Honestly, it’s hard to believe it’s been nearly four decades since Clark Griswold first tried to wire 25,000 Italian twinkle lights to his roof. We all watch it every December. It’s basically a law. But while the movie stays frozen in 1989—complete with squirrel-induced chaos and hazardous sledding—the national lampoon christmas vacation cast has lived a thousand different lives since the credits rolled.
Some became sitcom royalty. Others vanished into bizarre legal battles. A few of the elder legends have sadly passed away, including some very recent losses in 2025. If you've ever wondered why the kids always change or what happened to Cousin Eddie’s "tenement on wheels," you're in the right place.
The Parents: Sparky and Ellen
Chevy Chase was already a massive star when he put on the Marty Moose mug for the third time. He was coming off Caddyshack and Fletch, but Clark Griswold became his most enduring shadow. These days, Chevy is still Chevy. He’s 82 now. He recently wrapped a 2025 fall tour where he screened the movie for fans across the U.S., and his new documentary, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, is set to premiere on CNN on New Year's Day 2026.
He’s had a complicated reputation—getting written off Community after a feud with Dan Harmon—but for most fans, he's just the guy who wanted a pool in his backyard.
Then there’s Beverly D’Angelo. She’s 74 and still incredibly active. Did you catch her as the foul-mouthed matriarch in the 2022 Christmas action flick Violent Night? She was brilliant. She recently dropped a bombshell during a 2025 interview about that famous "freeze" scene where the police raid the Griswold house.
"It was not in the script for me to guard the family jewels," D'Angelo joked.
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She admits she improvised grabbing Chevy’s crotch because they only had one take left and she thought it would be funny. It stayed in the movie because the director literally didn't have another shot to use.
The Kids: Why Rusty and Audrey Kept Morphing
If you’ve ever felt like the Griswold kids were different every time you saw them, you aren't crazy. It was a running gag. The producers wanted the kids to stay the same age even as the movies came out years apart. For the 1989 film, we got Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis.
It’s wild to think that "Rusty" grew up to be Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory. Johnny Galecki was only 14 during filming. He’s mostly stepped away from the spotlight lately to focus on being a dad, having welcomed a daughter in 2024.
Juliette Lewis, our Audrey, became a massive indie film star and a rock singer. You probably saw her recently in Yellowjackets. She was actually the third actress to play Audrey, following Dana Barron and Dana Hill. She and Galecki actually reunited on screen a few years ago on The Conners, where she played his girlfriend. Talk about a weird full-circle moment for the Griswold siblings.
The Cousin Eddie Factor
We have to talk about Randy Quaid. You can't have the national lampoon christmas vacation cast without the man in the short bathrobe and the black dickie. Randy Quaid was an Oscar nominee before he was Eddie. He was a serious actor.
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But then things got... strange.
After Christmas Vacation, Quaid had hits like Independence Day, but his real life turned into a thriller. He and his wife Evi fled to Canada in 2010, claiming a group called the "Hollywood Star Whackers" was trying to kill them. They lived off the grid for years.
Surprisingly, 2024 saw a bit of a comeback. Quaid appeared in a holiday movie called The Christmas Letter alongside his old pal Chevy Chase. It was his first film credit in six years. He’s mostly living in Vermont now, staying out of trouble but remaining very vocal on social media about his political views.
The Legends We Lost (And Recent 2025 Updates)
Part of what makes this movie so cozy is the older generation. Sadly, many are gone.
- Doris Roberts (Frances Smith): The Everybody Loves Raymond star passed in 2016.
- E.G. Marshall (Art Smith): The grumpy father-in-law died back in 1998.
- Mae Questel (Aunt Bethany): She was the voice of Betty Boop! This was her last movie role before she died in 1998.
- William Hickey (Uncle Lewis): The cigar-smoking legend passed away in 1997.
The most recent heartbreak came in November 2025. Diane Ladd, who played Clark’s mother, Nora, died at the age of 89. She was a powerhouse until the end, still acting in projects like Blue Champagne right before she passed. Her husband, Robert Hunter, also passed away just months before her in mid-2025. It marks the end of an era for the Griswold extended family.
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The Neighbors and the "Girl in the Red Ferrari"
Remember Margo and Todd? The snobby neighbors who get their stereo system destroyed? Julia Louis-Dreyfus played Margo right before Seinfeld made her a household name. She’s now a comedy billionaire with more Emmys than she can probably count. She’s even in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now.
And then there’s the girl in the department store, Nicolette Scorsese. People always ask if she's related to Martin Scorsese. She isn't. She mostly left acting in the late 90s after a few small roles. She’s basically a ghost in Hollywood now, though her scene with the "mele kalikimaka" soundtrack is iconic.
How to Host Your Own Griswold Reunion
If you're looking to dive deeper into the legacy of the national lampoon christmas vacation cast, there are a few things you can actually do:
- Check out Fan Expo schedules: Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo frequently do panels together. They were just in Chicago in late 2025 and often do photo ops with fans.
- Watch the 2026 CNN Documentary: Keep an eye out for I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not on New Year's Day. It’s supposed to cover a lot of the behind-the-scenes friction on the Vacation sets.
- Visit the "House": While the movie was filmed on the Warner Bros. backlot (the house is actually on "Blondie Street"), you can see the same neighborhood in shows like Bewitched and The Partridge Family.
- Look for the 35th Anniversary Merch: 2024 marked the 35th anniversary, and a ton of new "Cousin Eddie" themed collectibles hit the market, including higher-end replicas of the RV.
The magic of this cast wasn't that they were perfect. It’s that they felt like a real, messy family. Whether it’s Johnny Galecki's deadpan stares or Randy Quaid’s absolute lunacy, they created something that somehow feels fresh every single December. Even in 2026, we’re still talking about them. That’s the real Christmas miracle.