| David Chase | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22 1945 Mount Vernon, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, director, producer |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Denise Kelly |
| Children | Michele DeCesare |
David Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an Emmy Award-winning American screenwriter, director, and producer best known as the creator and head writer of the highly acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos.
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Early life
An only-child, David DeCesare was born to Henry and Norma DeCesare in Mount Vernon, New York. Some sources list his birth name as David Del Cesare. An Italian-American,[1] Chase grew up in a small garden apartment in Clifton, New Jersey[2] and in North Caldwell.[3] Chase has stated that he had many issues with his parents—who he feels were overbearing—as a youth.[2] He grew up watching matinée crime films and was well-known as a creative storyteller during his childhood.[4] 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."[2] One of his characters on the HBO original series The Sopranos, Livia Soprano is based on his mother. Chase struggled with 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.[2] "I slept 18 hours a day," Chase later stated.[2] He described his problems as "what's come to be known as normal, nagging, clinical depression. It was awful."[2] He also worked as a drummer during this period, and held aspirations of being a professional musician.[4] 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.
Career
Before creating and developing The Sopranos, Chase started in Hollywood as a story editor for Kolchak: The Night Stalker and then produced episodes of Northern Exposure and The Rockford Files, among other series. He also worked as a writer while on The Rockford Files—a show which he worked on in various capacities for more than four years.[2] He won several Emmys, including one for a television movie story of runaway he scripted in 1980.[2] After The Rockford Files run ended the same year, Chase worked in numerous television jobs until he wound up in charge of Northern Exposure in 1993.[2] Chase worked in relative anonymity before The Sopranos debuted.[2] Inspired as a youth by the film The Public Enemy,[4] Chase created the critically and commercially successful show by drawing heavily on his own personal life; the character of Livia Soprano is modelled after his own mother.[5] In a recent interview Chase stated that he experienced frustration for a long period with being unable to break out of the TV genre and into film over this time.[2] In 2005, Chase received a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his entire body of work. His first original created series was Almost Grown in 1988, with Eve Gordon and Timothy Daly.[6] Although the one-hour series was well-received by critics,[7] only 10 episodes aired from November 1988 to February 1989.[8]
Awards
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the or at requests for expansion. (December 2007) |
Chase was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for best dramatic series for his work on the sixth season of The Sopranos.[9][10][11]
Personal life
After graduating from NYU in 1968 Chase moved to California and married his high school sweetheart Denise Kelly.[2] Their daughter Michele DeCesare plays the character Hunter Scangarelo on The Sopranos.
The Sopranos
25 episodes of The Sopranos are explicitly credited to Chase. However, as the show's creator, showrunner, and executive producer he had a major role in all of the scripts, including producing and touching up each script's final draft.[12] He also directed the pilot episode and the series finale (both of which he also wrote).
Written
- "The Sopranos" (episode 1.01)
- "46 Long" (episode 1.02)
- "College" (episode 1.05) (with Jim Manos, Jr.)
- "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti" (episode 1.08) (with Frank Renzulli)
- "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" (episode 1.13)
- "Commendatori" (episode 2.04)
- "Funhouse" (episode 2.13) (with Todd A. Kessler)
- "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" (episode 3.01)
- "Proshai, Livushka" (episode 3.02)
- "Army of One" (episode 3.13) (with Lawrence Konner)
- "For All Debts Public and Private" (episode 4.01)
- "No Show" (episode 4.02) (with Terence Winter)
- "Calling All Cars" (episode 4.11) (with Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess and David Flebotte)
- "Whitecaps" (episode 4.13) (with Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess)
- "Two Tonys" (episode 5.01) (with Terence Winter)
- "The Test Dream" (episode 5.11) (with Matthew Weiner)
- "All Due Respect" (episode 5.13) (with Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess)
- "Join the Club" (episode 6.02)
- "Live Free or Die" (episode 6.06) (with Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess and Terence Winter)
- "Cold Stones" (episode 6.11) (with Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider)
- "Kaisha" (episode 6.12) (with Matthew Weiner and Terence Winter)
- "Soprano Home Movies" (episode 6.13) (with Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider and Matthew Weiner)
- "Kennedy and Heidi" (episode 6.18) (with Matthew Weiner)
- "The Blue Comet" (episode 6.20) (with Matthew Weiner)
- "Made in America" (episode 6.21)
Directed
- "The Sopranos" (episode 1.01)
- "Made in America" (episode 6.21)
Acted
Chase appeared as a man sitting at an outdoor cafe smoking a cigarette in the season two episode Commendatori. He also appeared as an airline passenger in season six's Luxury Lounge.
References
- ^ Boss of Bosses
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Biskend, Peter. An American Family, Vanity Fair , April 2007, accessed May 6, 2007.
- ^ DeCaro, Frank. " No Longer the Punch-Line State; Lauryn Hill, the Sopranos and others are unapologetic New Jerseyans.", The New York Times, April 4, 1999."Growing up in Clifton and North Caldwell, Mr. Chase said, New Jersey seemed very exciting and very mysterious, not dull and predictable as many New Yorkers like to believe."
- ^ a b c David Chase: Creator, HBO.com, accessed May 6, 2007.
- ^ Dougherty, Robin. Chasing TV, salon.com, January 20, 1999, accessed May 8, 2007.
- ^ Baker, Kathryn. (November 23, 1988) Wichita Eagle. "Almost Grown: tells story of growing up. Section:Lifestyle; Page 9A.
- ^ Bark, Ed. (October 2, 1988) Dallas Morning News A critic picks the season's top ten. Section: Arts & Entertainment; page 1C.
- ^ Vero Beach Press Journal (November 12, 2000) Pipline. Section: TV Journal; Page 32.
- ^ 2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced. WGA (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ WGA announce TV, radio nominees. Variety (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ HBO tops WGA awards list with five noms. The Hollywood Reporter (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ Josh Wolk (2007-04-06). Burying the Sopranos. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-07-19. “[Chase] oversees everything, from writing the final polish on all scripts to supervising the editing of each episode.”
External links
- Information about David Chase at HBO.com
- David Chase at the Internet Movie Database
- Debate regarding Sopranos finale at HBO.com
- The Sopranos
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | DeCesare, David |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chase, David; Del Cesare, David |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Screenwriter, Director, Producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 22, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mount Vernon, NY, U.S. |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
