Beverly D’Angelo Helped Christie Brinkley Avoid Topless Scene in ‘Vacation’

When Christie Brinkley was hesitant to go topless while filming “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” Beverly D’Angelo stepped in and saved the day.

D’Angelo kicks off the new year alongside Hayden Panettiere in the psychological thriller “Sleepwalker.” The actress told Fox News Digital that she previously supported Brinkley when a scene in the 1983 comedy called for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model to appear topless.

“I really love this story, and it sounds exactly like I would step in and say, ‘Leave that girl alone,'” the star said.

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“The fact that she was topless wasn’t really crucial to what was happening in the scene. But I thought it really made a difference to see the devoted little wife say to her husband, ‘OK, do you want to have some fun? I’m going to show you some pleasure,’ and then take her clothes off. I thought it was great. I thought it was really perfect.”

“So, I had no qualms about it,” the 74-year-old shared. “And the pool was heated. In fact, I have to say, people ask me, ‘What would you say to your younger self?’ I would have said, ‘Do more nudity.'”

Brinkley appeared in the movie as the seductive “Girl in the Ferrari” opposite Chevy Chase, who played D’Angelo’s husband, Clark Griswold. Viewers saw Chase’s character struggle to keep his eyes on the road when the blonde bombshell next to him sped past in his sports car.

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In Brinkley’s 2025 memoir “Uptown Girl,” The pin-up recalled that producers asked her to go topless for a scene, but she refused.

“The most memorable part of filming was the scene where I bump into Chevy’s character at the motel pool and ask him to take a swim, which we shot at two in the morning,” Brinkley wrote in an excerpt obtained by Fox News Digital.

“That’s when the production team asked me to go topless for the shoot, but I wasn’t comfortable with that: I knew full well at that point that part of my appeal as a model was that men had to imagine what was under my swimsuit, and I wasn’t going to give it up for what I thought would be a goofy little movie. (None of us at the time did not suspect it). “National Lampoon’s Vacation” would take off like it did).”

“When the production team asked again about the possibility of nudity — and I couldn’t blame them for trying — Beverly came out on set in time. ‘I will,’ she said. ‘I’ll be the one topless! You’ll have your tits.’ I couldn’t have loved him more [at] this moment. And in my opinion, the scene between Chevy and I is funnier and smarter because I throw my bra and panties at her off camera, and all the viewers can see are her oversized facial expressions. »

D’Angelo told Fox News Digital that she didn’t hesitate to help a friend.

“She came from a modeling background,” D’Angelo explained.

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“She had a different vision of what she should and should not do. She’s a model, for the love of God. But maybe the difference is that I think as an actor you use what you have to tell a story. You must consider your body, your face and everything else as part of your instrument. It’s part of what you work with to express something. So, I didn’t feel any nervousness about it. »

D’Angelo revealed that the cast remained protective of Brinkley over the years.

“I love Christie.” she said. “I respect her. I admire her. I love her so much. She has the most positive outlook on life. She is a bright white light wherever she goes. She is wonderful and a beautiful friend.”

“I’ll give you an example,” D’Angelo explained. “We were making a personal appearance at a convention. I had just broken my little toe doing something stupid with an online workout. I ran across the room and stuck my toe in a piece of furniture. It really hurt, but I didn’t think anything of it. And then I went hiking after that. When I came back, it seemed like something really bad was going on. I went to a podiatrist and he told me: “No wonder it hurts. Your toe is broken.”

“I remember I was in a wheelchair and I told him, ‘I broke my toe. It’s really painful because even though it’s just a little toe, it affects everything else. I can’t walk on it for long,'” D’Angelo continued. “She turned to the person next to her and said, ‘Send him a Bowflex.’ When I returned to Los Angeles, this big package arrived: the Bowflex machine, assembled. She doesn’t say, “Oh, poor you.” It was more like, “I can fix it.”

“I love it – Chevrolet loves it. We all love it,” D’Angelo added.

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In 2025, Brinkley told Fox News Digital that she was relieved that D’Angelo intervened and saved her to undress.

“I was very grateful from the first day when I arrived,” the 71-year-old said at the time.

“I got there and I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I was in this motel in the middle of nowhere, and then I immediately got a call from Beverly saying, ‘Hey! Welcome. We’re all going to go out and grab a bite to eat. Why don’t you come with us?’ It’s the kind of thing that puts you at ease and lets you say, “I can relax.” I have a friend.'”

Chase, now 82, was just as welcoming, Brinkley wrote in her book.

“[He asked] me for my “beauty secrets” in her hilarious way: “Christie, you have to give me some tips to make my hair thicker!” she wrote. “As funny as he was, he was also shy, a combination I found endearing, and we quickly developed a playful chemistry that translated to the screen.”

Brinkley has been photographed on six continents and in more than 30 countries, appearing on more than 500 magazine covers around the world. However, she has never posed nude.

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“I really knew I wanted to be a mom and I didn’t want to [my children] go to school and ask a child to say, “There’s your mother!” I see your mother!’” the cover girl told Fox News Digital.

“And so I made that decision. I think people knew that. There was something about me that didn’t attract that kind of attention, and I didn’t have photographers trying to get me to take my clothes off all the time. It just didn’t happen.”

For decades, Brinkley was known as “America’s Sweetheart.” a title that she said suited her very well.

“That’s very sweet,” she told Fox News Digital. “I never really took it literally. I just thought it was a compliment to be taken with a grain of salt. But it was very nice and sweet that they wanted to say something nice about me.”

Brinkley said she has no regrets about her position.

“Now I can look back and say, ‘Wow, I did that. Good for me,'” she said.