Chevy Chase Trivia
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50 free Chevy Chase trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Chevy Chase trivia quiz covers the whole career of the comedian born Cornelius Crane Chase. It starts with the strange facts of his early life — the Steely Dan connection, the cow at Haverford, the admiral grandfather — then moves through Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update, the Gerald Ford pratfalls, the two Emmys and the fistfight with Bill Murray. From there it works through the films everybody quotes: Foul Play, Caddyshack, the five Vacation movies (the Family Truckster, Walley World, the Jelly of the Month Club), Fletch, Spies Like Us, ¡Three Amigos! and Funny Farm, plus the Oscar-hosting years, the five-week Fox talk show, the 1990s flops and the Community comeback as Pierce Hawthorne. About a third are easy for any 80s comedy fan; the rest go deep into the details. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia's articles on Chase and his films and the interviews they cite, and each explanation adds one more thing worth knowing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is Chevy Chase's real first name?
Cornelius
He was named for his adoptive grandfather Cornelius Vanderbilt Crane, heir to the Crane Company fortune.
Q 02Where did the nickname 'Chevy' come from?
An English ballad his grandmother liked
'The Ballad of Chevy Chase' seemed apt to a grandmother proud of her Clan Douglas descent.
Q 03Chase's grandfather, Rear Admiral Miles Browning, served on which carrier at Midway?
USS Enterprise
Browning was chief of staff of Task Force 16 aboard the carrier USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, serving under Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance.
Q 04At Bard College, Chase played drums in a band with two future founders of which group?
Steely Dan
The Leather Canary also featured Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who went on to found Steely Dan; Chase graduated from Bard in 1967 with a BA in English.
Q 05By a legend Chase himself half-confirmed, why was he thrown out of Haverford College?
Keeping a cow in his room
Keeping a cow in his room is the reason Chase himself has given for his Haverford expulsion, though the college and a former roommate say he simply left for poor grades.
Q 06Chase was the original anchor of which recurring Saturday Night Live segment?
Weekend Update
Chase anchored Weekend Update from SNL's October 1975 premiere; his sign-off, 'Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow', was later revived by Jane Curtin and Tina Fey.
Q 07Which US president did Chase famously portray on SNL as a bumbling klutz?
Gerald Ford
The impression, based on a real trip down the Air Force One steps, stuck to Ford despite his having been a college football star; the two later became friendly.
Q 08How many Primetime Emmy Awards did Chase win for his SNL work?
2
Chase won 2 Primetime Emmys for SNL, both in 1976: one as a supporting performer in a variety series and one shared with the show's writing team.
Q 09Chase was contracted to SNL's first season in what capacity, only joining the cast during rehearsals?
As a writer
Chase signed on for SNL's 1975 launch as a writer, not a performer, and was added to the on-air cast during rehearsals before the October premiere.
Q 10Chase left SNL in late 1976, saying the main reason was what?
His girlfriend would not move to New York
Chase said his girlfriend would not move to New York; he quit in November 1976 and moved to Los Angeles, marrying her, the actress Jacqueline Carlin, soon afterwards.
Q 11Which cast member replaced Chase on SNL when he left?
Bill Murray
Bill Murray joined the cast in January 1977 to fill the gap; the two came to blows backstage when Chase returned to host in 1978, then shared a scene in Caddyshack.
Q 12Which musician reportedly witnessed the 1978 backstage fistfight between Chase and his SNL replacement?
Billy Joel
Billy Joel was the musical guest on the February 1978 episode Chase returned to host, the night the two comedians scuffled backstage minutes before air.
Q 13Which Animal House role, written for him, did Chase turn down for a Goldie Hawn comedy?
Eric 'Otter' Stratton
Q 21The family's destination in Vacation gave rise to what real-life nickname?
'Wally World' for Walmart
'Wally World' for Walmart is the nickname, dropping the e from the film's Walley World theme park, whose closed gates greet the family at the end of the trip.
Q 22Who plays Clark's long-suffering wife Ellen across the Vacation films?
Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly D'Angelo played Ellen opposite Chase in every theatrical entry, from the 1983 original to a cameo in the 2015 reboot.
Q 23In Christmas Vacation, what does Clark receive instead of his expected bonus?
A Jelly of the Month Club membership
Eric 'Otter' Stratton was written with Chase in mind, but he chose to make the Goldie Hawn comedy instead and Tim Matheson took the part in 1978.
Q 14Chase's first film hit and Golden Globe-nominated role came in which 1978 comedy?
Foul Play
Foul Play grossed more than $44 million and earned Chase a Golden Globe nomination; he and Goldie Hawn reunited for Seems Like Old Times in 1980.
Q 15What is the name of Chase's laid-back golfer character in Caddyshack?
Ty Webb
Ty Webb, Chase's free-spirited club golfer who tells caddie Danny to 'be the ball', anchors Harold Ramis's 1980 film, which cost $6 million and grossed about $39 million.
Q 16What is the name of the country club in Caddyshack?
Bushwood
Bushwood Country Club is where Danny Noonan caddies while angling for the club's caddie scholarship under the eye of Judge Smails.
Q 17What is the name of the family Chase heads in the Vacation films?
The Griswolds
The Griswolds — Clark, Ellen, Rusty and Audrey — set out from suburban Chicago for Walley World, 'America's Favorite Family Fun Park', in the 1983 original.
Q 18Who wrote the screenplay for National Lampoon's Vacation, based on his own short story 'Vacation '58'?
John Hughes
John Hughes adapted his own short story 'Vacation '58', first printed in National Lampoon magazine in 1979, and Harold Ramis directed the 1983 film.
Q 19What is the ugly, oversized car Clark is forced to buy in Vacation?
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster, a pea-green station wagon with eight headlights, is forced on Clark after the dealer has his trade-in crushed before he can object.
Q 20Which supermodel made her acting debut in Vacation as the woman in the red Ferrari?
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley, then a top swimsuit model, made her screen debut as the flirtatious Ferrari driver Clark keeps meeting on the road; she reprised the role in Vegas Vacation (1997).
A Jelly of the Month Club membership arrives by courier in place of Clark's bonus, triggering his meltdown and Eddie's kidnapping of the boss, Frank Shirley.
Q 24Who plays Cousin Eddie, the unwelcome relative, in the Vacation films?
Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid plays Cousin Eddie, husband of Ellen's cousin Catherine, first met on a rundown Kansas farm where the family is saddled with Aunt Edna.
Q 25How many theatrical Vacation films did Chase play Clark Griswold in between 1983 and 2015?
5
Chase played Clark in 5 theatrical films: Vacation (1983), European Vacation (1985), Christmas Vacation (1989), Vegas Vacation (1997) and the 2015 reboot, where Ed Helms's grown-up Rusty takes the wheel.
Q 26Fletch (1985) was based on novels by which author?
Gregory Mcdonald
Gregory Mcdonald wrote the Fletch novels, beginning with the Edgar-winning Fletch in 1974; the film grossed more than $50 million and spawned Fletch Lives in 1989.
Q 27What is Fletch's full name?
Irwin M. Fletcher
Irwin M. Fletcher is the full name of the disguise-loving investigative reporter, who prefers to go by Fletch and files his column under the byline Jane Doe.
Q 28Which NBA player appears as himself in Fletch's dream of playing for the Lakers?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays himself in the dream sequence, with announcer Chick Hearn calling Fletch's play; the film is packed with nods to his beloved Lakers.
Q 29Which arrogant tennis-club member's tab does Fletch run up on lunches and cabana bills?
Ted Underhill
Ted Underhill is the boorish member Fletch hears berating a waiter, so Fletch bills his lunches and cabana to 'the Underhills' for the rest of the film.
Q 30Chase co-starred with which fellow SNL alumnus in the 1985 John Landis comedy Spies Like Us?
Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd, who also co-wrote the script, plays Austin Millbarge opposite Chase's Emmett Fitz-Hume, two low-level government clerks sent abroad as decoy spies.