Trivia

According to an interview Barrie gave during the 50th anniversary celebrations for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) she was in Sweden when her agent called and told her Stanley Kramer wanted to see her the next day about a part in a movie. She thought it was just an audition, but she flew back anyway. It turned out his wife had suggested he hire Barrie for the role so it was hers if she wanted it (she did). After the meeting she was walking down the Sunset Strip when she ran into an actor friend, and she told him she'd just gotten a part that was shooting the next day but she had no idea how to play the character. He read her script pages and he noticed the name was a Mrs. He asked her if the guy in the scene was her husband and she said no. It's easy then, he said, they are stoned. The next day Barrie told Kramer, who was directing as well as producing the picture, of her plan to play it as if she were stoned and he liked the idea. But this presented a problem - Barrie had never been stoned, and didn't know how to properly "toke a doobie" (watch closely the next time when she sits on the bed - she's not lighting a cigarette - it's a prop joint). A helpful member of the crew had to take her aside and give her a quick tutorial on the procedure. This was probably the first time such a thing appeared in a comedy movie, but since it wasn't common in 1963 society most people then, and still, missed it, but it accounts for Barrie's strange zoned-out look during the dance. Her interpretation also came in handy because it was the only way to keep a straight face while Dick Shawn (Sylvester) ricocheted around her and screamed in her ear. Oh, and the actor who had helped her "find" the character - that was Steve McQueen.

Danced with Fred Astaire on his TV specials.

She debuted her Las Vegas act in the Congo Room of the Sahara Hotel in April, 1963 (on a bill with John F. Kennedy impersonator Vaughn Meader). Her choreography was by Hermes Pan and her costumes were by Jean Louis.

In the wake of the An Evening with Fred Astaire (1958) broadcast Barrie was given the opportunity by all three networks at the time to do her own special, and Ed Sullivan wanted to sign her for six appearances on his variety show. For various reasons she never did any of these things. After the Fred Astaire specials aired in Europe Barrie was inundated with offers to appear on television in various countries - Sweden, France, Germany and Italy. Having always wanted to travel this was the perfect opportunity to see Europe so she took them up on their offers, although these appearances would not be seen by US audiences and therefore wouldn't enhance her place in American entertainment. But Barrie loved the cultures and atmosphere she found there and in the sixties she lived for extended periods of time in Sweden.

After her fourth TV special with Fred Astaire in 1968, she made the decision to devote her time to her husband, Richard Kaufman, DDS, and their son, retiring from the performing world. In 2004 the Kaufmans moved from a large home in Beverly Hills to a smaller place on one of the canals in Venice, California. Her husband retired from the dental profession. In addition, all three members of the family are avid cyclists and returned from a nine-month cycling tour of Europe, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Again, in an interview Barrie gave during the 50th anniversary celebrations for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) when she got the part she hadn't danced in a while and was carrying an extra, unwanted, ten pounds. They sent her to wardrobe and she was horrified to be given a choice of three bikinis. She chose the black fringed one for two reasons - she hoped the movement of the fringe would distract the audience, and the top was constructed in such a way that she was able to shove some of her extra flesh, as well as a few other items, into it to give herself more volume in the right places.

She was originally set to play Claudine in the film Can-Can (1960), which made Gwen Verdon a star in the original Broadway show. However, when 20th Century-Fox gave her two dance numbers--an "Apache" dance and the "Garden of Eden" number--to star Shirley MacLaine, she walked off the picture and was replaced by 'Juliet Prowse. Barrie eventually bought out her Fox contract and left the studio that largely wasted her talents.

As of January 2022, Barrie Chase is the sole surviving cast member of both It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).

She guest-starred in the title role in the Bonanza (1959) episode, The Ballerina (1965), which was written by her brother, Frank Chase.

Was a Jack Cole dancer, and worked as Cole's assistant choreographer on the MGM films Les Girls (1957) and Designing Woman (1957).

Barrie Chase hadn't had a film or television credit in 53 years from 1967 to 2020 and was basically retired until she was cast in Leave 'Em Laughing (2020).

Daughter of writer Borden Chase.

Younger sister of Frank Chase.