Birth Name: Ira Grossel
Date of Birth: December 15, 1918
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Height: 6' 5"
Spouse: Marjorie Hoshelle (1946 - 1954) (divorced)
Daughters: Jamie, born in 1947 - Dana, born in 1948
"The Scar": Scar across eye received in a truck accident.
Nickname: "Big Gray"
Famous Friends: Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, Susan Hayward, Meyer Mishkin, many others...
Personal Quote: Chandler told columnist Sheila Graham about his role in Jeanne Eagles (1957): "I thought that for once I could keep my shirt on and not have to shave my chest. But today, for a man to be a hit on the screen, he has to take his shirt off."
Date of Death: June 17, 1961
Place of Death: Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA
Cause of Death: Vascular injury and exsanguination following spinal disc herniation surgery
Ruggedly handsome, virile with a distinctive voice and silvery hair, Jeff Chandler was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA on December 15, 1918. He was 6' 4" by the time he was 15 and began to gray at eighteen. He attended Erasmus High School and was a childhood friend and neighbor of actress Susan Hayward. After high school, he took a drama course and worked in stock companies for two years. He served as an officer in the Army in World War II. He was a successful actor on radio under his real name co-starring with Eve Arden in "Our Miss Brooks" prior to signing with Universal and having a name change. Chandler made his screen debut in Johnny O'Clock (1947), in a supporting role. He proved to be very versatile, starring in Westerns, action pictures, costume dramas and soapers. He was cast opposite many famous leading ladies including Anne Baxter, Maureen O'Hara, Rhonda Fleming, Jane Russell, Joan Crawford, June Allyson and Lana Turner to name a few. He was very effective and was Oscar-nominated for his role as Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950) and portrayed him twice more in The Battle of Apache Pass (1952) and Taza, Son of Cochise (1954). He had concurrent success as a recording artist, wrote music, played violin, and owned Chandler Music, a publishing company. He sang the title song to Foxfire (1955). When his friend Sammy Davis Jr. lost an eye in an accident and was in danger of losing the other, Chandler offered to give Davis one of his own eyes. Personally, he was married to Marjorie Hoshelle from 1946 to 1954 (divorced) and had two daughters, Jamie and Dana. Jeff Chandler died tragically at age 42. He injured his back in April of 1961 while in the Philippines making what turned out to be his last film, Merrill's Marauders (1961). He entered a Culver City hospital and had surgery for a herniated spinal disc on May 13, 1961. There were severe complications, an artery was damaged and Chandler hemorrhaged. In a seven and a half hour emergency operation over and above the original surgery, he was given an enormous amount of blood, 55 pints. Another operation followed, date unknown, where he received an additional 20 pints of blood. An average adult has about 14 to 18 pints of blood, so his entire blood volume was replaced 4 to 5 times! Chandler fought hard to live, but expired June 17, 1961. His death was deemed malpractice and resulted in a large lawsuit and settlement for his children. Tony Curtis was a pallbearer at Chandler's funeral.
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Merrill's Marauders (1962) ~~ Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill
Return to Peyton Place (1961) ~~ Lewis Jackman, New York Publisher
Story of David, A (1960) ~~ King David
Plunderers, The (1960) ~~ Sam Christy
Thunder in the Sun (1959) ~~ Lon Bennett
Jayhawkers!, The (1959) ~~ Luke Darcy
Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) ~~ Karl Wirtz
Stranger in My Arms, A (1959) ~~ Major Pike Yarnell
Raw Wind in Eden (1958) ~~ Mark Moore/Scott Moorehouse
Lady Takes a Flyer, The (1958) ~~ Mike Dandridge
Man in the Shadow (1957/I) ~~ Ben Sadler
Drango (1957) ~~ Major Clint Drango
Jeanne Eagels (1957) ~~ Sal Satori
Tattered Dress, The (1957) ~~ James Gordon Blane
Pillars of the Sky (1956) ~~ First Sergeant Emmett Bell
Toy Tiger (1956) ~~ Rick Todd
Away All Boats (1956) ~~ Capt. Jebediah S. Hawks
Spoilers, The (1955) ~~ Roy Glennister
Female on the Beach (1955) ~~ Drummond Hall
Foxfire (1955) ~~ Jonathan Dartland
Sign of the Pagan (1955) ~~ Marcian
Taza, Son of Cochise (1954) (uncredited) ~~ Cochise
Yankee Pasha (1954) ~~ Jason Starbuck
War Arrow (1953) ~~ Major Howell Brady
East of Sumatra (1953) ~~ Duke Mullane
Great Sioux Uprising, The (1953) ~~ Jonathan Westgate
Battle at Apache Pass, The (1952) ~~ Cochise
Son of Ali Baba (1952) (uncredited) ~~ Opening Narrator
Yankee Buccaneer (1952) ~~ Commander David Porter
Because of You (1952) ~~ Steve Kimberly
Red Ball Express (1952) ~~ Lieutenant Chick Campbell
Meet Danny Wilson (1952) (uncredited) ~~ Cameo appearance
Smuggler's Island (1951) ~~ Steve Kent
Flame of Araby (1951) ~~ Tamerlane
Bird of Paradise (1951) ~~ Tenga
Iron Man (1951) ~~ Coke Mason
Deported (1950) ~~ Vic Smith
Double Crossbones (1950) ~~ Narrator
Two Flags West (1950) ~~ Major Henry Kenniston
Broken Arrow (1950) ~~ Cochise
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) (uncredited) ~~ Narrator
Sword in the Desert (1949) ~~ Kurta
Abandoned (1949) ~~ Chief MacRae
Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949) (uncredited) ~~ Police Officer #66
Invisible Wall, The (1947) ~~ Al Conway, henchman
Roses Are Red (1947) ~~ Knuckles
Johnny O'Clock (1947) (uncredited) ~~ Turk
PRODUCER - FILMOGRAPHY
Plunderers, The (1960) (executive producer)
Drango (1957) (producer)
MISCELLANEOUS CREW - FILMOGRAPHY
Six Bridges to Cross (1955) (lyricist)
Foxfire (1955) (lyricist: title song)