 Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler was born as Ira Grocelle in Brooklyn, New York in 1918 He discovered an interest in drama while attending the famed Erasmus Hall High School an environment in which he was immersed in an atmosphere of artistic attainment Contemporaries included future noteworthies such as songwriter Bette Comden actors Susan Haywood and Eli Wallach Radio personality Dorothy Kilgallon and novelist Bernard Malamute and Mickey Spillane His early forays into professional acting were cut short by the arrival of World War two Jeff enlisted in the Army cavalry But within a year was promoted to lieutenant and served in an air support capacity in the Aleutian Islands for much of the war He finished up at Fort Hood in California in 1946 Got married changed his name and landed in Hollywood eager to resume his career Professional credits pile up quickly first in radio where a steady stream of appearances in secondary roles Led to noteworthy assignments such as the Star of the New Adventures of Michael Shane in 1947 and Perhaps his best-known role as biology teacher and love interest Philip Boynton on Armist Brooks Film stardom followed closely behind and one of his first film roles Chandler received a best-supporting actor nomination for his portrayal of Apache leader Cochise and broken arrow 1950 a Characterization he would repeat in two more films Perhaps to his ultimate detriment He signed a ten-year deal with Universal and the studio generally relegated him to second-tier action films Often Westerns and war-themed pictures Despite slender opportunity to win critical acclaim Chandler became a very popular film personality and he was able to parlay that recognition into additional small successes in music He made records as a vocalist starred briefly in his own Las Vegas review Started a music publishing firm and was credited as the lyricist on the theme song from the Tony Curtis film Six Bridges to Cross in 1956 Jeff Chandler's career was as remarkably busy as his life was brief in the spring of 1961 while playing baseball on the set of Maravills Marauders. He suffered a herniated disc Routine surgery somehow went badly awry and internal hemorrhaging ensued several subsequent operations failed to reverse the downward spiral of events on June 17th more than a month after the original procedure Jeff Chandler died of shock and peripheral vascular collapse at the age of 42