Chevy Chase — Bitter Comic Turns Hermit

Chevy Chase — the boozy, grumpy "SNL" veteran most recently seen on "Community" —  has shut himself off from even his closest friends, holing up like a hermit in his Bedford, N.Y., mansion!

Once, he was a fixture at New York dinner parties and a member of the Hamptons upper crust. Now, say pals, he’s merely a crusty 74-year-old loner with health issues who has closed himself off from the world. “Chevy rarely leaves his house, let alone his estate,” an insider snitched.

And a rare venture into the world even made headlines after Chevy was involved in a bizarre brawl in Feb. 2018 — with the comic filing a police report claiming he was kicked during a road rage incident in New York State. He told cops that he chased after a vehicle when he thought his car had been hit, planning to "speak to [the driver of the truck] about his reckless driving."

Chevy told police that he discovered there was no damage to his car after the truck pulled over — but still approached the driver and his passengers. After one passenger extended his middle finger, Chevy told cops he said: "If I were a lot younger, I'd bust your nose." Chevy claims he was then kicked in the shoulder during a brief bawl, although the driver claims Chevy threw the first punch.

And, added an insider, Chevy's also smarting from getting into his share of showbiz fights: “He’s alienated himself from everyone in Hollywood, and now he has no one around him!” Chase even made enemies on the set of “Community,” where his boorish routine had the show’s creator, Dan Harmon, threatening to punch him!

A recent on-stage interview in London ended with Chevy antagonizing host Mike Read and mocking his accent! “It was supposed to be a nice ‘evening with Chevy Chase,’ but it turned into an awkward confrontation,” spilled a spywitness.

Between a 2014 heart attack and a stint in rehab two years later, Chase — shown here in Nov. 2017 alongside fellow "SNL" alumni Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd — has suffered massive weight swings, at one point reaching 320 pounds!

“Chevy’s in a bad way,” our source confided. “He’s pushed away anyone who cared enough to help him.”