National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Chevy Chase (Actor) .. Clark W Griswold Jr

Born: October 08, 1943 in New York

Best Known For: Saturday Night Live and Caddyshack.

Early-life: Born Cornelius Crane Chase on October 8, 1943, in New York. His grandmother gave him the nickname Chevy after an old English ballad. His writer father and concert pianist mother divorced when he was four, and Chase claims that growing up, he was physically and verbally abused by his mother and stepfather. Chase went on to study English at Bard College, New York, but also had a keen interest in music - he was in a jazz band with two future members of Steely Dan, and in 1969 recorded an album with the group Chameleon Church. He also worked at a succession of jobs ranging from taxi driver to fruit picker before finding his niche as a comedian and writer.

Career: After writing for TV and magazines, Chase's big comedy break came when he joined the cast of the National Lampoon Radio Hour in 1973, working alongside Bill Murray and John Belushi. However, it was Saturday Night Live that turned him into a US star when he appeared on the first series in 1975. Movie success soon followed thanks to films like Caddyshack, Fletch and National Lampoon's Vacation, but his star waned during the 1990s after a string of flops and the failure of his self-titled talk show. Chase returned to TV in 2006 when he appeared in an episode of Law & Order. Since then, he has guest-starred in Brothers & Sisters and Chuck, and starred in NBC sitcom Community.

Quote: "My father was the funniest guy I ever met. I'm not sure if I stole his stuff or if I inherited it."

Trivia: In 1986, Chase attended the Betty Ford Clinic for treatment of an addiction to prescription painkillers.

Beverly D'Angelo (Actor) .. Ellen Griswold

Born: November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio

Best Known For: Playing Ellen Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation and three sequels.

Early-life: Beverly Heather D'Angelo was born on November 15, 1951. Her father Gene was General Manager of a TV station in their home state of Ohio, her mother was an amateur violinist and her brother Jeff is a musician. She studied visual arts and was an exchange student in Italy, and studied opera with Edward Johnson, ex-director of New York's Metropolitan Opera, before joining the Hanna-Barbera studios as a cartoonist. She got her acting break in the 1976 TV series Captains and the Kings.

Career: D'Angelo hasn't been out of work since that first job. She steadily built up her profile, but the 1980 drama Coal Miner's Daughter, in which she sang all the songs, propelled her into superstardom. She gained more acclaim with the 1984 production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Over the years, the actress has created an eclectic CV of film roles, including the National Lampoon Vacation films, Lansky and Women in Film. Her small screen credits include Frasier, The Simpsons and Entourage.

Quote: "To become a star is the beginning of the end. I don't really want to be saddled with a screen persona."

Trivia: D'Angelo is an accomplished and respected singer.

Randy Quaid (Actor) .. Eddie

Miriam Flynn (Actor) .. Catherine

Johnny Galecki (Actor) .. Rusty Griswold

Born: April 30, 1975 in Bree, Belgium

Best Known For: Playing Leonard in The Big Bang Theory.

Early-life: Born John Mark Galecki on April 30, 1975, in Bree, Belgium. His mother was a mortgage consultant and his father was in the US air force, before becoming a rehab teacher for blind war veterans. The family moved back to America when Johnny was three. He got his first acting role in 1987, in the made-for-TV movie Time Out for Dad, which was the first of several bit parts in a variety of TV projects. Johnny debuted on the big screen as River Phoenix's brother in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon in 1988.

Career: Four years later, he landed what would become his big break - the role of David in hit comedy series Roseanne. He played the articulate but unworldly lad for five years. This led to a series of similar parts, this time on the big screen, in movies such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Opposite of Sex. His CV also includes appearances in Vanilla Sky, My Name is Earl, Hancock and Table for Three. In 2006, he took to the stage in a Broadway production of The Little Dog Laughed (which also featured his first nude scene). He returned to the small screen for the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Quote: "Right now, I'm very healthy. I have no vices left. Except sugary breakfast cereal. And absinthe, of course."

Trivia: In 2014, he was reportedly earning $1million per episode for The Big Bang Theory.

Juliette Lewis (Actor) .. Audrey Griswold

Born: June 23, 1973 in Los Angeles

Best Known For: Cape Fear

Early-life: Born June 23, 1973, in Los Angeles. She is one of actor Geoffrey Lewis's 10 children. Her mother is a graphic designer. She knew she wanted to act from an early age, and began gaining professional work at 12. Having to attend school and parental pressure meant she had to turn down lots of roles, so she became legally emancipated at 14, which meant she was free of child labour laws and could accept acting jobs. She eventually completing her school exams with help from a tutor.

Career: Lewis's TV debut came in TV movie Home Fires in 1987, and later the same year she had a recurring role in the series I Married Dora. Her first film was 1988's My Stepmother is an Alien. Projects such as National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Too Young to Die? and A Family for Joe followed. She had a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination in 1991 for Cape Fear. She's since appeared in Husbands and Wives, Kalifornia, Romeo is Bleeding, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Natural Born Killers, Strange Days, From Dusk Till Dawn and Starsky & Hutch.

Quote: "I'm naturally kind of ridiculous. I don't take myself or others too seriously."

Trivia: She's tours with her band, The Licks.

John Randolph (Actor) .. Clark W Griswold Snr

Diane Ladd (Actor) .. Nora Griswold

William Hickey (Actor) .. Uncle Lewis

Jeremiah S Chechik (Director)

01:10 am - 02:55 am, Today on Sky Cinema Christmas (502)

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