In a revealing new documentary about his life and career, actor Chevy Chase claims he was physically abused as a child by his mother and stepfather.
In a new documentary about his life and career, the famous American comedian Chevy Chase claims that he was physically abused as a child by his mother and stepfather, writes Variety.
In I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, which premiered Jan. 1 on CNN, Chase recounted being beaten, locked in a closet, and repeatedly violently awakened.
Chase’s parents divorced when he was about 4 years old, and both quickly remarried. He described his stepfather, John Cederquist, as “humorless“. The actor’s half-brother, who is also called John Cederquist, told for his part in the documentary: “My father had fits of sudden anger and could strike with one stroke… He did not tolerate anything that he perceived as insolence. Chevy was insolent.”
Chase’s wife, Jayni, reported that the first time she stayed overnight with him and woke him up, he “startled violently.” “He explained to me: “Well, my mother used to wake me up by slapping me”. Since he was very small, poc!”.
Chase’s mother, Cathalene Browning, is described in the documentary as “total chaos, definitely somewhere on the schizoid spectrum’.
“She was a woman completely out of control, and looking back I can say I feel sorry for her”Chase said. “She had her own problems – serious ones. But she was physically abusive to me,” he continued.
Those close to Chase say the trauma shaped his sense of humor
Chase detailed an incident where he and Ned were having breakfast and their stepfather came downstairs “and he started slapping me on the back of the headNed recalled: “I stood up and made it clear that it didn’t seem like a good time for corporal punishment. And John Cederquist sat down, and I sat down.”
“I knew then that Ned was on my side,” Chase said. “It was an important moment for us.”
Chase’s family and friends described in the documentary how the trauma influenced his comedy as a “survival mechanism” and how it may have contributed to his struggles with depression later in life.
“He molded him. He used comedy, he used humor as a way to mask what was going on inside him. And that continued. It continues today.”said Emily Chase, his youngest daughter. “He’ll be joking from morning till night, and you won’t know what’s really going on. … That’s how he always dealt with the problems in his life”she added.
The documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not is not currently available on the streaming platforms available in Romania, although it is possible that it will be released at a later date on HBO Max, given that CNN is part of the wider Warner Bros Discovery conglomerate that also owns HBO until the acquisition by Netflix is completed.
