Chevy Chase suffered “near-fatal” heart failure and was placed in an induced coma during the pandemic, according to CNN’s upcoming documentary about the Saturday Night Live star, I’m Chevy Chase And You’re Not.
The documentary, which is set to premiere Jan. 1, shows Chase and his family members reflecting on his five-week stay in the hospital.
His wife, Jayni, recounted in the documentary, “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,” per Deadline.
Peter Aaron shared doctors placed Chase in a coma for “maybe eight days.” He noted, “That’s pretty rough on the body.”
His daughter, Caley Chase, also shared that the 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,” she recounted. “He has basically come back from the dead.”
Photo: Everett Collection
The Community actor revealed he still suffers from “memory gaps” as a result of the “near-fatal” incident. “According to the doctors, my memory would be shot from it,” he said. “That’s what’s happened here.”
Chase later clarified, “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.”
At another point in the documentary, Chase also reflects on being snubbed at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary celebration.
“Well, it was kind of upsetting actually,” he admitted. “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 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?”
Directed by Marina Zenovich, the revealing CNN documentary will dive into Chase’s complicated legacy as one of the biggest stars in comedy, beginning with his rise in Saturday Night Live to becoming a blockbuster star. The documentary features interviews with Dan Aykroyd, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, Kevin Smith and more.
I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not premieres Thursday, Jan 1 at 8 p.m. on CNN. It will be available to stream next day.