Christmas Movie Icon Beverly D’Angelo Shares Secrets of Her ‘Christmas Vacation’

Beverly D’Angelo took matters into her own hands and made movie history.

After “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983) and “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” (1985), the Griswolds returned to wreak even more chaos in 1989’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” The film starred D’Angelo and Chevy Chase, as well as Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, among others.

D’Angelo is ringing in the new year with a lot in store for fans. She stars alongside Hayden Panettiere in 2026’s psychological thriller “Sleepwalker.” She recently followed up with “The Heart Brake,” in which she transforms a property into a Christmas bed and breakfast called the Noel Hotel.

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But when the holidays come, D’Angelo still remembers the movie it keeps on giving – and the moment she made her own.

“It wasn’t in the script that I was keeping the family jewels when the police came after us,” the actress told Fox News Digital. “I added that. It was definitely improvised. It was my little touch. All in one take.”

In the film, a police officer orders everyone gathered for the Griswold family’s Christmas to freeze. A stunned Ellen (D’Angelo) suddenly grabs Clark’s (Chase) crotch and stands still, obeying the order.

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“We had one take left and that was the end of the day,” D’Angelo recalls. “I said, ‘I bet no one will understand that.’ We did the shot, we froze, and I put my hand in it. It was like, ‘OK, it’s over.’ Everyone goes home. It was subtle. And it had to stay in the film because it was the only shot left! What are they going to do? They had no choice. »

Chase was in on it.

It was a long day of filming and the star couldn’t wait to have fun. D’Angelo informed Chase what she was going to do. He agreed – before quickly adding: “You can’t do that”, convinced that she would never get out of it, Forbes reported.

“I guarantee you that no one will look at my hand,” she told him, quoted by the media. “Everyone’s gonna look at your face and Randy’s face [Quaid] the face and expressions. I’m going to be way below your height, and the director isn’t even looking at me. He’s just trying to make you feel good, take this photo.”

It worked – and if you blink you’ll miss it.

“Well, what would you do in this situation?” D’Angelo told Fox News Digital. “Above all, you would keep the family jewels.”

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D’Angelo, 74, noted that she and Chase, 82, became fast friends upon meeting on set. This bond has lasted for decades.

“I knew from the beginning that I would have a lifelong friendship with Chevrolet,” D’Angelo explained. “It was like meeting a brother. We kept that bond until the end, decades later. I just had a feeling when we met that we would be a tribe. I can’t explain it, except there’s just something about when Chevrolet and I get together.”

“There’s a chemistry that we can create,” she shared. “We have chemistry, we understand each other. And then we can easily switch between Clark and Ellen. It’s just something. I can’t explain it. It doesn’t happen with anyone else. He makes me Ellen, and I make him Clark when we work together. It’s very natural. We know that.”

Despite their instant connection, D’Angelo admitted that she didn’t expect them to cross paths again after the first film.

“When we did the first ‘Vacation,’ it was just a summer movie,” D’Angelo said. “This franchise concept came much later. We only did the second one because the first one was such a success. And then ‘Christmas’ was as successful as the very first one, which is unusual. So when I went to meet with Chevrolet, I just thought I was doing a Chevrolet Chase comedy this was going to be done after “Animal House.”

“I had some hesitation about it,” she noted. “There are these old rules: Never work with children and animals. And there were a lot of children and animals. Plus, I was a mother of teenagers and I was 29 when we did that. I would even suggest actresses to my agent. ‘Tell them to meet this person, that person.’ Just actress friends who I thought would be good. But he was my husband at the time – I was married to an Italian duke, in did – and he said, ‘But Beverly, this is hilarious!’

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“That was it,” she continued. “I was in Italy when a friend of mine called me and he said, “Did you know you’re in the number one movie this week?” It was the first “Vacation”. It has only grown. It seems to be part of our entire culture now. For many people, it’s part of their Christmas ritual. I don’t know what to say other than quote myself and say, “It’s Christmas.” We are all in poverty.’”

Making “Christmas Vacation” wasn’t always easy. This reminded D’Angelo of one of his past rules.

“The squirrel that jumped out of the tree? That squirrel was trained by professional animal trainers,” D’Angelo said of the unforgettable scene from “Christmas Vacation.”

“He was trained to jump out of the tree and onto Chevy’s shoulder, as well as onto someone else’s shoulder. He was trained to do all these tricks. They really, really trained him.”

“They did a fantastic job, to the point where the squirrel had a heart attack or something,” she said. “Something happened to the squirrel. So when it came time to shoot, they had to quickly find another squirrel. They had a relatively wild onecertainly not trained to do all the tricks the original squirrel was capable of. So they have a live squirrel that jumps out of the tree, but everything else is a stuffed squirrel.”

However undisciplined the filming of “Christmas Vacation” It may be, D’Angelo knows it’s become a holiday classic — and she’s grateful.

“Here’s the thing about Christmas,” she said. “Of course, when you have kids, it becomes important. I’ve never been a big vacationer per se. I don’t even like celebrating my birthday, to tell you the truth. I don’t like all the attention. But it’s that spirit of giving, it’s a wonderful thing to always be engaged in.”

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“I didn’t think that [‘National Lampoon’] was going to turn into something that would last a lifetime,” she mused. “It’s beautiful.”