesome. It's one of the great things in our lives.
— Chevy Chase
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?'
I was very involved in political satire, and I'd been writing parody for 'Mad' and 'National Lampoon,' so I made up some strange story about Gerald Ford.
I'm a New Yorker, and I live in the country.
When you stop to realize that Abraham Lincoln was probably never seen by more than 400 people in a single evening, and that I can enter over 40 million homes in a single evening due to the power of television, you have to admit the situation is not normal.
There was a whole slew of 'Cops and Robbersons,' just films that didn't measure up, that didn't stand for anything comedically. They were purely for a paycheck.
It's not like I am working with the great innovators of all time, but at the same time, they are my friends.
I turned down 'Forrest Gump.'
There's no vacation from being a parent.
I did very well when I was younger, and I am fine.
If you get 'hot,' everyone's nice to you.
For me, what makes you laugh makes you laugh.
It's incredible. Twenty-three minutes on the air, and I've got to shoot for twelve, fifteen hours a day. What the hell's that?
The raising of an eyebrow, how you do it; when you look, how you look. All those little things are physical.
Be Funny. Be naturally funny. If you're not, get out of the business. Be compassionate.
I did comedy and parody television in the '70s. I was a liberal Democrat, and it was a very heady year.
The idea of trying to write sketches the same way we did on Saturday Night Live every day would be damn near impossible.
It's so important, people laughing.
Damn, I had some great moves. I still have them; I'm just not using them at home a lot.
It wasn't as if I was simply some guy who had never seen the other side of the tracks.
If what you do in life is perform to open up eyes and minds, to make people laugh, then it better damn well be new! It shouldn't be just a repetitious 'Hey, I'm still here!'
Fame is a very unnatural human condition.
When I saw 'Caddyshack,' I realized I couldn't act.
I've been too funny in my life to have to play a character who's... moderately funny.
Break as few bones as possible and make as much noise as you can.
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.
Anything I have blown a lot of money on? Well, I have three daughters and a wife - that's four women, and I'm working on a sitcom, so you could say that I am just trying to stay alive!
Chaplin was my idol. I remember watching those movies at this little theater in Woodstock, N.Y., when I was probably 6 and laughing so hard at the surprises, like Keaton suddenly being dragged by a streetcar.
'Weekend Update' can be presented as a full 20-minute sketch, and there's a lot of room there.
Ideally, I'd like to go right back to getting $7 million a picture and being the headliner. That's probably not going to happen.
I've usually had two styles: the Fletch character and the Clark Griswold character.
All preconceptions when you laugh go out the window. Laughter kills it.
All those car battles with my brother Ned were excellent training. Even now, on the set, if we're getting into a vehicle, I'll yell 'shotgun' first. Thus forcing Steve Martin into the back of the car.
To me, talk shows are those things during the middle of the afternoon where the underbelly of society is made to look like Middle America.
Frank Capra's grandson was a second Assistant Director on 'Christmas Vacation.'
It was pretty clear that I was a funny guy, just as a guy.
Thank God I have the right friends.
I come from a much freer kind of performance thing, where I rely on my own improv and my own sense of humor.
Avoid fatty foods, Bensonhurst, and hair care products.
I'd never be tied down for five years interviewing TV personalities.
I turned down 'American Gigolo.' There are many films - like 'Ghostbusters' - that I turned down... The first one I did was 'Foul Play' with Goldie Hawn, but I turned down 'Animal House' - I turned that down.
It will eventually be discovered that the more you sleep, the healthier you are. Which means you'll really be at your healthiest when you pass away.
I prefer movies because the money is better and certainly because you really know where you stand when you are making movies, and I have made a lot of them: 50-something - I don't know.
Yes, I've seen Louis CK. I wouldn't in any way make a degrading remark about Louis CK, but the question is do I think anyone is funny? And the answer is not too many people. He might fit right in there.
It's about timing and rhythm. But who could be better than Chaplin or Keaton?
I have been asked to direct many times and usually said no.
For one thing, you need a lot of self-confidence to be on the top of your field. There are times probably where I appear to be over-confident or arrogant. It's really in the eye of the beholder.
I've always loved the 'Weekend Update' people.
Parodies came about because Mr. Ford was actually one of the better athletes of our presidents... but he continually had physical accidents... he was an easy target for me. The main idea was to get people laughing.
It seemed that my brother and I were always fighting in the back seat, and there was never any real reason for it.
