His paternal grandfather was of Iraqi Jewish descent, and his paternal grandmother was of Polish Jewish background. His mother's family is Hungarian.
He broke his neck on the set of Saturday Night Live (1975) after he choked on a piece of cheesecake and he fell backwards off of an unstable chair and smashed his head on the stage. His injury required five surgeries to repair and stabilize his neck. These days Chris's hands still don't work properly due largely to nerve damage from the fall.