David Chase

David Chase
Chase at the US Embassy in Dublin, January 2015
Born	(1945-08-22) August 22, 1945 (age 71) Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Stanford University; New York University
Occupation	Screenwriter, director, producer
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Denise Kelly (1 child, Michele DeCesare)

David Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American writer, director and television producer. Chase has worked in television for 40 years; he has produced and written for such shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown, aired for 10 episodes in 1988 and 1989. Chase is best known for his second original series, the influential and critically acclaimed HBO drama The Sopranos, which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2007. A prominent figure in American television, Chase has won seven Emmy Awards.

Chase was born into a working class Italian American family in Mount Vernon, New York. An only child, Chase grew up in a small garden apartment in Clifton, New Jersey and in North Caldwell. Chase has stated that as a child he had many problems with his parents, who he feels were overbearing. He grew up watching matinée crime films and was well known as a creative storyteller during his childhood. Chase claims his father was an angry man who belittled him constantly as a child and his mother was a "passive-aggressive drama queen" and a "nervous woman who dominated any situation she was in by being so needy and always on the verge of hysteria. You walked on eggshells." One of his characters on the HBO original series The Sopranos, Livia Soprano, is based on his mother. Chase struggled with panic attacks and severe depression as a teenager, something he still deals with today. He graduated from high school in 1964 and attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where his depression worsened. "I slept 18 hours a day," Chase later stated. He described his problems as "what's come to be known as normal, nagging, clinical depression. It was awful." He also worked as a drummer during this period, and held aspirations of being a professional musician. After two years, he transferred to New York University, where he chose to pursue a career in film, a decision that was not well received by his parents. He went on to attend Stanford University's School of Film.