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Biography
Jeff Chandler (December 15, 1918 - June 17, 1961) was a popular American film actor in the 1950s.
Born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, Chandler attended Erasmus Hall High School, the nucleus of many stage and film personalities. Later, he took a drama course and spent two years in stock companies before serving in World War II. After being discharged from the military, he was a busy radio actor both in drama (such as episodes of Escape) and comedy (playing bashful biology teacher Phillip Boynton on Our Miss Brooks). His first film appearance was in Johnny O'Clock (1947).
In the 1950s, Chandler became a star in western and action movies. His first important role was in Sword in the Desert (1948), as an Israeli freedom fighter. He would be nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), the first of three screen appearances as the legendary Apache chief, followed by The Battle of Apache Pass (1952) and Taza, Son of Cochise (1954).
During the latter part of the decade, Chandler turned into a top leading man. His sex appeal, curiously heightened by his prematurely gray hair and tanned features, would put him into drama and costume movies. Some of his pictures in this period include Away All Boats, Toy Tiger, Drango, The Tattered Dress, Man in the Shadow, Foxfire, A Stranger in My Arms, and Thunder in the Sun. His leading ladies would include June Allyson, Joan Crawford, Rhonda Fleming, Susan Hayward, Maureen O'Hara, Jane Russell and Esther Williams.
Shortly after completing his role in Merrill's Marauders (1962), Chandler died in Los Angeles, California at age of 42, from blood poisoning following what should have been routine disc herniation surgery. He was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Jeff Chandler is honored with a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Further reading: Jeff Chandler by Marilyn Kirk (2003, 596 pp., 1st Books Library/AuthorHouse, bkorders@authorhouse.com, 888-280-7715); Jeff Chandler: Film, Record, Radio, Television and Theater Performances by Jeff Wells (2005, 240 pp., McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, www.mcfarlandpub.com, 800-253-2187).
