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Jeff Chandler (1918 - 1961)
Following the war, he performed in radio, playing Professor Boynton in the comedy hit, "Our Miss Brooks." In 1946, he married Marjorie Hoshell; they remained together for eight years. In 1947, the same year the first of his two daughters was born, he secured a film contract with Universal. Chandler first gained critical attention and an Academy Award nomination, for his portrayal of Cochise in the 1950 film, Broken Arrow. He reprised the role in two sequels, The Battle of Apache Pass (1952) and Tazan, Son Of Cochise (1954). Chandler's muscular physique, tanned good looks, and prematurely gray hair made him a favorite among female (and gay male) movie goers. Jeff Chandler also garnered a career as a singer, performing at Las Vegas nightclubs, and also formed his own company, Chandler Music. His talents also extended to musical composition and playing the violin. Chandler was a close friend of Sammy Davis, Jr., and substituted for him when the accident that claimed Davis's eye prevented him from making his scheduled appearance at the Las Vegas Riviera. It is said he even offered to donate one of his eyes to replace Sammy's. Chandler was an avid athlete, and in 1961 suffered a slipped disc while playing softball. An unorthodox method was employed to repair the disc, going through the actor's abdomen rather than operating directly on his spine. During the operation, an artery near his stomach was cut, and blood poisoning resulted. Within a few days, he was dead. A malpractice lawsuit brought $200,000 for his daughters. Many Hollywood stars attended the actor's funeral, with close friend Tony Curtis serving as a pallbearer. Chandler's rugged macho image seemed to have been tarnished in the 1990s when Esther Williams, who had been in a two year relationship with Chandler, revealed in her autobiography Million Dollar Mermaid that he once called her up to his bedroom, where she found him wearing a silk negligee. Yet the fact that he was a crossdresser does not in anyway contradict the fact that he was both heterosexual and masculine, a point lost on those who do not understand the crossdressing phenomenon. Jeff Chandler's film credits include Roses Are Red (1947); The Invisible Wall (1947); Abandoned (1949); Sword in the Desert (1949); Broken Arrow (1950); Deported (1950); Two Flags West (1950); Iron Man (1951); Smuggler's Island (1951); Bird of Paradise (1951); Flame of Araby (1951); Battle at Apache Pass, The (1952); Red Ball Express (1952); Because of You (1952); Yankee Buccaneer (1952); The Great Sioux Uprising (1953); East of Sumatra (1953); War Arrow (1954); Taza, Son of Cochise (1954); Yankee Pasha (1954); Sign of the Pagan (1955); Foxfire (1955); Female on the Beach (1955); The Spoilers (1955); Brooklyn Goes to Las Vegas (1956); Toy Tiger (1956); Away All Boats (1956); Pillars of the Sky (1956); The Tattered Dress (1957); Jeanne Eagels (1957); Drango (1957); Man in the Shadow (1957); The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958); Raw Wind in Eden (1958); A Stranger in My Arms (1959); Thunder in the Sun (1959); Ten Seconds to Hell (1959); The Jayhawkers! (1959); The Plunderers (1960); A Story of David (1960); Return to Peyton Place (1961); and Merrill's Marauders (1962) Links: Grave of Jeff Chandler (Ira Grossel)
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