Chevy Chase Takes One More Pratfall -- But It Ain't Funny

Since Gerald Ford's death, I've read only nice things about and from Chevy Chase -- he and Ford became friends, Chase commented on how amiable Ford was about the ribbing and so on. Now suddenly, Chase has become ungracious and obnoxious, apparently tiring of the suggestion that his career was "made" by those silly pratfalls.

"The man who 'made my career' did not do 'Fletch,' did not do 'Caddyshack,' did not write for the Smothers Brothers before he wrote for 'Saturday Night Live,' did not write for 12 years before that and win Writers Guild awards," he said.

"It's that kind of thing that comes out in the press that perpetuates myths about me that are disgusting, that hurt my feelings, that hurt my family's feelings."

It's hardly "disgusting" to suggest that Chase's imitation of Ford (which aired repeatedly throughout the first season of "Saturday Night Live") launched his career AS A PERFORMER since in fact it -- and "Weekend Update" -- did just that. You'd think the success in the three decades since then would let Chase relax and not worry about someone's offhanded description that Ford "made" his career rather than think it was hurting his legacy or some such thing. But no. A chance for graciousness turned into a moment of fragile ego.