At the start of this December, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” turned 36 years old. The festive slapstick comedy classic was released on December 1, 1989, is now far more appreciated than it was initially, and has become a festive viewing staple for millions.
In the movie, the inimitable Clark Griswold — played so iconically by Chevy Chase — attempts to give his family a perfect, traditional, old-fashioned Christmas. However, unsurprisingly, things don’t go according to plan and hilarity and calamity ensue.
“Christmas Vacation’s” memorable cast also includes the likes of Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis, and Johnny Galecki. Let’s take a look at what the core cast looked like then, compared to what they all look like now…
Chevy Chase (Clark Griswold)
Chevy Chase was already a huge star when “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” released. At 46, he had already featured heavily on television and in movies, getting his big break as the breakout cast member in the first season of “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-1970s.
He had also hosted his own show, “The Chevy Chase Show,” and co-hosted the 59th and 60th Academy Awards.
Regarding movies, his credits at that point included 1974’s independent comedy “The Groove Tube,” 1980’s sports comedy “Caddyshack,” 1985’s comedy-thriller “Fletch,” 1986’s Western comedy “¡Three Amigos!,” and, of course, two previous “National Lampoon” installments (per IMDb).
GettyChase is now 82 and has enjoyed an enviable career on the big and small screens by anyone’s standards.
His subsequent television credits included a revamped version of “The Chevy Chase Show,” further appearances on “Saturday Night Live,” and roles in shows as varied as sitcom “The Nanny,” police procedural “Law & Order,” animated sitcom “Family Guy,” family drama “Brothers & Sisters,” Swedish sitcom “Hjälp!,” action comedy “Chuck,” and sitcom “Community.”
Movie credits for Chase since “Christmas Vacation” include 1992’s comedy-drama “Memoirs of an Invisible Man,” 1997’s road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation,” 2009’s fantasy adventure comedy “Jack and the Beanstalk,” 2010’s sci-fi comedy “Hot Tub Time Machine,” and 2015’s road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”
GettyBeverly D’Angelo (Ellen Griswold)
Beverly D’Angelo played Clark Griswold’s wife, Ellen, in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” She was 38 at the time of the movie’s release.
D’Angelo had only appeared in a couple of minor television roles prior to her appearance in “Christmas Vacation,” but had amassed a fairly substantial back catalogue of movie roles.
Per IMDb, her previous movie credits included 1977’s satirical romantic comedy-drama “Annie Hall,” 1977’s supernatural horror “The Sentinel,” 1978’s action comedy “Every Which Way but Loose,” 1980’s biographical musical “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” 1981’s comedy “Honky Tonk Freeway,” 1981’s comedy “Fraternity,” 1988’s fantasy comedy “High Spirits,” and, of course, two previous “National Lampoon” installments alongside Chase.
GettyAfter “Christmas Vacation,” D’Angelo continued to appear prolifically on television and in movies.
Her subsequent television credits include a wide variety of shows, including the horror anthology series “Tales from the Crypt,” animated sitcom “The Simpsons,” sitcom Frasier, sitcom “Rude Awakening,” police procedural “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” comedy-drama series “Entourage,” animated sitcom “Family Guy,” sitcom “Cougar Town,” drama series “Shooter,” and black comedy-drama series “Insatiable.”
D’Angelo’s movie credits now include the likes of 1997’s road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation,” 1998’s crime drama American History X,” 2008’s buddy stoner comedy “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” 2015’s road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” and 2022’s Christmas action comedy “Violent Night.”
GettyRandy Quaid (Eddie Johnson)
Randy Quaid was 39 when he appeared as Eddie Johnson in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Redneck Eddie is Ellen and Clark’s cousin-in-law, by virtue of the fact he’s married to Ellen’s cousin, Catherine.
Quaid had almost two decades of acting behind him when he appeared in “Christmas Vaction,” with prominent roles on television and in films (per IMDb).
His television credits included the likes of “Saturday Night Live” and a number of made-for-TV movies. His movie career had been more successful, with appearances in films like 1971’s coming-of-age-drama “The Last Picture Show,” 1973’s comedy-drama “The Last Detail” (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), 1976’s biographical drama “Bound for Glory,” 1983’s road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” and 1988’s sports comedy “Caddyshack II.”
GettyQuaid is now 75 and, although he is still acting, is rarely seen in public. He’s experienced some legal problems, but appears to have kept out of trouble in the last decade.
Following his appearance in “Christmas Vaction,” he continued to prolifically appear on television and in movies.
His television credits include more made-for-TV films, as well as shows like the sitcom “Davis Rules,” animated comedy series “The Ren & Stimpy Show,” drama series “The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire.”
Quaid’s movie credits now include the likes of 1993’s black comedy “Freaked,” 1996’s sports comedy “Kingpin,” 1996’s sci-fi action flick “Independence Day,” 1997’s road comedy “National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation,” 1998’s action thriller “Hard Rain,” and 2001’s parody movie “Not Another Teen Movie.”
GettyJohnny Galecki (Russell ‘Rusty’ Griswold)
Johnny Galecki was 14 when he played Clark and Ellen’s son, Russell “Rusty” Griswold, in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Galecki replaced Anthony Michael Hall and Jason Lively, who played the character in two previous “Vacation” movies.
It was Galecki’s fifth acting job. He’d previously appeared in only four movies, one of which was another Christmas movie, in the form of 1988’s fantasy drama “Prancer” (per IMDb).
Getty“Christmas Vaction” provided Galecki with the platform for his acting career to take off, and he subsequently began appearing regularly both on television and in more movies.
Now 50, his television credits include significant roles in the sitcom “American Dreamer,” sitcom “Blossom,” “Head of the Class” spin-off “Billy,” sitcom “Roseanne,” and his most iconic role in sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”
Galecki’s back catalogue of movies now includes 1991’s comedy film “Backfield in Motion,” 1997’s British comedy “Bean,” 1997’s crime thriller “Suicide Kings,” 1997’s slasher horror “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” 1998’s romantic dark comedy “The Opposite of Sex,” 2000’s romantic drama “Bounce,” 2001’s psychological sci-fi thriller “Vanilla Sky,” 2008’s superhero movie “Hancock,” and 2019’s adventure comedy-drama “A Dog’s Journey.”
GettyJuliette Lewis (Audrey Griswold)
Juliette Lewis was 16 when she played Clark and Ellen’s daughter, Audrey Griswold, in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Lewis replaced Dana Barron and Dana Hill, who played the character in two previous “Vacation” movies.
She had only appeared in one movie before “Christmas Vacation” and that was 1988’s sci-fi comedy “My Stepmother Is an Alien.” She had, however, appeared in a handful of television series, including the sitcom “I Married Dora,” sitcom “The Facts of Life,” and the coming-of-age comedy series “The Wonder Years” (per IMDb).
Now 52, Lewis has appeared in dozens of movies and television shows following her role in “Christmas Vacation.”
Notable movie credits include 1991’s psychological thriller “Cape Fear,” 1993’s coming-of-age drama “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” 1993’s neo-noir crime thriller “Romeo Is Bleeding,” 1994’s romantic crime flick “Natural Born Killers,” 1995’s biographical crime drama “The Basketball Diaries,” 1996’s horror movie “From Dusk till Dawn,” 2004’s buddy cop action comedy “Starsky & Hutch,” and 2015’s musical drama “Jem and the Holograms.”
Her extensive television credits include the likes of the sitcom “A Family for Joe,” animated sitcom “Free for All,” legal thriller “The Firm,” mystery sci-fi series “Wayward Pines,” mystery anthology series “Secrets and Lies,” sitcom “The Conners,” drama series “Queer as Folk,” and biographical drama miniseries “Welcome to Chippendales.”
GettyJulia Louis-Dreyfus (Margo Chester)
Actress, comedian, and producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus was 28 when she played the Griswold’s yuppie neighbor Margo Chester in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
Before her role in the movie, Louis-Dreyfus had made her name on television, regularly appearing on “Saturday Night Live.” Her other most significant TV role before the movie was in the sitcom “Day by Day” (per IMDb).
However, she had also appeared in three movies, all in 1986. They were the dark fantasy comedy “Troll,” the comedy-drama “Hanna and Her Sisters,” and the comedy film “Soul Man.”
GettyLouis-Dreyfus is now 64 and her television career has been hugely successful since “Christmas Vacation.” Subsequent notable small screen credits include the sitcom “Seinfeld,” the comedy of manners “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” animated sitcom “The Simpsons,” sitcom “Watching Ellie,” sitcom “Arrested Development,” sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” political satire “Veep,” and superhero series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”
Her movie back catalogue now includes 1993’s comedy-drama “Jack the Bear,” 1997’s comedy movie “Father’s Day,” 1998’s animated comedy “A Bug’s Life,” 2013’s animated sports comedy “Planes,” 2020’s black comedy-drama “Downhill”, and the superhero movies “Black Widow,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and “Thunderbolts,” in 2021, 2022, and 2025, respectively.
GettyDiane Ladd (Nora Griswold)
Diane Ladd was 54 when “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” hit theaters with a substantial acting career behind her. She played Clark’s mother, Nora Griswold, in the festive classic.
Per IMDb, Ladd had appeared prolifically on television, and in several notable movies, before playing Nora.
Some of her many television credits included the police procedural “Naked City,” the Western drama “Gunsmoke,” the sitcom “Alice,” and romantic comedy-drama series “The Love Boat.”
Her previous movie credits included 1966’s outlaw biker movie “The Wild Angels,” 1971’s comedy movie “The Steagle,” 1974’s neo-noir mystery film “Chinatown,” 1974’s romantic comedy-drama “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” 1983’s dark fantasy horror movie “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” and 1988’s comedy movie “Plain Clothes.”
GettySadly, Ladd passed away earlier this year, on November 3. She was 89.
The star, who was the mother of actress Laura Dern, enjoyed a long career after “Christmas Vacation” that saw her acting well into her 80s.
Her subsequent television credits included the sitcom “Grace Under Fire,” the horror mystery miniseries “Kingdom Hospital,” the comedy-drama series “Enlightened,” and the romance series “Chesapeake Shores.”
Her movie back catalogue went on to include the likes of 1990’s neo-noir black comedy crime movie “Wild at Heart,” 1991’s romantic thriller “A Kiss Before Dying,” 1996’s biographical courtroom drama “Ghosts of Mississippi,” 2000’s comedy-drama “28 Days,” and 2014’s black comedy “Just Before I Go.”
GettyOther Dearly-Departed ‘Christmas Vacation’ Cast Members
There were, of course, other cast members who had smaller roles in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” several of whom passed away some time ago.
GettyDoris Roberts (1925-2016), E.G. Marshall (1914-1998), and and John Randolph (1915-2004) — all pictured in the featured image playing Clark and Ellen’s parents — sadly haven’t been with us for a while, for example.
As the festive season is upon us, make sure “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is part of your viewing schedule. May all its dearly-departed cast members rest in peace.
