Jeff Chandler

In the 1950s during the waning years of true studio power, Universal-International boasted the strongest roster of contract players and Jeff Chandler, along with Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson, was an important box office draw for the studio. Chandler made few A productions and basically toiled in routine program features. Yet Chandler was a very popular star as evidenced by the era's fan magazines. With a head of premature curly silver hair, dimpled chin, warm eyes and handsome looks, he was a heartthrob for the ladies and appeared in a number of women's pictures. On the other hand, the actor was tall and rugged, spoke in a low voice and possessed a heroic quality that worked well in westerns and war pictures appealing to men. Like most contract players, Chandler suffered through poor scripts and was a better actor than given credit for.

Born Ira Gossell on December 15, 1918 in Brooklyn, he was a child of New York's poor tenements. His parents divorced when he was young and his mother took him to live with her parents. An only child, young Ira was overprotected by his mother and received no relief from the situation until she remarried. Ira decided at an early age become an actor and wanted to participate in high school plays but his family's poor financial circumstances prevented this. He found employment in a variety of after school jobs including Montgomery Wards, Radio City Music Hall and his grandmother's candy store. His father, a former silk salesman, returned to New York to establish his own business and provided $500 toward fulfilling his son's dream.

The money enabled Chandler to study drama at the Feagin School at Rockefeller Center alongside comedians Jack Carter and Sheila Stephens (later MacRae. From there, he went on to gain experience at the Millpon Playhouse on Long Island making his professional debut in "The Trojan Horse." In 1941, Chandler and a friend pooled their resources and formed a shortlived stock company at Elgin, Illinois.