Ilka Chase

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Ilka Chase
from the trailer for the film Now, Voyager (1942).
Born	April 8, 1900(1900-04-08) New York City, U.S.
Died	February 15, 1978 (aged 77) Mexico City, Mexico
Spouse(s)	Louis Calhern (1926 - 1927) William Murray (1935 - 1946) Dr. Norton Sager Brown (1946 - 1978)

Ilka Chase (8 April 1900 – 15 February 1978) was an American actress and novelist.

Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, she was the only child of Edna Woolman Chase, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, and her first husband, Francis Dane Chase.

She was married three times and divorced twice: (1) Louis Calhern, 1926-1927; (2) William B. Murray, a radio executive, 1935-1946; and (3) Dr. Norton Sager Brown, 1946-1978. She had no children.

Chase made her society debut in 1923 and her Broadway debut a year later, in The Red Falcon. Her stage appearances included roles in Days Without End, Forsaking All Others, While Parents Sleep, On to Fortune, Co-Respondent Unknown, Revenge With Music, Keep Off the Grass and In Bed We Cry, which was an adaptation of her novel of the same name. She was in the first Broadway cast of The Women (1938) and subsequently appeared in Neil Simon's Broadway hit Barefoot in the Park.

Her films included Fast and Loose, Once a Sinner, The Animal Kingdom, The Big Knife and Now, Voyager. For several years, she was host of a radio program, Luncheon at the Waldorf.

In 1957, she performed the role of the Stepmother in the television production of Cinderella, which starred Julie Andrews. Her last motion picture appearance came in the Rat Pack caper film Ocean's Eleven (1960) as the mother of the Peter Lawford character.

Her autobiography, Past Imperfect (Vol I) was published in 1942 and Free Admission (Vol II), published in 1948. She also wrote more than a dozen other books.

She died in Mexico City, Mexico. Her epitaph reads: "I've finally gotten to the bottom of things."

Chase also played the role of Aunt Pauline, an annoying house guest, in a television episode of the Patty Duke Show.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ilka Chase

• Ilka Chase at the Internet Movie Database
• Ilka Chase at the Internet Broadway Database

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