Chevy Chase experienced “near-fatal” heart failure, which landed him in a coma for eight days amid the pandemic, a forthcoming CNN Films documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not reveals.
The comedian’s daughter, Caley Chase, said her father had “basically come back from the dead.”
Though the contentious comic’s health scare was documented at the time in 2021, the severity of his prognosis was not made public. The Not Ready for Prime Time Players alum told Page Six that he had spent five weeks in the hospital and was convalescent.
Chase’s wife, Jayni, described in the doc: “Something was wrong, and he couldn’t explain to me what was wrong. So, we go to the ER. His heart stops. During those years he was drinking, he got cardiomyopathy; when the heart muscles get weaker, and they can’t pump as much blood out with each beat.”
A friend of the three-time Emmy winner’s, Peter Aaron, revealed medical professionals decided to place him into a coma for “maybe eight days.” He added, “That’s pretty rough on the body.”
Caley Chase indicated doctors “warned us: ‘We might not get him back. We don’t know how present he’ll be. Prepare yourselves for the worst.’ He woke up, all he could do was use his voice.”
Although the Caddyshack star ultimately recovered, he has since suffered “memory gaps” as a result of the medical trauma.
“According to the doctors, my memory would be shot from it,” the Community actor concurred. “That’s what’s happened here.” He added later, “I’m fine now. It’s just that it affects your memory, the doctors have told me that. So, I have to be reminded of things.”
As such, when asked to speak to his past controversies on set and reported difficult behavior, Chevy Chase noted he did not recall the incidents.
Elsewhere in the film, the National Lampoon star admitted he was “hurt” after being omitted from SNL50: The Anniversary Special. While the inaugural SNL Weekend Update anchor was in attendance, he did not join the stage during the celebratory extravaganza.
“Well, it was kind of upsetting actually,” he said. “This is probably the first time I’m saying it. But I expected that I would’ve been on the stage too with all the other actors. When [co-stars] Garrett [Morris] and Laraine [Newman] went on the stage there, I was curious as to why I didn’t. No one asked me to. Why was I left aside?”
