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

Early life

Born in

Kings Point, New York Kings Point is a village located on the Great Neck Peninsula in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 5,005 at the 2010 census. History The Village of Ki ...

, Chase began formal dance lessons at age three, studying with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

's ballet mistress. She studied ballet, first with

Adolph Bolm Adolph Rudolphovich Bolm (russian: Адольф Рудольфович Больм; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent. Biography Bolm graduated from the Russi ...

and later with Maria Bekefi. 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 Borden Chase (January 11, 1900 – March 8, 1971) was an American writer. Career Early jobs Born Frank Fowler, he left school at fourteen went through an assortment of jobs, including driving for gangster Frankie Yale and working as a sandhog ...

('' Red River'') and sister of screenwriter/actor Frank Chase.

Performing career

During the early 1950s, Chase danced on live television programs such as ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' and ''The Chrysler Shower of Stars''. While working as Jack Cole's assistant choreographer at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, she was asked by

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

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 ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...

'' in 1966. During this period, she dated Astaire, a widower. She appeared on the syndicated talk show version of ''

The Donald O'Connor Show ''The Donald O'Connor Show'' (also known as ''Here Comes Donald'') is an American musical situation comedy television series starring singer/dancer Donald O'Connor. It appeared on NBC from October 9, 1954, to September 10, 1955, alternating on t ...

''. Chase worked in the chorus of many Hollywood musicals, including ''

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

'' (1952), ''

Call Me Madam ''Call Me Madam'' is a musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to ...

'' (1953), '' Deep in My Heart'' (1954), ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song "Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a m ...

'' (1954), '' Kismet'' (1955), '' Pal Joey'' (1957), ''

Les Girls ''Les Girls'' (also known as ''Cole Porter's Les Girls'') is a 1957 American CinemaScope musical comedy film directed by George Cukor and produced by Sol C. Siegel, with Saul Chaplin as associate producer. The screenplay by John Patrick was ba ...

'' (1957), and two Fred Astaire films, '' Daddy Long Legs'' (1955) and ''

Silk Stockings ''Silk Stockings'' is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story ''Ninotchka'' and the 1939 film adaptation it i ...

'' (1957). She appeared in '' White Christmas'' (1954) as the chorus girl who speaks the line "Mutual, I'm sure." Chase's other film roles included ''

The George Raft Story ''The George Raft Story'' is a 1961 American biographical film of Hollywood film star George Raft. Ray Danton portrays Raft and the film was directed by Joseph M. Newman. The picture was retitled ''Spin of a Coin'' for release in the United Kin ...

'' (1961); the beating victim of a sadistic

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

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 in the 1963 comedy ''

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians, is a ...

''. Subsequently, she played Farida in the film '' The Flight of the Phoenix'' (1965), starring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

and

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisi ...

, in a dream sequence. In 1965, she appeared in the episode "The Ballerina" on the TV series ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'', 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''.

Personal life

Chase was first married and divorced from Gene Shacove, then married Swedish actor Jan Malmsjö in 1966, divorcing in 1968. She next married medical doctor Richard Kaufman, and left show business in 1972 to focus on her family. The couple has one child. As of August 2022, Chase is the last-surviving cast member of the films ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) and ''Flight of the Phoenix'' (1965).

References

External links

* *
Barrie Chase as Mystery Guest of "What's My Line?" (Feb 19, 1961)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Barrie Living people 20th-century American actresses American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) Dancers from California American film actresses Actresses from Los Angeles People from Kings Point, New York 21st-century American women 1933 births