Top 60 Chevy Chase Quotes

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?

I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.

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.

I turned down ‘Forrest Gump.’

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.

It seemed that my brother and I were always fighting in the back seat, and there was never any real reason for it.

It’s never a good idea for a celebrity to sign autographs or take pictures if a crowd is gathering.

I made about 28 movies, and I think about five of them were good.

I’ve usually had two styles: the Fletch character and the Clark Griswold character.

There are very few solid family films. A lot of the writing is awful.

My father was the funniest guy I ever met. I’m not sure if I stole his stuff or if I inherited it.

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.

Last good pratfall I did, I broke bones in both hands. I still feel it when people shake my hand.

Parrots make great pets. They have more personality than goldfish.

Break as few bones as possible and make as much noise as you can.

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.

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!’

The raising of an eyebrow, how you do it; when you look, how you look. All those little things are physical.

Damn, I had some great moves. I still have them; I’m just not using them at home a lot.

It’s so important, people laughing.

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.

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.

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.

Thank God I have the right friends.

Frank Capra’s grandson was a second Assistant Director on ‘Christmas Vacation.’

I learned a lot about handling fans from established stars.

I watched every single Charlie Chaplin film.

All my children inherited perfect pitch.

I guess I look so straight and normal, nobody expects me to pick my nose and fall.

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!

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.

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.

I’d never be tied down for five years interviewing TV personalities.

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 come from a much freer kind of performance thing, where I rely on my own improv and my own sense of humor.

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.

A laugh is a surprise. And all humor is physical. I was always athletic, so that came naturally to me.

‘Weekend Update’ can be presented as a full 20-minute sketch, and there’s a lot of room there.

You can’t observe as much if you’re observed by others.

In this business, you can come and go in a second.

If you’re in the White House, it’s your house, and you can invite whatever friend you want.

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 been too funny in my life to have to play a character who’s… moderately funny.

It was pretty clear that I was a funny guy, just as a guy.

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.

I think I need to be taken away, dropped in some territory with just a lot of loud guys.

Live a life of grace. You’ll be a better person for it, and so will your children.

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.

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.

If you get ‘hot,’ everyone’s nice to you.

Television doesn’t make stars. It’s the written media, the press, that makes stars.

What’s funny is funny. The same thing that made you laugh a hundred years ago makes you laugh now.

Anybody can reach anywhere from five to 15 million people weekly making a president look like an idiot, as I did back then, or Tina Fey did with Sarah Palin… You’re always preaching to the choir one way or the other.

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.

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.

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.

Any good actor has to have a good sense of humour, too; they have to be able to manipulate people.

I’ve always loved the ‘Weekend Update’ people.

It’s about timing and rhythm. But who could be better than Chaplin or Keaton?

When I saw ‘Caddyshack,’ I realized I couldn’t act.