Hip, hip, hooray for Christmas Vacation!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year for fans of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” The cinematic gem detailing the yuletide misadventures of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and company is a holiday must-watch for many. It’s playing again on movie screens, cable television and streaming services, seemingly around the clock.
The cast of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
IMDB.com
While 69 News decks the halls and enjoys the warm embrace of kith and kin, we also wanted to check in with the Lehigh Valley’s resident “Christmas Vacation” star, Ellen Latzen.
Latzen, of course, played Ruby Sue Johnson, daughter of Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), and niece of Clark Griswold. In the movie, her family rolls into town in a “tenement on wheels” (to steal a phrase from her on-screen dad) and complicates an already trying holiday season for poor Clark. Latzen delivers one of the movie’s most memorable lines- which requires a bleep during broadcast network replays- during a scene with Chase where the two are talking about the existence of Santa Claus.
Latzen was nine years old when the movie was released in 1989.
Ellen Latzen as Ruby Sue in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
IMDB.com
As 69 News reported last year, Latzen, who grew up in the suburbs of New York City, has called the Lehigh Valley home for several years. Her husband, Ed, was already living in the region when they met. They now reside in Lehigh County and have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
‘Ruby Sue’ of Christmas Vacation fame living in the LV and loving it
We spoke to Latzen last month as “Christmas Vacation” was slowly worming its way back onto daily TV schedules and playlists. She told us she had recently shown parts of the movie to her daughter. “It’s kind of amazing to watch her watch me, because she’s too young to kind of wrap her brain around the concept of the fact that, not only is her mother 36 years younger, but that she’s on television.”
But, if all goes according to plan, Latzen- the grown-up version- will be making a lot more appearances on screens both big and small. After a 30-year hiatus from acting, Latzen is back in the game. “It’s been something that’s been coming for a long time,” she said. “I’d say probably the last 10 years, the itch has started to get a little bit stronger. But for a while, I just wasn’t really ready to open that door again.”
Ellen Latzen todayÂ
Kimberly Pekula
Latzen’s breakout role preceded “Christmas Vacation”; she played the daughter of Michael Douglas’ character, a little girl with a doomed pet rabbit, in the 1987 thriller “Fatal Attraction.” She did stage work, too, starring in “Buster B and Olivia” with Macaulay Culkin (the future Kevin McCallister of “Home Alone” fame) in 1988, and then taking on a role in the Tony-nominated Broadway show “Four Baboons Adoring the Sun” in 1992.
As a teen, Latzen attended boarding school in Vermont. After that, she discovered that acting roles available to her had dried up. “By the time I graduated, I didn’t have any sort of name recognition anymore,” she said. “Casting directors had forgotten about me. My agency had gone out of business, and so I really was going to have to start all over at that point, and I wasn’t really prepared to do that.”
Latzen was somewhat of a nomad as an adult, moving to different places around the U.S., and trying her hand at various careers, including podcast creator. But she had a nagging feeling that something was missing. “I was just constantly trying to find the thing to fill that void that was left when I left my acting career and I couldn’t,” Latzen said.
Eventually, motherhood would fill that well, but in a different way; while the job is as fulfilling as acting, Latzen said, she came to the realization that she needs both in her life. The aha moment happened at a signing event alongside fellow actors last year in San Antonio: “Just being with them and talking shop and kind of being back in that element again really kind of showed me that I miss this and I miss these dynamics, and I am ready to do this again.”
Ellen Latzen todayÂ
Kimberly Pekula
Now Latzen, armed with a fresh stack of headshots and a newly hired talent manager, is busy beefing up her resume. She already has several new projects to her credit: the horror movie “The Forest Hills,” from director Scott Goldberg, coming out in 2027; “IT’S ABOUT TIME,” a supernatural fable from the production company In the Wee Hours, premiering in early 2026; and “Carbondalien – Fire in the Pond” from Cannon Fire Productions, a mocumentary about a UFO sighting in Carbondale, Pa.Â
Latzen said getting back in front of a camera was nerve-racking; she had to shake off a little rust at first, but the jitters quickly dissipated. She’s getting her feet wet with smaller roles in the hopes of moving on to regular parts in television shows or films. “I’m allowing this process to just be totally organic,” she said.
Regardless of what comes next, Ruby Sue remains a large presence from Christmas past for Latzen. She regularly attends events all over the country to sign autographs for “Christmas Vacation” fans. Later this month, on December 21, she’ll take part in a Q-and-A before a screening of the movie at ArtsQuest in Bethlehem. Learn more about the event here.
Latzen will also stop by the 69 News studios to talk about her “Christmas Vacation” memories, as well as her new career opportunities. Look for her this Saturday morning, December 6, on 69 News at Sunrise, anchored by WFMZ’s Bo Koltnow and Karin Mallett. Â
After that, Latzen will hop in her car to head to another fan event at the NJ Expo Center in Edison. Her schedule also includes a fundraiser in York on December 20.
When 69 News asked her about her relationship with the Ruby Sue role, all these years later, Latzen responded, “Ruby Sue is my girl! She gives me the chance to connect with millions of fans and help celebrate their holidays every year.”
And so, to borrow a line from her “Christmas Vacation” Uncle Clark (who borrowed it from Clement Moore’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas”), “Merry (Happy) Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”