Chevy Chase will be present at the screening of 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in Morsani Hall at Tampa’s Straz Center for the Performing Arts. The 81-year-old will be giving a talk about his experience playing Clark Griswold in the series and will attend to fans’ questions during the ensuing Q&A session.
With the Christmas holiday approaching, Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation remains one of the modern movies families watch year-on-year. It was a box office hit on release, grossing about $75 million against its $27 million budget. This made Christmas Vacation the highest-grossing installment of the National Lampoon vacation series.
Chevy Chase as ‘Christmas Vacation’s’ leading star
Before Christmas Vacation, He was a pioneering member of the Saturday Night Live show, as he was hired as a writer in 1974. He left SNL in season two after gaining acclaim as the debut season’s breakout star to focus on his film career.
Chevy Chase established himself as a comedy film actor, appearing in productions like Foul Play and Caddyshack before the offer for Christmas Vacation came along. He returned to SNL a few times as a guest host, his last being in 1997. He reportedly earned $6 million for playing Clark Griswold, which was a substantial part of the budget.
He is selling ‘Christmas Vacation’ boxes
Ahead of Sunday’s event, he has the 35th Anniversary ‘Christmas Vacation’ Legacy Box for sale on his website. The limited edition package contains a custom anniversary poster signed by him, limited-edition ornaments, seven trading cards, a pack of popcorn, and a deck.
There might also be another card signed by Chevy Chase himself or one of his co-stars. Each box costs $300, which is a steal compared to last year’s $500 package containing a single signed card and a scrap of his Land Shark costume from SNL season one.