LEONARD CHASE: 1934-2007

Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 | 7:34 a.m.

Leonard Chase's claim to fame in Las Vegas should be that he was nurse and caregiver to legendary casino boss Moe Dalitz during Dalitz's fi nal days in the late 1980s.

But longtime Las Vegans are more apt to remember Chase for his distinctly different role at a downtown casino that stood on property Dalitz long owned. At 5 feet 3 1/2 inches, Chase was for 15 years the leprechaun in advertisements for Fitzgeralds, formerly the Sundance, of which Dalitz was the landlord.

Chase spent Christmas seasons as Santa Claus, handing out gifts to poor children. And throughout the year, he dressed up as a leprechaun to spread cheer at local hospitals and rest homes.

Leonard "Irish" Chase, who as the leprechaun at St. Patrick's Day parades from 1987 through 2005 danced the jig and offered up frosty mugs of green beer to spectators, died Oct. 25 at Valley Hospital. He was 73.

The cause was a combination of liver and kidney ailments, his family said.

An Irish wake for the Las Vegas resident of 20 years will be at 1 p.m. today at the Maycliff Mobile Home Park clubhouse at 3601 E. Wyoming Ave.

"My dad would want to be remembered simply as a happy-go-lucky Irishman," Michael Chase of Las Vegas said. "He was a kind-hearted man who enjoyed the simple things in life. And he absolutely loved children."

Michael Chase said it was just a coincidence his father went to work for a casino that stood on property his famous patient once owned.

In 1949, Dalitz invested in the Desert Inn when its builder, Wilbur Clark, ran out of money, and he operated the property until he sold it to reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes in 1967. Dalitz owned other Las Vegas property, including the land on which the Sundance was operated by leaseholders. Dalitz died in 1989, and the new owners of the resort recast it as the Irish themed Fitzgeralds.

Chase was born June 22, 1934, in Albert Lea, Minn. He attended college in Minnesota and then joined the Navy, serving as a corpsman from 1952 to 1958.

He continued his nursing career after leaving the service, retiring because of health problems in 2004 after 52 years in the profession. His trademark long, white beard was natural, his family said.

"Ever since I was real small, people have been coming up to me and saying, 'You're Irish, aren't you?' " Chase told the Sun in 1998. "We have a lot of pride in our Irish history." In 2003, Chase played the active corpse of Irishman Danny Sweeny in the Las Vegas production of the play "A Wacky Wake."

Chase was a trustee for the Las Vegas chapter of the Sons of Erin, which each year hosts the St. Patrick's Day Parade and funds charitable causes.

Chase is survived by his wife of 23 years, Betty ; three other sons, Leonard "Charlie" Chase of White Lake, Mich., James Chase of Bend, Ore., and Timothy Chase of Fort Mojave, Ariz.; three daughters, Melody Hilburn of Dripping Springs, Texas, and Kimberly Chase-Sitzman and Trish Ulyatt, both of Bend; a brother, Jon Lund of Albuquerque ; two sisters, Patricia Nichols and Diane Berg, both of Minnetonka, Minn.; 16 grandchildren ; and two great-grandchildren.