Fred Wemyss

At 12:30 a.m. today, I was at a friend's house watching a DVD. We got bored of it. My friend shut it off and put on the TV. There were clips of Gerald Ford on many channels. So, after a few minutes of thinking about my first memories of Ford (Nixon's announcement that Ford would be Agnew's replacement as Vice-president pre-empted a showing of a much ballyhooed TV movie of DRACULA, which was going to have Jack Palance in the comeback of a lifetime, and I was one outraged thirteen year old movie buff), another thought came to mind: "In a few minutes," I said to myself, "Chevy Chase is going to be shown bumping his head." I mentioned this to my friend. A minute later, Chevy Chase was shown stumbling from a presidential podium. They say Chevy Chase's running gag involving himself as Gerald Ford tripping over every object that got in his way helped Ford lose the '76 election. This is an amazing idea. It was not even an imitation of Ford. No mimics ever did Ford. Richard Nixon, who'd stepped aside to allow Ford to take his place as president, had been the most mimicked president in history. David Frye, Rich Little, and one Richard M. Dixon owed their livings to Nixon's hangdog expressions and lugubrious vocalizations. Rich Little tried to imitate Ford a few times, but, ace impressionist that he was, he always prefaced his effort with, "This is a hard one," and he'd move to the Jimmy Stewart impression after a phrase or two. Chevy Chase, tall, dar-haired, skinny, handsome, tan and, indeed, obviously graceful, would have to stand behind a podium with the presidential seal on it in order to make the audience realize he was doing a Ford routine. Ford, often shown on the news banging his head on his way out the door of a plane, or hitting someone with a golf ball, was gray (or blond turning gray) muscular going chunky, relatively tall but made to seem shorter by his ill-fitting suits. He was, clearly, a man's man, which is about the best thing a man can hope to be. Chevy Chase played him as a sort of prep-school Inspector Closseau. But the image stuck. Chevy Chase, the least idealogical of comedians, helped push a moderate out of the White House merely by doing shtick having nothing to do with the faintest human observation. Chevy Chase became fairly close to Gerld Ford after Ford's presidency. He has said, a few times, that he regrets the negative effect his comedy had on Ford's fate. But Ford has an odd effect on Chevy Chase's fate. Chevy Chase is now being shown in primetime, whenever a Ford report runs. In history books, people will find more references to Chevy Chase in chapters about Gerald Ford than in chapters about comedy. He left SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE about the time Ford left the White House. Both Ford and Chevy Chase are symbols of 1976. They actually got along with each other. But Ford will always be characterized as a President who was never elected and Chevy Chase will always be the guy who went downhill after SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Ford lived a long time after trying for the brass ring. Chevy Chase has spent a lot of time hearing himself called a has-been. Someday Chevy Chase will join Ford in that great golf course in the sky. He doesn't want to be with Belushi. And Ford, I'm sure, isn't currently hanging with Nixon.