Jeff Chandler (actor)
| Jeff Chandler | |
|---|---|
Chandler in 1958
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| Born |
Ira Grossel December 15, 1918 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 17, 1961 (aged 42) Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Surgical complications |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Culver City |
| Years active | 1945–1961 |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Hoshelle (m. 1946–54) |
| Children | Jamie Tucker (1947–2003) Dana Grossel (1949–2002) |
Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer and singer best remembered for playing Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was Oscar nominated. He was one of Universal Pictures's most popular male stars of the 1950s, his best known other credits including Sword in the Desert (1948), Deported (1950), Female on the Beach (1955) and Away All Boats (1956). He was notable for being gray-haired at an early age, and for releasing a number of successful recording singles.
Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the only child of Anna (née Herman) and Phillip Grossel. He was raised by his mother after his parents separated when he was a child.
He attended Erasmus Hall High School, the alma mater of many stage and film personalities, where he acted in school plays; his school mates included Susan Hayward. Chandler's father was connected with the restaurant business and got his son a job as a restaurant cashier. Chandler said he always wanted to act, but courses for commercial art were cheaper, so he studied art for a year and worked as a layout artist for a mail order catalogue at $18 a week.
Eventually he saved up enough money to take a drama course at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York. He worked briefly in radio, then got a job in a stock company on Long Island as an actor and stage manager. He worked for two years in stock companies, including a performance of The Trojan Horse opposite Gordon MacRae and his wife, who became good friends.
Chandler formed his own company, the Shady Lane Playhouse, in Illinois in the summer of 1941. This toured the Midwest with some success, presenting such plays as The Bad Man, Seventh Heaven, The New Minister and Pigs. When America entered World War Two Chandler enlisted in the army. He served for four years, mostly in the Aleutians, finishing with the rank of lieutenant.
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