National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Cast: Where Are They Now?

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was released 27 years ago, which means it’s been 27 years since families reveled in the hilarity of Clark Griswold attempting to create a memorable Christmas for his family. With this being the third time we got to see the adventures of the Griswold family, some of the cast members had already become intrinsically linked to their roles, repeating them on subsequent adventures in their length careers.

With the holidays upon us, families gather to watch movies that are fun for the whole family, and although we get annual reminders of how fantastic some of the actors in holiday movies are, we often forget that these films were merely one role in a lifetime of many.

Take a look at what the cast of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has been up to since the film’s release! What’s your favorite film to watch around the holidays with your families? Let us know in the comments!

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Chevy Chase

Arguably the most famous cast member both before and after Christmas Vacation, Chase has starred in a number of movies and TV shows, including this film’s 1997 sequel Vegas Vacation, Community, and the Hot Tub Time Machine films. Chase even reprised his role of Clark Griswold in 2015’s Vacation reboot-quel, with Ed Helms playing his son as he took over vacations responsibilities.

Beverly D’Angelo

Along with Chase, D’Angelo is the only other cast member who has appeared in all of the Vacation films as Ellen Griswold. The actress continues to star in projects for both film and TV, like American History X, Harold & Kumar Go To Guantanamo Bay, and The House Bunny. She also had recurring roles in hit TV shows like Entourage and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Johnny Galecki

Only a few years after the release of Christmas Vacation, Galecki found success thanks to a recurring role on Roseanne as Darleen’s downtrodden boyfriend. He went on to has a string of roles in movies like Suicide Kings, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Opposite of Sex. Although his career might have had a few stops and starts in the ’90s and ’00s, Galecki currently stars on the massively successful TV series The Big Bang Theory, and his role in this ’80s classic must feel like just a blip on his radar.

Juliette Lewis

Lewis’ appearance in Christmas Vacation marked the beginning of a major hot streak for the actress in the early ’90s, going on to star in films like Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers, and From Dusk Till Dawn. The actress continues to act, starring in TV series like Wayward Pines and Secrets and Lies, but has also become a successful musician, having released five full-length albums since 2004.

Randy Quaid

Quaid played Cousin Eddie, the dim-witted but big-hearted member of the family who invited himself to Christmas without any warning. Before Vacation, Quaid had already snagged an Academy Award nomination for the 1973 film The Last Detail, and starred in a string of successful films in the ’90s like Bye Bye Love, Independence Day, and Kingpin. The actor took center stage in 2003’s made-for-TV sequel, Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure, but his last on-screen credit was in 2009. Following a string of legal battles, Quaid headed to Canada for refuge and has made multiple viral videos in the last few years where he discusses theories about actors getting killed for mysterious, wary that he may be next.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Louis-Dreyfus’ role in Christmas Vacation would be one of her last bit parts in a film, as the following year’s premiere of the enormous sitcom sensation Seinfeld that ran for eight years. As if being the lead of one of the most popular sitcoms of all time wasn’t enough, the actress continued to dominate TV comedies with roles in shows like Arrested Development, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and her four-time Emmy-winning role as vice president on the HBO series Veep.

Nicolette Scorsese

If you were to list as many actors as you could from Christmas Vacation, odds are that you wouldn’t be able to name “Nicolette Scorsese,” despite having one of the most memorable roles in the film. The actress played Mary, the lingerie salesperson that Clark has a sexual innuendo-filled chat with, who he also imagined skinny dipping in the pool he fantasized about buying for his family. Scorsese’s acting career didn’t last too long, but before it ended, she got to play “Tina” in Aspen Extreme and “Busty Barmaid #2” in NYPD Blue. We can’t blame her for retiring, as it’s hard to top playing a Busty Barmaid, no matter what number you are.