Chevrolet Chase Documentary Reveals Truth Behind Family Intervention

Chevy Chasespent decades carrying the label of one of Hollywood’s most difficult personalities, and now that reputation is being revisited. In the new Hulu documentary “I’m Chevy Chase And You’re Not,” the legendary comedian’s third wife, Jayni Chase, talks about the intervention that shook their family, the addictions that fueled years of explosive behavior and the childhood trauma that she says shaped the man behind the controversies. At 82, Chase, best known as Clark Griswold in the “National Lampoon” films and as one of the original stars of “Saturday Night Live,” faces decades of public backlash, strained relationships and personal demons that pushed him from Hollywood favorite to industry pariah in the mid-1980s.

Jayni Chase pushes back against Chevrolet Chase’s ‘A-Hole’ reputation

Jayni, who married Chevrolet in 1982, doesn’t shy away from criticism, but she doesn’t accept it either. “If Chevrolet says something and you’re offended, it’s a little more your fault than him,” she said in the documentary.

Describing her husband as a risk-taker rather than a villain, Jayni suggested that much of his famous frankness has been misunderstood. “You can’t get to where he got to without taking risks,” she explained. “So call him back and have a sense of humor. He’s not an asshole, and neither are you.”

Chase’s wife reveals childhood abuse that haunted him long before fame

According to Jayni, Chevrolet’s behavior didn’t come out of nowhere. It started long before fame. She recounts a scary moment early in their relationship when she tried to wake him up. “The first time we stayed together, the first time I went to wake him up, he shivered,” she remembers.

Chase explained that his mother used to wake him up by slapping him, admitting, “Ever since he was little: Wham!”

The film also details abuse from his stepfather, John Cederquist, who Chevy said would force him into the basement as punishment and beat him during breakfast.

Inside Chevrolet Chase’s Battle With Addiction

Jayni admits she didn’t initially understand the severity of Chevrolet’s problems with cocaine and alcohol until the signs became impossible to ignore. “I realized he was getting a six-pack of organic red wine, and after about four days it was gone,” she said.

When she raised her concerns, Chevrolet resisted. “I reported it to Chevrolet probably five different times, and he brought it back. And then he didn’t like me pointing it out to him because the beast of addiction starts to take over.”

Jayni is clear, however, that the man viewers see in the documentary is not the same person he was decades ago. “People grow up,” she said. “No one is the same person they were 30 years ago.”

The intervention that forced Chase to confront his addiction

Jayni also opened up about when things reached a breaking point behind the scenes. At 68, she revealed she finally staged an intervention for her husband, confronting him directly about his drug addiction.

During the intervention, Chevrolet admitted to having a drug problem and agreed to seek help. The former “Saturday Night Live” star checked into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., although her stay was brief. According to the documentary, Chase left the facility after just one week.

Chevrolet’s brother, Ned Chase, also appears in the documentary and recalls a moment that showed how normalized drug use had become during that time. Describing a night out in Los Angeles, he said the scene was unforgettable. “There were about six to eight of us around the table, and the only person I knew was Chevrolet,” Ned recalls. “But in the center of the table there was a lazy Susan, and there was some sort of pyramid. That pyramid was cocaine.”

Ned’s story paints a sobering picture of the environment surrounding Chase during his rise to fame, one that many fans were unaware of.

Chevy Chase’s past rehab stints add context to his long battle with addiction

In 1986, Chase went to the Betty Ford Center to seek treatment for an addiction to prescription painkillers. According to PEOPLE, at the time, his then-agent, Pat Kingsley, told the New York Times that the actor had developed an addiction linked to chronic, long-term back problems, a condition that led to a heavy reliance on prescribed medications.

Nearly three decades later, Chase returned to treatment, this time for alcohol use. In 2016, he entered Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota. His publicist, Heidi Schaeffer, described the move to CBS News as a proactive step, calling it a “focus” in Chase’s ongoing recovery.

“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” is now streaming on Hulu.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).