Chase was born into a working-class Italian American[3] family in Mount Vernon, New York. His father Henry Chase, a hardware store owner, had changed his surname from "DeCesare" to "Chase" well before his son was born. He was an only child and grew up in a small garden apartment in Clifton, New Jersey[4] and in North Caldwell, New Jersey.[5] He has stated that he had many problems with overbearing parents when he was a child.[4] He grew up watching matinée crime films and was well known as a creative storyteller.[6] He claims that his father was an angry man who belittled him constantly, 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." His Sopranos character Livia Soprano is based on his mother, Norma Chase.
Chase struggled with panic attacks and clinical depression as a teenager, something that 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," he has stated. He described his problems as "normal, nagging, clinical depression."[4] He also worked as a drummer during this period and aspired to be a professional musician.[6] 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.
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