Early in the second season of Saturday Night Live, Chevy Chase decided to leave the show. He moved to Hollywood and almost immediately became one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He made a lot of money and became incredibly famous, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have regrets. In fact, he was hit with a wave of them when he walked back into Studio 8H for a photography session with other legends to celebrate the show’s 40th Anniversary.
It brought back a lot of pleasant memories, but one thing that struck Chase was how few pictures he was in on the wall. Because he left so soon, he missed out on so many memories and so many moments the other castmembers like Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi got to have.
It was just great being back up there in 8H, wishing my picture were up on the wall more. I couldn’t find it… There were pictures of people I’d never seen before!”
On the face of it, the above quote is at least partially a joke, but beneath the smile, there actually does seem to be some regrets. Chevy Chase made a ton of great movies. Vacation, The Three Amigos and Caddyshack are among the most beloved comedies ever, but whenever, God forbid, he passes away, the obituaries will still likely cite him as Saturday Night Live cast member first. That’s how important the show is to the cultural landscape, and that’s how much people loved Chevy Chase, especially during his “Weekend Update” segments, which continue to this day.
You can watch Chase wax nostalgic about his time on the show in the touching interview on Today below…
You never know how long the special moments in life are going to last, and you never know whether the next thing will be better or worse. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take chances and alter courses, but it does mean you should enjoy the good moments for every second you’re living in them. After all, you may look back and talk about the same year of your life for forty years.
