Chevy Chase’s daughter says comedian ‘came back from the dead’ four years ago after eight-day coma

Chevy Chase’s daughter said the comedian ‘came back from the dead’ while opening up about his 2021 health scare.

Over four years ago, the 82-year-old Saturday Night Live alum was previously in an eight-day coma while hospitalized for heart failure in 2021.

His daughter Caley Chase, 40, who is one of three he shares with his third wife Jayni Chase, opened up about the harrowing incident in his new documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not. 

In the upcoming release, he also broke his silence about being left out of SNL’s 50th year anniversary special though he was one of the original cast members from 1975 to 1976. 

She said that he ‘has basically come back from the dead,’ adding that the comedian ‘had heart failure,’ in a clip from the documentary, per Variety. 

The rest of Chase’s family including his and Jayni’s eldest daughter Cydney Cathalene Chase, 42, and youngest daughter Emily Rachelle Chase, 37, also appeared in the upcoming tell-all series and recalled his health scare.

‘Something was wrong, and he couldn’t explain to me what was wrong,’ Chase’s wife Jayni said. 

‘So, we got to the ER. His heart stops. During those years he was out drinking, he got cardiomyopathy — when the heart muscles get weaker, and they can’t pump as much blood out with each beat,’ she continued. 

Chase’s longtime friend Peter Aaron also made an appearance in the documentary and said the week-long coma was ‘pretty rough’ on the comedian’s body. 

‘They decided to put him in a coma for maybe eight days,’ he recalled. “That’s pretty rough on the body.’ 

Chase’s daughter Caley then chimed in: ‘The doctor had warmed 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 said.

Caley said she was worried at the time that her dad would have been permanently affected by the heart failure and subsequent coma. 

However, she recalled realizing that he was the same when a nurse came into the room to check on the medical equipment. 

‘She said, “I’m going to have to put this in here.” the actor said, “That’s what she said.”‘

In his documentary, Chase also opened up about how the eight-day coma left lasting effects on him otherwise and said he experienced memory loss after he was hospitalized for heart failure. 

‘It’s just that it affects your memory,’ he said. ‘So, I have to be reminded of things.’ 

‘These are my first few final days home. I can only say how happy I am to now be back with my family, I’m feeling proud,’ Chase added at the time. 

‘I was in the hospital [for] five weeks,’ he continued, though he did not reveal back then that he had been in a coma after experiencing heart failure.

Recalling what her father experienced following the health scare and five-week hospital stay, she added: ‘Well, I mean, he’s 80-something and has basically come back from the dead.

‘She said. ‘Oh my God, he had heart failure. Have they talked about that at all? It’s so hard to talk about.’ 

Other than his middle daughter Caley, his other daughters also made an appearance in his documentary to talk about the scary time. ‘It was so scary when he was in the hospital,’ Cydney said. 

‘We were all there, it waqs during COVID.’ Caley also recalled the doctor telling them that ‘we might not get him back,’ ‘we don’t know how present he’ll be’ and ‘prepare yourselves for the worst.’ 

Back in 2021, he shared a statement after he was discharged from the hospital following the health scare. 

‘I can only say how happy I am now to be back with my family,’ he said at the time. ‘I’m feeling good. I was in the hospital five weeks. A heat issue. So, for now, I’m around the house. Not going anywhere.’ 

The CNN Films documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, premieres on January 1 at 8 p.m. ET.