Ilka Chase papers

1850-1977 [bulk 1916-1977]

Ilka Chase, actress and author, was born in New York on April 8. According to Who's Who in the Theatre, she was born in 1905, but she disputed this date claiming that she was actually younger. Her mother was Edna Woolman Chase, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine from 1914 to 1952. She began her stage career with the Stuart Walker Stock company and after a season she moved over to the company of actor-manager Henry Miller with whom she appeared in "The Red Falcon" and "Bribers". In 1926 she married and divorced actor Louis Calhern and went to Hollywood.

On Broadway she did DAYS WITHOUT END by Eugene O'Neill, FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, WHILE PARENTS SLEEP, ON TO FORTUNE, CO-RESPONDENT UNKNOWN, and two musicals - REVENGE WITH MUSIC and KEEP OFF THE GRASS. She also played in the stage version of her own IN BED WE CRY. She is also remembered for her role as Sylvia Fowler in the stage version of Clare Boothe Luce's THE WOMEN. She left the stage in 1944 but made a comeback in 1966, appearing as the mother-in-law in Neil Simon's BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. Her last stage appearance was in PRESENT LAUGHTER by Noel Coward at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C. in 1975. Her films included FAST AND LOOSE, ONCE A SINNER, THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, THE FLORADORA GIRL, and NOW VOYAGER. Her last film was THE BIG KNIFE.

She was also a radio and television personality, playwright, writer, New York panelist and highly regarded wit. Her works included Past Imperfect; Always In Vogue, a history of the magazine that she co-wrote with her mother; and In Bed We Cry. She wrote many books and articles on travel, and had a syndicated newspaper column. She also conducted a radio program, 'Luncheon at the Waldorf.

After her divorce from Calhern she married and divorced radio ad agency executive William B. Murray, a former head of the radio department of the William Morris Agency. In 1945 she married Dr. Norton S. Brown. She died in 1977.

Edna Woolman Chase was born in 1877 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In 1895 she joined the staff of Vogue magazine which was then in its third year. From addressing envelopes she progressed upward in the art and editorial departments. In 1909 Conde Nast bought the struggling magazine and in 1911 he made her managing director. She was editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1914 until she resigned in 1952. She died in 1957.