Monday, April 23, 2007

Chevy Chase lived in fear



Funny, happy guy Chevy Chase spills some dark secrets from his childhood in his book titled "I'm Chevy Chase ... And You're Not."

Chase says that when he was just a kid, panic attacks would cause his mother to lock him in the closet for hours on end. She would also "abruptly wake him up in the middle of the night just to slap him continually and hard, across the face- for no reason at all."

Chevy says his mom also used to whip him. "She would say to me, 'Ten lashes on the backs of your legs every day for a week at 5 p.m.' How can you hold on to that kind of anger against your kid?" Chase says in the book.

Chase's half-brother John confirms the sadness, "My mother, at her worst, was like an unleashed animal. It was at her hands, in her feral states, that Chevy suffered the darkest of his secret torments."

Chase, now 63, says, "You would think a grown man could shake it off, as the coffin was being lowered, to say, 'I forgive you.' I don't forgive," he says.

7 comments:

Jae said...

Wow that's a lot to deal with. He should be proud of himself for making it through.

Anonymous said...

It's clear to me that his mother was suffering from some mental illness, perhaps schizophrenia. At the time, child abuse went under the radar. Poor Chevy. Hope he can finally forgive and get release some of his anger.

Anonymous said...

My goodness. How sad. There are some things which can never be forgiven.

Anonymous said...

Been there...so glad we can talk about it these days. Glad we became better people and parents and didnt repeat the cycle.

Anonymous said...

Chase is making this all up for sympathy

Anonymous said...

Chevy Chase, Maryland?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevy_Chase_%28CDP%29%2C_MD

Erica said...

Wow, you would think that these happy comedians that put up such a front would really be living that life as a reality from how they play it off. I just can't believe it.