Diminutive character actor Frank Chase appeared in nearly two dozen movies during the 1950s, ranging from Westerns to science fiction, and also enjoyed a career as a screenwriter, principally for television. The son of veteran author and screenwriter Borden Chase, Frank first came to movies as an actor, his short stature and animated persona making him ideal for portraying comical eccentrics, though he could also play straight, non-comedic roles. He spent most of his acting career at Universal in the 1950s, appearing in some surprisingly high-profile movies, including Winchester '73, Red Ball Express, and Walk the Proud Land, though his most memorable work on the big screen was, ironically, in the lowest-budgeted movie he ever worked in, Nathan Juran's Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), made for Allied Artists. Chase stole most of the scenes in which he appeared, portraying Charlie, the whining, slow-on-the-uptake deputy sheriff (picture an amalgam of Jason Alexander and Don Knotts at their most manic). Chase moved into television work in the early '60s, acting primarily in Westerns such as The Virginian, and he also became a screenwriter, authoring episodes of The High Chaparral, The Virginian and its successor series The Men From Shiloh, and several shows from the early seasons of Bonanza ("The Medal," "The Jackknife"). He wrote one Bonanza episode, "The Ballerina," especially as a vehicle for his sister, actress/dancer Barrie Chase.
by Bruce Eder
biography
