Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Chevy Chase no cool cat around giant tiger

Coming face to face with a 550-pound Bengal tiger may not be your idea of an ideal vacation. But then, Chevy Chase isn't known for his ideal vacations.

Chase, who gave vacations a bad name by muddling through three sojourns ("National Lampoon's Vacation," "European Vacation" and "Christmas Vacation"), is at it again, this time in Las Vegas.

Chase, screen wife Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid are spending 2 1/2 months here filming "Vegas Vacation."

This week's filming included Chase's close encounter with one of the feline stars of the Siegfried & Roy show, a giant tiger named Bombay.

In the film, Chase (a k a Clark Griswold) is invited on stage by the famed illusionists after correctly answering a tough question:

"Where are you from, sir?" Siegfried asks.

"Uh, uh ... Chicago, Illinois," Chase stammers after some thought.

In the film, a curtain opens behind them as Chase talks with Siegfried and Roy, and the bumbling tour guide turns to find himself face to face with the giant cat, perched on a platform above the stage.

Chase does a double-take, lurches backward, then tries to regain some semblance of composure.

Between takes, Chase gingerly patted Bombay while Roy fed the animal snacks, at times wiping the cat's mouth.

Producer Jerry Weintraub watched the action from the back of the darkened Siegfried & Roy Theater at the Mirage hotel-casino, where filming took place Monday.

Weintraub reminisced about his long relationship with Las Vegas, from his first visit here in 1947 as a 10-year-old boy to years of promoting concerts for Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley.

"The changes have been incredible," he said. "Who would have dreamed the town would grow like it has?"

Weintraub said most of the "Vegas Vacation" shooting will be done in Southern Nevada, with about 10 days of work planned at studios in Southern California.

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