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Ilka Chase (April 8, 1900 - February 15, 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 by 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, 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 was in The Big Knife. She died in Mexico City, Mexico. 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.
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