The Cast of “National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation”: Where Are They Now?

The 1989 holiday classic still holds up all these years later. See what the movie's stars have done in the years since the film's release

It's been 34 years since the Griswold family had the "hap-hap-happiest Christmas," and the spirit of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation lives on.

In fact, in December 2023, several members of the cast, including Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn, came together at Christmas Con 2023 in Edison, New Jersey, to honor the iconic film.

In a 2019 interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, Chase reflected on the film, saying the love fans have for the movie "makes me feel like Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life. I think the movie is terrific ... From the second you hear ‘The little lights are not twinkling,’ you know it’s starting to go wrong and the next thing you have is Cousin Eddie and Clark going ‘Eddie? Is that you?’ And you just know all things are going to go awry."

Here, as families around the U.S. settle to watch the movie yet again this season, catch up with the cast, then and now.

Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold

Christmas Vacation was the third in a series of 1980s Vacation films starring Chevy Chase in the role of family patriarch Clark Griswold. “I loved all of the physical stuff in the movie,” Chase told the Los Angeles Daily News in 2019. “I loved the stuff on the roof, which was typical of Clark Griswold. I loved sliding down the roof and hanging on. It was all very funny."

Prior to his National Lampoon's work, Chase was already a household name thanks to films like Foul Play and Caddyshack and his part on Saturday Night Live. In the years since, he's been everywhere from the movie Man of the House to Snow Day, Brothers & Sisters and more recently, Community. He was let go from the show after using a racial slur on set, Variety reported, and won't return for the planned movie.

Off-screen, the three-time Emmy winner, 80, has been married three times — currently to Jayni Luke, since 1982 — and has four grown children, three daughters and one son.

Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen Griswold

Like Chase, Beverly D'Angelo appeared in all three Vacation films, as matriarch Ellen Griswold. "The thing that amazes me was the cast," she recalled to The Wrap in 2014. "That was really a special cast."

D'Angelo, now 72, already has quite the résumé before the film's release, with roles in Annie Hall, Coal Miner's Daughter and A Streetcar Named Desire. By the 1990s, she was earning credits in dramas like American History X and the rom-com High Fidelity, and in 2005, she joined the cast of Entourage as agent Barbara "Babs" Miller.

Married once in the '80s, she has two grown children — twins Anton and Olivia — with ex Al Pacino.

Randy Quaid as Eddie Johnson

As the off-kilter husband to Ellen's cousin Catherine, Randy Quaid brought many of the laughs (and much of the mischief!) as Eddie Johnson.

"I know some people like Eddie, unfortunately including some of my relatives down in Texas. Everybody must have an Eddie in their family somewhere. I worked in an ice cream store when I was in high school and my boss was a lot like Eddie," Quaid shared in a 1989 interview with UPI. "Now my relatives are wondering who I'm talking about."

Quaid had been working in movies and TV since the early '70s, with roles in The Last Detail (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), Midnight Express and Of Mice and Men. He went on to a season of SNL and films including Major League II, Brokeback Mountain and Real Time, earning three Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award along the way.

Quaid and his wife, Evi, faced fugitive charges in the 2010s after they were arrested in Canada following burglary charges in California. The charges were ultimately dismissed, and Quaid, now 73, recently joined some Christmas Vacation costars for a Christmas Con reunion in New Jersey.

Miriam Flynn as Catherine Johnson

Miriam Flynn played Cousin Catherine several times throughout the franchise, beginning with 1983’s National Lampoon’s Vacation. She then expanded her movie career as Annette in Mr. Mom and in 1995, Flynn voiced Maa the sheep in the heartfelt classic Babe. She continued voice acting as the century turned, with live-action cameos in various shows and films, most recently episodes of Shrinking, Call Me Kat and The Lincoln Lawyer.

The 71-year-old has two children with husband Will Aldis.

Juliette Lewis as Audrey Griswold

Following her stint on I Married Dora in 1987, Juliette Lewis joined the cast as Griswold daughter Audrey.

"Christmas Vacation is so, it's so touching that every year … people who have lost their parents, or whatever, what it meant to them," Lewis recalled to Kelly Clarkson earlier in 2023. "It's a tradition. You can never imagine that is ever going to happen in a film you do."

Lewis stayed quite busy in the years following, earning an Oscar nomination for Cape Fear and starring in films like What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Natural Born Killers, plus comedy favorites like Old School. She launched a successful music career in the early 2000s, too. Most recently, the 50-year-old starred on the Showtime thriller Yellowjackets.

Johnny Galecki as Rusty Griswold

A young Johnny Galecki played the Griswold's son Rusty, marking his only appearance in the Vacation franchise.

"I was terrified of course," he recalled of the audition process in a chat for the Oscars 2019. "I nailed it." So much so that costar Chase told him he had the part on the spot. "I was intimidated by the entire environment," Galecki continued. "It was a really big deal to me for all the obvious reasons but I'd really only done musical theater in Chicago."

He would go on to gain fame on Roseanne and The Big Bang Theory, plus films like Hancock and In Time. He also made guest appearances on television shows like Entourage and the 2018 Roseanne reboot, which he reflected on as a very emotional experience.

Galecki, now 48, began dating Alaina Meyer in 2018, and the couple welcomed a son, Avery, in 2019. In 2020, PEOPLE reported the two had broken up.

Diane Ladd as Nora Griswold

After leaving Hollywood for a time, Diane Ladd found out she had an audition — to play Chevy Chase's mom. "I said, I'm only about six years older than Chevy," Ladd recalled in a chat for the Oscars in 2019. She aged herself with clothes and makeup for the audition, then, "I walked in, and Chevy was over there ... and I said, 'Sonny boy! That's my sonny boy!' ... And I got the job."

Like many of her costars, Ladd was already a Hollywood icon when the Vacation films dropped: she had a BAFTA and Golden Globe Award to her name for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Alice, respectively.

In the years since, she's earned Oscar nominations for Rambling Rose and Wild at Heart and appeared on Kingdom Hospital, Enlightened and Chesapeake Shores. Married three times, the 88-year-old is a mother of two; Laura Dern is one of her daughters.

John Randolph as Clark Griswold Sr.

Another Hollywood icon rounding out the cast, John Randolph came into the series as Clark's dad with films like Of Mice and Men, King Kong and Inherit the Wind to his name, not to mention countless television appearances. He moved on to parts on series including Annie McGuire and Grand, plus films like You've Got Mail.

Randolph, who had two children with his wife, actress Sarah Cunningham, died at the age of 88 in 2004.

E.G. Marshall as Art Smith

Before playing Ellen’s cantankerous father Art Smith in John Hughes’ holiday classic, E.G. Marshall made his name on Broadway and on screens, notably as a juror in 12 Angry Men and as the president in 1980’s Superman II.

Marshall took on supporting roles in films like the 1992 mystery Consenting Adults and Nixon in 1995 prior to his death at age 84 in 1998. On the smaller screen, he appeared on episodes of Chicago Hope and several TV movies throughout the ‘90s.

Married twice, he had five children.

Doris Roberts as Frances Smith

Doris Roberts was already an Emmy winner by the time she was cast as Frances Smith, Ellen’s mother and the wife of Marshall’s character. Roberts claimed film and television credits throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, starring alongside Elliot Gould in Little Murders and Billy Crystal in Rabbit Test, among other major movie gigs. She took on her first major TV role in 1983, playing Mildred Krebs in Remington Steele until 1987.

Post-National Lampoon, Roberts — who died in 2016 at age 90 — took home four more Emmy wins playing Ray Romano’s on-screen mother in the beloved CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond.   

Married twice, she had one son.

Ellen Latzen as Ruby Johnson

At just 9 years old, Ellen Latzen had already spent time on screens big and small when she played Catherine and Eddie’s daughter Ruby Sue. The former child star was first cast in 1987’s Fatal Attraction, followed by single-episode cameos on Family Ties and The Equalizer in 1989.

Latzen has since steered away from life in the spotlight and, per her Instagram profile, became a mom in April 2023.

William Hickey as Lewis

Before William Hickey's Uncle Lewis set the Griswold family’s Christmas décor aflame, the actor established himself as a distinguished performer, from his early years on stage to his Oscar-nominated role as Don Corrado Prizzi in John Huston’s 1985 flick Prizzi's Honor.

Hickey picked up another holiday-themed voice role as Dr. Finkelstein in The Nightmare Before Christmas. He also shared the screen with Steve Martin, Rick Moranis and Joan Cusack in Nora Ephron’s My Blue Heaven.

In 1997, Hickey died at age 69 while filming the movie Better Than Ever.

Mae Questel as Bethany

Mae Questel is primarily remembered as the voice actress behind Betty Boop and Olive Oyl. She stepped in front of the camera only a few times, with notable appearances in 1961’s Funny Girl and on the short-lived sitcom The Corner Bar in 1973.

Questel took on her final role as Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation before her death at age 89 in 1998.

Married twice, she had two sons.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Margo Chester

Just before her career-defining start on Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus played the Griswolds’ neighbor Margo Chester. The role marked one of her earliest film appearances, coming just a few years after her start on Saturday Night Live.

Louis-Dreyfus flourished on television, winning Emmys for her starring performances in The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep. The sitcom star can also be seen on episodes of Arrested Development, 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

As a movie star, Louis-Dreyfus shared the screen with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in 1997’s Father’s Day, and she starred in Enough Said in 2013 and You People in 2023. The decorated actress has also appeared in Marvel’s award-winning Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The 62-year-old has two sons, actors Henry and Charlie, with husband Brad Hall.

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