British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 935. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Jeff Chandler in Broken Arrow (Delmer Daves, 1950).
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Publicity still for Bird of Paradise (Delmer Daves, 1951).
West German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 770. Photo: Universal International.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, offered by Les Carbones Korès "Carboplane", no. 708. Photo: H.P.S.
Spanish postcard, no. 574. Photo: Universal. Jeff Chandler in Away All Boats (Joseph Pevney, 1956).
Apache chief Cochise
Jeff Chandler was born Ira Grossel to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1918. He was 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. After attending Erasmus High School, he took acting classes at the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York.
He then worked for radio for a while before joining a theatre company on Long Island as an actor and stage manager. He founded his own company, the Shady Lane Playhouse, in Illinois in the summer of 1941. The company toured the Midwest with some success until the United States became involved in World War II. He was active as a soldier in the Aleutians for four years, finishing with the rank of lieutenant.
After the war, Chandler appeared on air in 'Rogue's Gallery 'with Dick Powell, who was impressed by the actor. Powell pressured Columbia to give Chandler his first film role, a one-line uncredited part as a gangster in Johnny O'Clock (Robert Rossen, 1947).
Chandler received more attention playing Eve Arden's love interest on the radio in 'Our Miss Brooks', which debuted in July 1948 and became a massive hit. Chandler's performance in 'Our Miss Brooks' brought him to the attention of Universal executives, who were looking for someone to play an Israeli leader in Sword in the Desert (George Sherman, 1949) starring Dana Andrews. Chandler impressed studio executives so much with his work that Universal signed him to a seven-year contract.
His first film under the arrangement was a supporting role in the Film Noir Abandoned (Joseph M. Newman, 1949). He was best known for his role as Apache chief Cochise in Broken Arrow (Delmer Daves, 1950) with James Stewart and Debra Paget. Broken Arrow became a considerable hit, earning Chandler an Oscar nomination and establishing him as a star. He was the first actor nominated for an Academy Award for portraying an American Indian. He reprised that successful character twice in The Battle at Apache Pass (George Sherman, 1952) and Taza, Son of Cochise (Douglas Sirk, 1954).
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. D. 121. Photo: Universal International. Jeff Chandler in Flame of Araby (Charles Lamont, 1951).
Publicity photo, 1985. Photo: Universal. Jeff Chandler in Red Ball Express (Budd Boetticher, 1952).
American postcard by Universal International Studios. Sent by mail in 1952.
Yugoslavian postcard by Sedma Sila. Photo: IOM, Beograd. Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler in War Arrow (George Sherman, 1953).
Vintage postcard. Photo: Universal International.
A seven-and-a-half-hour emergency operation
During his short career, Jeff Chandler starred several times in Westerns. He not only played an Indian, but he also stood his ground as a cavalry major as shown in Two Flags West (Robert Wise, 1950) starring Joseph Cotten and War Arrow (George Sherman, 1953) with Maureen O'Hara. Chandler became one of Universal Pictures' more popular male stars of the 1950s.
In addition to his acting in film, he was known for his role in the radio program 'Our Miss Brooks', as Phillip Boynton, her fellow teacher and clueless object of affection, and for his musical recordings. Chandler recorded several successful albums for Liberty Records, wrote music, played violin, and owned Chandler Music, a publishing company.
His other film credits include the Film Noir Deported (Robert Siodmak, 1950) starring Märta Torén, Female on the Beach (Joseph Pevney, 1955) opposite Joan Crawford, and Away All Boats (Joseph Pevney, 1956) with George Nader. In 1957, he left Universal and signed a contract with United Artists. Having long desired to be an executive, he formed his own company, Earlmar Productions.
He was due to star in Operation Petticoat (Blake Edwards, 1959) but became ill and had to pull out. He later formed another production company, August, for which he made The Plunderers (Joseph Pevney, 1960) at Allied Artists. His last film role was that of Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill in Merrill's Marauders (Samuel Fuller, 1962), the last of several World War II films in which he was able to use his military experience. He injured his back while playing baseball with U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers who served as extras in the film.
After undergoing surgery for a spinal disc herniation in May 1961, a major artery was damaged and he haemorrhaged. In a seven-and-a-half-hour emergency operation over and above the original surgery, he was given 55 pints of blood. Another surgery followed where he received an additional 20 pints of blood. He died in the hospital in Culver City, California, in 1961. The cause was a blood infection complicated by pneumonia. He was 42 years old. His death was deemed malpractice and resulted in a large lawsuit and settlement for his children. Jeff Chandler was married from 1946 to 1959 to actress Marjorie Hoshelle with whom he had two daughters. In 1957, he had an affair with Esther Williams while they made a film together, and his wife filed for divorce at the end of the year. Chandler rests in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery near Los Angeles.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 1071. Photo: Paramount.
Vintage postcard.
West German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3388. Photo: Universal International.
West German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 23389. Photo: Universal Film.
West German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto. Photo: Universal International.
Sources: William Bjornstad (Find A Grave), Tony Fontana (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
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