Ilka Chase (April 8, 1905 â€" February 15, 1978) was an American
actress, radio host, and novelist.Born in New York City and educated
at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and
France, Chase was the only child of Francis Dane Chase, a merchant
mariner who became a dry goods salesman and then the general manager
of New York's Hotel Colonial, and the former Edna Woolman Allaway,
known as Edna Woolman Chase, an editor. Her mother, who became the
editor-in-chief of Vogue, described Chase's father, whom she married
in 1902, as "a lovable, good-looking, irresponsible young man from
Boston. His father had been a banker, and depending on when you met
them, the family had money." After her parents' divorce, her father
married artist Theodora Larsh (1887â€"1955). Her mother's second
husband was engineer Richard Newton.After graduating from France's
Château de Groslay boarding school, Chase made her society debut in
December 1923 at a large dinner and dance, held in her honor and
hosted by her mother at the Cosmopolitan Club in New York City. The
250 guests included her mother's employer, Condé Nast, Vanity Fair
editor-in-chief Frank Crowninshield, artist Abram Poole and his wife,
Mercedes de Acosta, interior decorators Ruby Ross Goodnow and Nancy
McClelland, artist Albert Sterner, future Harper's Bazaar
editor-in-chief Carmel Snow, British nobleman and pilot Viscount
Holmesdale, architect Harrie T. Lindeberg, and fashion designer
Adrian.Chase's Broadway debut occurred in 1924 in The Red Falcon. Her
stage appearances included roles in Days Without End, Forsaking All
Others, While Parents Sleep, Small Miracle, On to Fortune, Tampico,
Co-Respondent Unknown, Keep Off the Grass, and In Bed We Cry, an
adaptation of her novel of the same name. She was in the original
Broadway cast of Clare Boothe Luce's play The Women (1938), and many
years later appeared in Neil Simon's Broadway hit Barefoot in the
Park.
actress, radio host, and novelist.Born in New York City and educated
at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and
France, Chase was the only child of Francis Dane Chase, a merchant
mariner who became a dry goods salesman and then the general manager
of New York's Hotel Colonial, and the former Edna Woolman Allaway,
known as Edna Woolman Chase, an editor. Her mother, who became the
editor-in-chief of Vogue, described Chase's father, whom she married
in 1902, as "a lovable, good-looking, irresponsible young man from
Boston. His father had been a banker, and depending on when you met
them, the family had money." After her parents' divorce, her father
married artist Theodora Larsh (1887â€"1955). Her mother's second
husband was engineer Richard Newton.After graduating from France's
Château de Groslay boarding school, Chase made her society debut in
December 1923 at a large dinner and dance, held in her honor and
hosted by her mother at the Cosmopolitan Club in New York City. The
250 guests included her mother's employer, Condé Nast, Vanity Fair
editor-in-chief Frank Crowninshield, artist Abram Poole and his wife,
Mercedes de Acosta, interior decorators Ruby Ross Goodnow and Nancy
McClelland, artist Albert Sterner, future Harper's Bazaar
editor-in-chief Carmel Snow, British nobleman and pilot Viscount
Holmesdale, architect Harrie T. Lindeberg, and fashion designer
Adrian.Chase's Broadway debut occurred in 1924 in The Red Falcon. Her
stage appearances included roles in Days Without End, Forsaking All
Others, While Parents Sleep, Small Miracle, On to Fortune, Tampico,
Co-Respondent Unknown, Keep Off the Grass, and In Bed We Cry, an
adaptation of her novel of the same name. She was in the original
Broadway cast of Clare Boothe Luce's play The Women (1938), and many
years later appeared in Neil Simon's Broadway hit Barefoot in the
Park.
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