‘He has come back from the dead’: The comedy legend spent eight days in a medically induced coma during the health crisis.
Chevy Chase endured a “potentially fatal” cardiac event that led to him being put into an induced coma during the pandemic, according to a new documentary project about the American actor and comedian.
The film, titled I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, the star of films such as Caddyshack and the National Lampoon series, who emceed the Oscars twice, spent a total of five weeks in the medical facility.
“Something was wrong, and he couldn’t explain to me what was wrong. So, we went to the ER. His heart stopped. During those years he was drinking, he got cardiomyopathy; when the heart muscles get weaker, and they are unable to pump as much blood out with each beat.”
Medical professionals then put him into a state of unconsciousness for over a week, before cautioning his child, Caley: “His return is uncertain. We are unsure how cognizant he’ll be. Prepare yourselves for the worst.”
“When he woke up, all he could do was use his vocal cords,” she stated further. “He has essentially been resurrected.”
He himself has stated that he has experienced memory problems since his medical ordeal, and in the documentary he fails to recall some of his past on-set and backstage disputes, including a physical altercation with fellow comedian Bill Murray in a Saturday Night Live backstage area.
The comedian noted he was “upset” by his omission from the 50th anniversary special of SNL earlier this year, at which he was in attendance but not featured.
“Honestly, it was quite upsetting,” he said. “This is probably the first time I’m saying it. But I assumed that I should have been on the stage too with all the other actors. When co-stars Garrett and Laraine Newman went on the stage, I was wondering as to why I didn’t. No one asked me to. Why was I overlooked?”
Now 82, Chase, almost died in 1980 when he was subjected to an electrical shock on the set of Modern Problems, an accident which led to a period of severe depression.
