Funnyman Chevy Chase wasn’t laughing in 2021, when he was revived from the dead, a new documentary reveals.
“He has basically come back from the dead,” Chase’s daughter Caley Chase says, when explaining why her father “doesn’t remember certain things,” in I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, which debuts on CNN on Jan. 1.
While news of Chevy’s hospitalization did come out at the time, the degree of its severity was not known. In the film, Caley and Chevy’s wife, Jayni Chase, share more surprising details about the actor’s health scare.
“He had heart failure,” Caley continues.
In a separate interview, Jayni explains that her husband felt “something was wrong, but he couldn’t explain what was wrong.” During a visit to the ER, the Caddyshack star’s heart stopped.
Jayni continues, “During those years he was drinking, he got cardiomyopathy.” She explains that with weakened heart muscles, the heart can’t pump as much blood with each beat.
Chevy’s longtime pal Peter Aaron says the decision was made to put him into a coma, which lasted eight days. “That’s pretty rough on the body,” Aaron adds.
Caley says, “The doctor had warned us we might not get him back: ‘We don’t know how present he’ll be. Prepare yourselves for the worst.’ He woke up, all he could do was use his voice.”
She imitates the unusual sounds he made, which she describes as a “new birth.” Later, when a nurse came in to “switch some stuff up” and said she had to “put this in here,” Chevy joked, “That’s what she said,” to the relief and amazement of his daughter.
The documentary chronicles the life and career of the contentious comedian and three-time Emmy winner from his musician days (including an early association with Steely Dan), his time at Saturday Night Live, his successful films like Seems Like Old Times and Fletch, to a revival of sorts on the series Community. The film also boasts new interviews with Goldie Hawn, Martin Short, Garrett Morris, and many others.
As a result of the incident, Chase suffers from memory gaps, which becomes something of a hurdle in the film when director Marina Zenovich probes Chase on his reputation for being difficult, particular incidents with SNL performer Terry Sweeney, and the conclusion of his work on Community.
Elsewhere in the film, Chase says it was a mistake for him to leave Saturday Night Live midway through its second season and pursue a film career. He also says he was hurt that he was excluded from the big SNL50 celebration in early 2025.
Zenovich’s previous celebrity documentary subjects include Robin Williams, Roman Polanski, Richard Pryor, Lance Armstrong, theater director Robert Wilson, politician Jerry Brown, and hijacker D.B. Cooper.
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