Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor and singer best remembered for playing Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), and for being one of Universal International's most popular male stars of the decade. He was notable for being gray-haired at an early age.

Biography

Chandler married actress Marjorie Hoshelle (1918–1989) in 1946. The couple had two daughters, Jamie Tucker (1947–2003) and Dana Grossel (1949–2002), before separating in 1954. They reconciled but his wife filed for divorce again in 1957.

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. Chandler himself had nearly lost an eye and had been visibly scarred in an auto accident years earlier.

He was romantically linked with Esther Williams, who claimed in her 1999 autobiography Chandler was a cross dresser and she broke off the relationship. According to the Los Angeles Times, many friends and colleagues of Chandler's rejected Williams' claims. Jane Russell commented, "I've never heard of such a thing. Cross-dressing is the last thing I would expect of Jeff. He was a sweet guy, definitely all man."

His public support for Israel's 1956 attack on Egypt during the Suez Crisis, prompted the United Arab Republic to ban his films in Arab countries in 1960.