- Born
- DiedJune 17, 1961 · Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA (vascular injury and exsanguination following disc herniation surgery)
- Birth nameIra Grossel
- Nickname
- Big Gray
- Height6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
- Jeff was born in Brooklyn and attended Erasmus High School. After high school, he took a drama course and worked in stock companies for two years. His next role was that of an officer in World War II. After he was discharged from the service, he became busy acting in radio dramas and comedies until he was signed by Universal. It was in the fifties that Jeff would become a star, making westerns and action pictures. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950). He followed this by playing the role of Cochise in two sequels: The Battle at Apache Pass (1952) and Taza, Son of Cochise (1954). While his premature gray hair and tanned features served him well in his westerns and action pictures, the studio also put him into soaps and costume movies. In his films, his leading ladies included Maureen O'Hara, Rhonda Fleming, Jane Russell, Joan Crawford, and June Allyson. Shortly after his last film Merrill's Marauders (1962), Jeff died, at 42, from blood poisoning after an operation for a slipped disc.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
- SpouseMarjorie Hoshelle(October 13, 1946 - July 29, 1954) (divorced, 2 children)
- ParentsPhillip GrosselAnna Grossel
- Prematurely gray hair
- Often starred in westerns, usually as a Native American Indian
- His death from blood poisoning following surgery was deemed malpractice and resulted in a large lawsuit and settlement for his children.
- Childhood friend and neighbor of actress Susan Hayward
- Possessed of a fine singing voice, at the height of his film fame, he recorded several successful albums for Liberty Records.
- He stood 6' 4" by the time he was fifteen, and started to gray when he was eighteen.
- Had concurrent success as a recording artist, wrote music, played violin, and owned Chandler Music, a publishing company.
- [To columnist Sheilah Graham about his role in Jeanne Eagels (1957)] I thought that for once I could keep my shirt on and not have to shave my chest. But today, for a man to be a hit on the screen, he has to take his shirt off.
- Jeanne Eagels (1957) - $200,000
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