At 74 years old, Chevy Chase is not a baby boomer. However, our generation knows him well, whether you personally are a fan of his or not.

Chase rapidly shot to fame in 1975 when he starred as one of the original cast members in the first season of Saturday Night Live. Chase was an immediate hit, with New York magazine calling him the "The funniest man in America" and NBC executives referring to him as "The first real potential successor to Johnny Carson". When Rolling Stone appraised all the SNL cast members to date in 2015, ranking Chase 14th, it admitted that Chase was probably under-rated, as it took the actor only one season to essentially define the franchise's style of humor.

He may have had a little help developing that style. A little tidbit that many might not know is his connection to Doug Kennedy, the writer and actor who cofounded the National Lampoon Magazine. Good friends with Chase, some credit Kennedy for helping launch the star's career. If you're unfamiliar with Kennedy, he was the subject of a recent film, A Futile and Stupid Gesture. The film takes you behind the scenes and interestingly connects the National Lampoon world to the Saturday Night Live world, Chase being involved in both. Chase is portrayed in the film as a young star, so if you're a fan of his, check this movie out for a neat little throwback.

While Chevy Chase has had a long, successful career, a few years ago controversy struck that caused Chase to say, "Well there goes my career." The Washington Post recently published a lengthy and comprehensive article about not only that incident, but what led up to it, what has followed, and a solid background on the life of Chase. For those who enjoy his work, it's an entertaining and enlightening read.

Photo credit: Alan Light