Ilka Chase

Ilka Chase was an American stage and screen actress, a radio host, and a novelist. Born in New York City, she first acted at eight in a convent-school staging of Puss in Boots. She reached Broadway in 1924 with The Red Falcon, and her stage work included the original Broadway cast of The Women in 1938 and a later appearance in Barefoot in the Park. Her films included The Animal Kingdom (1932), Now, Voyager (1942), The Big Knife (1955), and her last, Ocean's Eleven (1960). On radio she hosted Penthouse Party and Luncheon at the Waldorf. On television she co-hosted Glamour-Go-Round, hosted Fashion Magic, played the Stepmother in Cinderella in 1957, and was a regular on The Trials of O'Brien. She wrote the novel In Bed We Cry, which was adapted for the stage with her in the lead, as well as the autobiographies Past Imperfect and Free Admission and more than a dozen other books.