Heather Chasen
| Heather Chasen | |
|---|---|
Heather Chasen, pictured in 2009.
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|
| Born |
Heather Jean Chasen 20 July 1927 Singapore |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1945–2014 |
| Notable work | See below |
| Television |
Crossroads Marked Personal EastEnders |
| Children | Rupert Chasen |
| Parent(s) |
F.N Chasen Agnes H McCullock |
Heather Jean Chasen (born 20 July 1927) is an English actress. Chasen is known for her roles in soap operas; playing Valerie Pollard in the ITV soap opera Crossroads from 1982–86 and guest roles in Doctors, Holby City and Family Affairs. Chasen also played many roles in BBC Radio 2's The Navy Lark from 1959–77, and appeared in the television series Marked Personal from 1973–74. She played Lydia Simmonds in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role which received positive reviews from critics, EastEnders cast members and crew. Furthermore, she has appeared extensively in theatre productions and film; in 2012, she appeared in a film version of Les Misérables.
Chasen was born on 20 July 1927, in Singapore. Chasen's father, F.N. Chasen was an English ornithologist, who fought in World War I under the Norfolk Yeomanry as a trooper. In 1921, he left England, to work at the Raffles Library and Museum in Singapore, marrying Chasen's mother, Agnes H McCullock, in 1926. After Chasen's birth, her parents had another daughter, Christine Elizabeth, on 4 May 1931. Her parents split in 1938, and both remarried. Before the Japanese occupation, which led to the Battle of Singapore during World War II, Chasen and her mother left Singapore on the last boat before the occupation. Her father, on a separate ship, HMS Giang Bee, perished however, when it was sunk by the Japanese on 12 February 1942, and Chasen's new stepfather, G.C.R Franks, too perished fighting, a month later, on the 22 March. Chasen and her mother moved to England and Chasen trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she then acted on stage and went on a tour with Frankie Howerd in Hotel Paradiso. She also appeared with Sybil Thorndike in Call Me Jacky, as well as going on tour with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in The Pleasure of his Company, in Toronto. Chasen is good friends with, and previously had a relationship with, Amanda Barrie. In 1949, she married John Webster in Surrey and has one son with him, Rupert, born in Kensington, 1955.
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