Early Life
Chase was born in Mount Vernon, New York. An Italian-American, 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 issues with his parents, whom 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 (NYU), where he announced his decision 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.
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