Frank Chase (screenwriter)

'''Frank Chase''' (February 22, 1923 – July 2, 2004) was an American character actor and screenwriter. As an actor, he is probably best remembered for his role as Deputy Charlie in ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman''. As a writer, his most prolific work was in the television series ''Bonanza''. Other television series for which he wrote scripts were ''The Virginian'' and ''The High Chaparral''.

==Background== Frank Chase was born in Potsdam, New York, in 1923. His father was screenwriter Borden Chase. He started out as an actor but moved to writing for television around the end of the 1950s.<ref>''A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971'', By Paul Green - [https://books.google.com/books?id=OvPH-sYo_O8C&dq=Frank+Chase+Screenwriter&pg=PA193 Page 193 ''23: Writers'', ''Frank Chase'']</ref> His sister is actress/dancer Barrie Chase.<ref>Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen - [http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/639/Barrie+Chase/index.html Barrie Chase Profile, November 64] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206125922/http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/639/Barrie%20Chase/index.html |date=2017-02-06 }}</ref>

He died on July 2, 2004.<ref>''A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971'', By Paul Green - [https://books.google.com/books?id=OvPH-sYo_O8C&dq=Frank+Chase+Screenwriter&pg=PA193 Page 193 ''23: Writers'', ''Frank Chase'']</ref>

==Acting career==

===1930s, 1940s=== Chase appeared in at least two films in his youth: ''One in a Million'', which was released around 1936/1937, and ''Thin Ice'', released in 1937.<ref>Turner Classic Movies - [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928001502/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/32650%7C53209/Frank-Chase/#filmography Frank Chase, COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY] </ref>

===1950s=== His acting career as an adult began around the early 1950s with small parts in films such as ''Winchester '73'', ''Bend of the River'', ''Red Ball Express''<ref>''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2004: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture'', By Harris M. Lentz III - [https://books.google.com/books?id=anvGCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Frank+Chase%22screenwriter&pg=PA72 Page 72 Chase, Frank]</ref> and ''The World in His Arms''.<ref>''Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films, 2d ed.'', By Michael R. Pitts - [https://books.google.com/books?id=aTX2mv0uX7UC&dq=%22Frank+Chase%22Saskatchewan&pg=PA405 Page 405 5025, ''The World in His Arms'']</ref> Later he portrayed Borden in the 1952 western, ''Horizons West''. He portrayed Keller in ''Saskatchewan'' (1954).<ref>Turner Classic Movies - [https://web.archive.org/web/20140827065720/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/89068/Saskatchewan/ Saskatchewan(1954)] </ref> He played Stone in ''Walk the Proud Land'', a 1956 western.<ref>Rotten Tomatoes - [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/walk_the_proud_land/ Walk the Proud Land (1956), Cast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228195005/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/walk_the_proud_land/ |date=2016-12-28 }}</ref> He also played Deputy Charlie in ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'',<ref>Fandango - [http://www.fandango.com/people/frank-chase-114519/biography Frank Chase Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229031656/http://www.fandango.com/people/frank-chase-114519/biography |date=2016-12-29 }}</ref><ref>''Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties'', By Bill Warren, Bill Thomas - [https://books.google.com/books?id=0r8UCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22+Frank+Chase%2250+Foot+Woman&pg=PA74 Page 74 ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' (1985)]</ref> a sci-fi film about a giant woman released in 1958.<ref>''South China Morning Post'', Sunday, 25 August 2013 - [https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1298822/rewind-film-attack-50-foot-woman Rewind film: 'Attack of the 50 Foot Woman' - Doretta Lau] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229061612/http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1298822/rewind-film-attack-50-foot-woman |date=2016-12-29 }}</ref> His part was as a corny deputy<ref>''Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties'', By Bill Warren, Bill Thomas - [https://books.google.com/books?id=0r8UCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22+Frank+Chase%2250+Foot+Woman&pg=PA74 Page 74 ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' (1985)]</ref> who in one scene comes across a giant footprint in a garden.<ref>''Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998'', By Dennis Fischer - [https://books.google.com/books?id=7msrAwAAQBAJ&dq=Frank+Chase+Deputy+Charlie&pg=PA335 Page 335 ''Nathan Juran'']</ref>

===1960s=== Chase's last acting work in the 1960s was an episode in ''Bonanza'' and a couple in ''The Virginian''. He played the part of Jim in the ''Bonanza'' episode, ''The Artist''.<ref>Getty Images - [http://www.gettyimages.com/license/145134483 Bonanza - Season 4]</ref> In 1963, he played the part of a wrangler in ''The Evil That Men Do'', an episode of ''The Virginian''. In 1965, he appeared in ''The Virginian'' again, in the episode ''Shadows of the Past'', playing the part of a husband. He also wrote the script for the episode.<ref>TV Buzer - [http://www.tvbuzer.com/tv-shows/The-Virginian/Season-3/episode-23/cast-crew The Virginian, S3 E23 - "Shadows of the Past"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228200911/http://www.tvbuzer.com/tv-shows/The-Virginian/Season-3/episode-23/cast-crew |date=2016-12-28 }}</ref><ref>''A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971'', By Paul Green - [https://books.google.com/books?id=OvPH-sYo_O8C&dq=%22Frank+Chase%22Shadows+of+the+Past%22&pg=PA242 Page 242 SHADOWS OF THE PAST (3:23) # 24735]</ref>

==Writer== His earliest writing work was for the ''Johnny Tuvo'' episode of ''The Texan'' starring Rory Calhoun in the series' titular role and featuring Ron Hagerthy as Johnny Tuvo.

From 1961 to 1969, he scripted 14 episodes of ''Bonanza''. An episode entitled ''The Ballerina'', which aired in January 1965, is said to have been written by Chase with his ballerina sister Barrie Chase in mind.<ref>''A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History'', By Bruce R. Leiby, Linda F. Leiby - [https://books.google.com/books?id=gMGSCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Frank+Chase%22The+Ballerina&pg=PA94 Page 94 E186. ''The Ballerina'' (January 24, 1965]</ref> He also scripted 10 episodes for ''The Virginian'', with airing dates from 1963 to 1970.<ref>''A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971'', By Paul Green - [https://books.google.com/books?id=OvPH-sYo_O8C&dq=%22Frank+Chase%22The+Virginian%22&pg=PA193 Page 193 ''23: Writers'', ''Frank Chase'']</ref> He also wrote 4 episodes of ''The High Chaparral''.<ref>The High Chaparral - [http://www.thehighchaparral.com/writersdir.htm Guide to Writers and Directors, Writers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618225921/http://www.thehighchaparral.com/writersdir.htm |date=2016-06-18 }}</ref> He wrote the story for the 1967 film, ''Sullivan's Empire'', his only film.<ref>''World Filmography: 1967'', By Peter Cowie, Derek Elley - [https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp7ayTLX1D8C&dq=Sullivan%27s+Empire+Frank+Chase&pg=PA604 Page 604 Sullivan's Empire]</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Frank}} Category:1923 births Category:2004 deaths Category:American male actors Category:American male screenwriters Category:Place of death missing Category:People from Potsdam, New York Category:20th-century American male writers Category:20th-century American screenwriters