Is Chevy Chase in such poor health that he only has six months to live? This week, a tabloid reported that he is. Gossip Cop investigated the claim.
An article in the most recent issue of the National Enquirer states that the legendary funnyman’s physical condition has friends fearing the worst. This all stems from an appearance Chevy Chase made on a podcast with friend Norm McDonald where Chase joked about vomiting and coughing and feeling ill. Chase also appeared at an event in December in a wheelchair — again, joking about his health, he quickly got up and walked to his seat. The tabloid, it seems, took the opportunity to invent a fairy tale about Chase being on death’s door.
In the story, the outlet quotes a so-called “pal” of the Fletch star as saying, “If he continues at this rate, his friends are afraid he may not have more than six months to live!” From there, the tabloid extensively quotes a doctor who has never treated Chase who claims the actor could have Parkinson’s disease because the 76-year-old actor was seen shaking at a publicity event last fall. All from a doctor who has seemingly never even met the comedian.
Gossip Cop can happily report that the entire story totally false. While it’s true that Chevy Chase has dealt with addiction and other issues in recent years, he is not on his deathbed, as the article asserts. Rather than rely on unnamed “pals” and doctors that haven’t treated Chase, we reached out to his rep who told us on the record, “Chevy is doing amazing and does not have any health problems although he is hiding from the coronavirus just as every other human is.” Fans of the actor can relax, as he’s not staring down death at the moment. In fact, he’s quite healthy.
The National Enquirer has a morbid fascination with predicting untimely celebrity deaths, and it’s rather disturbing. In October, the unscrupulous tabloid alleged that Ozzy Osbourne was months away from dying after suffering a series of health problems. Osbourne did have a very tough year physically and recently revealed that he has Parkinson’s. However, had it not been for the worldwide pandemic, he would have been treated and would be preparing to go on tour this summer. That’s all on hold now, but the tabloid was wrong when it predicted the Prince of Darkness’s imminent demise.
In December, the magazine went after another icon, Robert Redford. The Enquirer published a bogus report contending the legendary actor was also months away from death due to a relapse of polio. That story was obviously also untrue and months later, thankfully, the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid star is still with us, just as Gossip Cop reported he likely would be after busting this story. Be very wary of this publication predicting things like this, since it’s almost always not true.
Sources
Erik Kritzner, Spokesperson for Chevy Chase, 10 Apr. 2020.
Our Verdict
Gossip Cop has determined this story is totally false.
