Actor Chevy Chase left audience members shocked when he took a tumble off a stage at an event honoring National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Chase, 80, arrived in a wheelchair to Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York on Wednesday (6 December) for a Q&A after a screening of his much-loved 1989 film.
He was joined at the event by his wife, Jayni, and sat alongside her as he spoke to an interviewer about the film.
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Though Chase arrived in a wheelchair, he was able to stand on his own two feet and at one point walked towards the edge of the stage to wave hello to the crowd.
It was at that point the 80-year-old stumbled straight off the front of the stage, falling to the ground below as the audience members gasped.
Footage shared by DJ and TikToker @djkadie shows Jayni rushing to get Chase back on his feet with the help of the interviewer, and the crowd cheered as the actor made his way back on stage and took his seat.
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Ever the comedian, Chase quickly began cracking jokes about his fall as he said: "Wait, wait my watch is talking to me. It says, ‘I see you’ve taken a great fall'.”
The audience laughed at the unfortunate incident, though Jayni quickly had to take a look at the watch as she laughed and pointed out, 'otherwise, they might send an ambulance'.
Chase later shared a video on his Instagram page in which the moderator joked: "We're gonna be talking about that one for a while."
A representative for Chase assured the actor was doing well after the event and indicated that he'd fallen because he didn't see the edge of the stage.
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the rep said: "He took a fall at the part of the stage that was not lit well, but thanks to all his falls on ‘SNL’ it was like riding a bike again. Just a little boo-boo. All good."
Chase starred in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation as Clark Griswold, who joins his family on a Christmas getaway that quickly turns into disaster.
The film remains a fan-favorite for many at Christmastime, and is the third installment of the National Lampoon's Vacation series following the first in 1983 and the second, where the family go to Europe, released in 1985.
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The rest of the Griswold family is made up of Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, John Randolph and Diane Ladd.
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Viral
Emily Brown