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Beverly D'Angelo Says Her Christmas Vacation Hand Gesture Was an Improvised One-Take

She says it stayed only because it was the last usable shot at the end of the day.

Overview

  • In new interviews, D'Angelo recounts spontaneously adding the subtle gesture during a freeze on set in the 1989 holiday film.
  • She says she alerted Chevy Chase beforehand, and he agreed but cautioned, "You can't do that," believing it wouldn't be allowed.
  • According to D'Angelo, the moment remained in the final cut because production had no alternate take from that setup.
  • She adds that audiences are spotting the brief bit more often now thanks to large, high-definition screens and streaming presentations.
  • D'Angelo also shares an on-set memory that a trained squirrel was replaced by a relatively wild stand-in for a sequence, noting this as her recollection.