Chevy Chase Doesn't Have Anything Nice to Say About 'Saturday Night Live'
by EG
Saturday Night Live has always, even in its earliest days, been inconsistent in its quality, but Chevy Chase, who left the show after its first season, thinks he was the pinnacle of its success. He doesn't think Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Eddie Murphy or anyone else has been as funny as he was 40 years ago. Read on for more of his thoughts.
Via Deadline.
Safe to say that when NBC’s Saturday Night Live returns later this month for its 44th season, Chevy Chase won’t be watching, or at least not with any enthusiasm.
In a lengthy, candid (read: pretty nasty) interview posted today by the Washington Post, SNL‘s first break-out star has some harsh words for his old TV home. “First of all, between you and me and a lamppost, jeez, I don’t want to put down Lorne or the cast,” Chase says, “but I’ll just say, maybe off the record, I’m amazed that Lorne has gone so low. I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn’t f*cking believe it. That means a whole generation of sh*theads laughs at the worst f*cking humor in the world.”
He continues, “How could you dare give that generation worse sh*t than they already have in their lives? It just drives me nuts.”
The WaPo article is headlined “Chevy Chase Can’t Change” (subhead: “The 74-Year-Old Comedy Star Is Sober And Ready To Work. The Problem Is Nobody Wants To Work With Him.”
SNL, which earlier this week won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, has been going “downhill” since Chase left in 1977, if Chase says so himself. “Why am I saying that?,” Chase asks. “Because I was in it? I guess. That’s a horrible thing to say. But certainly I never had more fun. I really loved it and enjoyed it. I didn’t see the same fun thing happening to the cast the next year.”
Chase gets specific, too.
Will Ferrell: “Just not funny.”
Tina Fey: “I didn’t see what all the folderol was about.”
Kristen Wiig: “She had two things going for her. She had clear-cut chops, and she was pretty, too. But what happened to her? Where did she go?”
Eddie Murphy: “I thought Eddie Murphy was funny. Gumby. I found that funny and people loved that. . . . Stevie Wonder, he did well. It’s not that hard, for Christ’s sake. Your skin’s the same color. You just put on some sunglasses and do this.”
Chase isn’t entirely dismissive, though, praising his old Not Ready For Primetime Players co-horts Gilda Radner and Dan Aykroyd (“funniest guy on the show”), as well as Dana Carvey.
Get the rest of the story at Deadline.
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