Barrie Chase

Barrie Chase
Chase performing with Fred Astaire on An Evening with Fred Astaire in 1960.
Born (1933-10-20) October 20, 1933 (age 91)
Kings Point, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, dancer
Years active1952–72
Spouse(s)Gene Shacove
(m. 19??; div. 19??)
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1968)​

James Kaufman
(m. 19??)
Children1
FatherBorden Chase
RelativesFrank Chase (brother)

Barrie Chase (born October 20, 1933) is an American actress and dancer.

Early life

Born in Kings Point, New York on October 20, 1933,[1] Chase began formal dance lessons at age three, studying with the New York City Opera's ballet mistress.[2] She studied ballet, first with Adolph Bolm and later with Maria Bekefi.[2] She abandoned her intention to become a ballerina in New York to stay in Los Angeles and help support her mother, pianist Lee Keith, after her parents' divorce. She is the daughter of writer Borden Chase (Red River) and sister of screenwriter/actor Frank Chase.[3]

Performing career

During the early 1950s, Chase danced on live television programs such as The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Chrysler Shower of Stars. While working as Jack Cole's assistant choreographer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, she was asked by Fred Astaire to be his dancing partner on An Evening with Fred Astaire. She made four appearances as Astaire's partner in his television specials between 1958 and 1968. The two danced on Hollywood Palace in 1966. During this period, Chase dated Astaire, a widower 34 years her senior.[4]

Chase appeared on the syndicated talk show version of The Donald O'Connor Show. Chase worked in the chorus of many Hollywood musicals, including Hans Christian Andersen (1952), Call Me Madam (1953), Deep in My Heart (1954), Brigadoon (1954), Kismet (1955), Pal Joey (1957), Les Girls (1957), and two Fred Astaire films, Daddy Long Legs (1955) and Silk Stockings (1957). She appeared in White Christmas (1954) as the chorus girl who speaks the line "Mutual, I'm sure."[citation needed] She appeared in a television episode of Have Gun Will Travel (1958).

Chase's other film roles included The George Raft Story (1961); the beating victim of a sadistic Robert Mitchum in the thriller Cape Fear (1962); and the dancing, bikini-clad paramour (restored footage revealed her character was in reality married) of Dick Shawn's dimwitted character Sylvester Marcus in the 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. (Chase is the last surviving member of the film's large cast.) Subsequently, she played Farida in the film The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), starring James Stewart and Richard Attenborough, in a dream sequence. In 1965, she appeared in the episode "The Ballerina" on the TV series Bonanza, playing saloon dancer Kellie Conrad, who longed to be a ballerina. In 1967, she appeared as a Soviet ballerina in the episode "Fly, Ballerina, Fly" on the television series Mr. Terrific.[5]

Later years

Barrie became widowed in 2010 after her husband, Dr. James Kaufman, died of Alzheimer's Disease. She currently lives in Marina Del Rey, California.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Barrie Chase: She Danced With a Legend". Archived from the original on July 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Hirt-Manheimer, Aron (2008). The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers. Wesleyan University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-8195-6880-9. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Green, Paul (2006). A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971. McFarland. p. 193. ISBN 9780786457991.
  4. ^ Levinson, Peter (March 2009). Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography. St. Martin's Press. pp. 250–287, 341–42. ISBN 978-0-312-35366-7.
  5. ^ Samuel Clemens (June 1, 2023). "Barrie Chase: A Brief Q&A". Quad-City Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  6. ^ "Barrie Chase - The Private Life and Times of Barrie Chase. Barrie Chase Pictures". www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com.