SHOW: FOX WIRE (22:52)
November 30, 2002 Saturday
Transcript # 113005cb.262
SECTION: Entertainment LENGTH: 905 words HEADLINE: Is Chevy Chase Hated in Show Business? BYLINE: Brian Wilson, Bill McCuddy BODY: WILSON: As they are saying at Comedy Central, it hurts so good. And Chevy Chase is the subject of that pain. We are joined by the entertainment guy, Bill McCuddy, with more on the original "Saturday Night Live" star. And it is kind of -- sort of been a little troubling. BILL MCCUDDY, FOX NEWS ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you listen to his friends, it is a good thing they are not cloning him. He is Chevy Chase, and you are not. And according to the people I talked with, you should be very glad. Is Chevy Chase one of the most hated men in show business? Well, we retort, you decide. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCCUDDY (voice-over): They came to roast Chevy Chase, but where were the big names? Toastmaster Paul Schaeffer summed it up best in song. PAUL SCHAEFFER, TOASTMASTER (singing): We couldn't get anybody good. MCCUDDY: Back stage that was pretty much the feeling. But not everyone was kidding. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had some trouble finding people to come over here to roast Chevy Chase. Most people would just rather kill him. AL FRANKEN, WRITER/COMEDIAN: I guess there was a few people that had family commitments. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one from "Saturday Night Live" will be showing up. They'd be lucky to get people from "Mad TV" to show up here. TODD BARRY, COMEDIAN: His friends did stay home. They are conspicuously staying home. TONY WOODS, COMEDIAN: I was in Aspen, and I took a picture with him. That was about it, man. I don't know him, know him. When I show people the picture, I go, that's my man. MCCUDDY: You are like one of the few people here that actually have even met Chevy Chase. What's going on here tonight? LARAINE NEWMAN, SNL ORIGINAL STAR: Well, that's a good question. I am wondering that myself. EDDIE BRILL, COMEDIAN: You know, it's funny. This is the second time of roasting him, so I guess they didn't get it right the first time. MCCUDDY: Where are his friends? BRILL: They are not here. They all begged out. I don't know the guy, but I will tell you what. I have only heard negative things. KEVIN MEANY, ACTOR, COMEDIAN: Roger Ebert hates him. Said that -- you know, one time said that he was like a retarded man. That's his quote. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hitler has amused more people than Chevy Chase, actually. FRANKEN: Usually, when you do these, all the cheap shots at the guy, and the foibles, underneath that there is a real affection for the guy. In this case, there is none of that. So it's going to make it a lot harder. STEPHEN COLBERT, THE DAILY SHOW: Hope there is some sort of restraints in the chair, so he can't actually physically attack anyone. MCCUDDY: Are you happy that "The Daily Show" doesn't have to compete in late night against his talk show? COBERT: I think the fact that the talk show is not on the air is a blessing for all of us. MCCUDDY: When we talked to the man himself, he was ambivalent about the attendance, and the best selling "Saturday Night Live" book by Tom Shales that says he made more enemies than friends in show business. CHASE: I don't really care. I mean, I haven't yet seen a book that has been accurate about "Saturday Night Live," and for people to say anything mean about somebody else, it's kind of stupid. MCCUDDY: Isn't that the idea of a roast, Chevy? In the end, one colleague finally defended the guy. FRANKEN: He was the thing that really got SNL attention that first season. MCCUDDY: Sort of to the chagrin of some of the other players. FRANKEN: Yes, evidently. MCCUDDY: And even Chase got in the spirit of the evening. One roaster said they're just going to read from the new Tom Shales book. CHASE: Probably work. (END VIDEOTAPE) MCCUDDY: Probably would. You know, Mark Marin (ph) who was one on the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was complaining because Chevy said, well this is a bunch of nobodies. Said, well at least I am a nobody at the beginning of my career. It got a big laugh, and then a kind of an ooh in the audience. WILSON: Yes, there seemed a little meaning spirited. MCCUDDY: Well, you know, Brian, where were was Dan Aykroyd, where was Bill Murray, where was Dennis Miller? These are guys that according to the book, he's almost gotten into fistfights with back stage at "Saturday Night Live." So he is not a loved guy in show business, according to the Shales book, which is complete verbatims from many of the people who did show up, including Al Franken. Al said something nice about him to me back stage, but then in the book, he says, you know, Chevy is a very difficult guy to work with. WILSON: So, was there anything decent said about the guy during his roast? I mean anything nice at all? MCCUDDY: Laraine Newman had a couple of nice things, and so did Beverly DeAngelo who was in the "National Lampoon" movies with him. Other than that, no. WILSON: All right. Bill McCuddy. Fascinating. Thanks a lot. MCCUDDY: Sure. WILSON: Well, that's all the time we have left this evening. Rita Cosby will be back in this chair tomorrow. Her guests include Asa Hutchinson, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the newly appointed number three in the president's soon to be formed cabinet level Homeland Security Agency. This will be his first interview since that announcement. So join Rita tomorrow night, live, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, on the network America trusts for a fair and balanced news. I am Brian Wilson, have a good night, and of course, happy Hanukkah. Go back to the main page.
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