Chevy Chase has stories — and sometimes he’s in the mood to tell them.
The notoriously prickly comedian appeared on Bill Maher’s Club Random_podcast __ on Thursday and talked about his long-spanning career, includinghis days on _Saturday Night Live. He was an original cast member — alongsidethe likes of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd — and “Weekend Update” host, buthopped during season two to do movies. He came back to host the show manytimes.
Chase, 79, had fresh stories to tell about Aykroyd, having wrapped the film_Zombie Town_ a week earlier. “He’s just wonderful,” he said of his long-timepal. He called him the “resident genius of Saturday Night Live and __ “theguy who got along with everyone.”
That led to older tales — from during that storied time — involving Belushi,who Chase claims stole his drugs on the set of the NBC sketch show. Belushiappeared on SNL until 1979. He died of a drug overdose in 1982 when he wasjust 33.
“I’m just remembering John and his f***ing drug problem,” Chase said, “butback then the big drug was cocaine. Obviously John turned out to be coke head,but I had a little jar of cocaine with a little spoon that hung from it. I hadit on the piano of the stage. So I’m just playing the piano, the crowd isn’tin yet, and it’s just sitting. After I played just a little bit, it’s gone.Obviously I was looking at my hands at the moment that John swooped in andtook it. “No, what are you talking about?”
Chase said a month later he was “invited to dinner at John and [his wife]Judy’s apartment and I see my little vial, empty and washed, just sitting on ashelf by the books.”
Chevy Chase as Leonard Nimoy’s Spock and John Belushi as William Shatner’sCaptain Kirk on SNL in May 1976. (Photo: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal viaGetty Images via Getty Images)
Seeing what happened to his friend, he said, “I’m so glad I just put thatstuff aside.”
He also spoke about finding out about Belushi’s overdose on March 5, 1982.
Story continues
“Jayni, my wife, and I were in our house and there was knock on the door,” hesaid. “I opened the door and there was it seemed like 12 news people. ‘How doyou feel about the death of John?’ I didn’t know yet that John Belushi died.It just shocked me. There I was stuck with these people … What a horriblething.”
the fletch and Vacation star referred to Belushi as one of his “bestfriends” and said losing him was “awful.”
Chevy Chase and John Belushi at the NBC Studios in New York in 1976. (Photo:Michael Tighe/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images)
Chase has spoken about his own substance abuse problems. He went to rehab in1986 for pain killer addiction. In 2010, he told Esquire , “I never shotthings up or freebased. I was pretty low-level when it came to drug abuse. Ichecked myself into the Betty Ford Clinic after my nose started to hurt.” In2016, after Community , a TV run that didn’t end well, he checked into aMinnesota addiction center for alcohol abuse. In 2018, he told the WashingtonPost he was sober.
Earlier this year on CBS Sunday Morning, Chase was asked about his SNL_days and his professional rivalry with Belushi. They had worked togetherbefore SNL on _National Lampoon: Lemmings, had different looks and styles ofcomedy. Each also thought he was the better of the two. However, Chase’s starrose quicker.
“I got a couple of photos and in the background there’s John giving me thefinger,” Chase said. “And he didn’t do it just once.” As for becoming thestandout faster, he said he didn’t think it was odd, quipping, “I felt prettystrongly that I was the funniest.” He added that he left the show because he”hated it.”
Despite the rivalry, which was even worked into SNL sketches, Belushi’s wifesaid in the book Live From New York, “_John and Chevy were alwaysantagonistic _and friends. It was a love hate kind of thing. They workedtogether well when they were trying to.”
Chase’s flick with Aykroyd, zombie town, is mystery teen romance based onauthor RL Stine’s book of the same name, directed by Peter Lepeniotis. It alsostars Henry Czerny, Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe. It’s expected to premierein theaters before streaming on Hulu.
He is not, however, appearing in the Community movie.