Chris Chase (born Irene Greengard; January 12, 1924 – October 31, 2013), also known by the stage name Irene Kane, was an American model, film actress, writer, and journalist.[1] Her best-known role was in Killer's Kiss. She later wrote advice books and co-authored several celebrity autobiographies.[2] She is the sister of Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Paul Greengard.[3]
Born to Pearl (née Meister) and Benjamin Greengard in New York City in 1924, Irene Greengard was a model for Vogue.[4] In the mid-fifties photographer Bert Stern, who had photographed her for that magazine, introduced her to film director Kubrick when he was looking for the female lead for Killer's Kiss. She took the professional name Irene Kane, and went on to appear in other films as well as Broadway theatre productions.
As Chris Chase, she moved into journalism, working at The New York Times, and writing advice books on weight loss and getting into film acting.[5]
After a short stint at CBS Morning News, Chase joined CNN in 1980 and stayed until 1986, serving as the first anchor of Media Watch in 1985. She co-authored several celebrity autobiographies, including books by Rosalind Russell, Betty Ford, and Alan King, and co-authored a biography of Josephine Baker with Baker's adopted son Jean-Claude.[6]
On June 3, 1961, Kane married Michael Chase (born 1932), an educational television producer, and the son of playwright Mary Chase. She took her husband's surname professionally as well as legally.[7] Chase and her husband were seriously injured in a car accident near Poughkeepsie, New York, in March 1975.[8]
Chase died of pancreatic cancer on October 31, 2013, at her home in New York City, aged 89.[6][9]
