Chevy Chase was part of a landmark ensemble when "Saturday Night Live" started back in the 70's.
But Chase says the decision to have him add performing to his writing duties was a last minute decision by show creator Lorne Michaels.
Thanks to weekend update, Chevy Chase the writer became chevy Chase the performer 34 years ago.
"Lorne said, I'd like you to do (WEEKEND UPDATE)," Chase said recently. "I wasn't expected to be an actor".
But that decision sent chase down the road to stardom, both on saturday night live, and later in numerous feature films, including "foul play", "fletch" and the "national lampoon vacation" series.
Now, at age 65, Chase is doing something else he didn't expect---a sitcom.
"I'm just as happy being at home in the northeast with my family and retired, y'know," Chase said recently.
But NBC's "Community" lured Chase back to work.
"When I read the script, I really did laugh out loud," Chase said, "And I just had to be a part of it. I felt it was just too funny."
Chase plays a successful, but lonely entrepreneur who enrolls in community college and connects with a Spanish class study group.
"When they were shooting the pilot," said series star Joel McHale, "They'd go like, action, and I'd say, hey, you're Chevy Chase, this is crazy!"
"(Chase)'s a walking encyclopedia of television and film," said co-star Vyette Nicole Brown. "And he shares what he knows, which is amazing."
And while the "Community" set is much different from those rollicking days at "SNL",
"It's all the same in one sense," Chase suggested. "It's people getting together and having fun. I love these kids. I think they're all very good and we're already close."
And that makes the title "Community" even more appropriate.
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