Tag: death

In Memoriam

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IN PRINT: IN MEMORIAM

For the articles below, click on an icon to the left of a title to read the article.
Click on the title itself to read an article description.
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1969 Newspaper Obituaries:

      Actor Jeffrey Hunter Dies of Injuries; Fall Believed Cause
      Jeff Hunter, Actor, Dies After Fall
      Jeffrey Hunter, Film Actor, Is Dead
      Services Set for Actor Jeffrey Hunter

1969 Magazine Articles:

      Jeffrey Hunter: 1925 - 1969
      He Had Changed So Much
      Jeffrey Hunter Dies at 42: A New Life Cut Short
      Jeffrey Hunter Dies
      Jeffrey Hunter Dies in Accident!
      At the Height of Happiness - Death
      "I Know Jeff's Waiting for Me on the Other Side!"
      A Voice From Beyond the Grave

1970:

      Emily McLaughlin Reveals the Truth About Her Husband's Tragic Death
      How Emily McLaughlin Fights Loneliness

1972:

      All The Way Home

1974:

      "Love Brought My Late Husband Back to Me"

1975:

      I Came Through Heartbreak to Happiness!
      "He Taught Me the True Meaning of Love!"

Unknown Source/Date:

      I Only Say Thank You

With Emily McLaughlin

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PHOTOS WITH EMILY McLAUGHLIN
Click here for Jeff and Emily trivia

After a whirlwind courtship, Jeffrey Hunter married Emily McLaughlin on February 4, 1969.  Emily was Jeff’s third wife. Sadly, Jeff passed away just a few months later, on May 27th. Emily played the popular Nurse Jessie Brewer on the soap opera, “General Hospital”.

Articles about Jeff and Emily can be found here (all of the 1969 articles) and here.

 
 

Biography

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Jeffrey Hunter

Born: November 25, 1926
Died: May 27, 1969

Click here to see photos of Jeffrey Hunter’s Final Resting Place.
Click here to see photos from Jeff’s early life.

Early Life

Young Jeffrey Hunter with twin friends

Jeffrey Hunter was born Henry Herman McKinnies, Jr. in New Orleans, the only child of a Louisiana sales engineer and his wife. The family moved to Milwaukee in 1930, and young “Hank,” as he was known, grew up in Wisconsin.

While still in high school, Hunter acted on Milwaukee radio station WTMJ; this led to summer stock work and then to Chicago theater activity.

 

Military Service and Education

He served in the U.S. Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois 1945-1946. Afterwards, he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he earned a bachelor’s degree from the School of Speech. He continued his stage appearances and had a small uncredited role in the 1949 film version of Julius Caesar, which starred Charlton Heston.

Jeffrey Hunter in Julius Caesar
In Julius Caesar

Going to Hollywood!

Soon after, Hunter moved to California to attend UCLA on a scholarship, He was spotted by Hollywood talent scouts when he appeared in a school production of “All My Sons” in May of 1950. He made a screen test at Paramount, but it was 20th Century Fox that signed him to a contract. At Fox, he made his first “mainstream” film appearance in Fourteen Hours, a film which also served as the debut for Grace Kelly.  In that film, he is billed with the stage name Jeffrey Hunter.  A Fox executive had chosen that name for him.

Jeff’s Career Gets Underway

Over the next two decades, Jeffrey Hunter would show his versatility as an actor by starring or co-starring in a wide variety of dramas, comedies, westerns, science fiction and war films. He often portrayed the handsome decent, wholesome suitor or husband in domestic contemporary dramas and comedies of the period.  His work spanned the stage, radio, films, and television.

Jeff earned top billing for the first time in the well-received Sailor of the King (1953), a war film made in Europe.

Jeffrey Hunter in Sailor of the King
In Sailor of the King

Films with director John Ford

His movie career gained momentum after he co-starred with John Wayne in the The Searchers (1956), directed by the renowned John Ford. Hunter, who often displayed a wry sense of humor, said in an interview, “I was told I had arrived when, during the filming of The Searchers, they gave me almost as much ammunition as they gave John Wayne.”  This film inspired many later film directors’ work, and many consider it to be one of the best westerns ever made.

Jeffrey Hunter in The Searchers
In The Searchers

After The Searchers, Jeff made two more films with Ford:  the political comedy/drama The Last Hurrah (1958), co-starring Spencer Tracy, and Sergeant Rutledge (1960), a Western courtroom drama.

King of Kings

In 1961, Hunter won the difficult and challenging role of Jesus Christ in King of Kings. His reverent performance earned Hunter considerable praise. According to director Nicholas Ray’s biography, the Vatican approved the script before filming began.

Jeffrey Hunter in King of Kings
As Jesus Christ, in King of Kings

Temple Houston

In 1963, Hunter signed a two-year contract with Warner Brothers. At Warners, he finally starred in his own TV series: “Temple Houston”. In this show he portrays the attorney son of the famous Texan Sam Houston.  He filmed nearly 30 episodes of the hour-long show before it was canceled in 1964. Hunter’s 1963 film The Man From Galveston was originally the pilot episode of this television series.

Star Trek: The Cage

In 1964 Hunter portrayed Captain Christopher Pike of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the original “Star Trek” television pilot, “The Cage.”  After that pilot was rejected, he turned down the option to make an unprecedented second pilot. The two-part episode “The Menagerie,” in “Star Trek’s” first season, incorporated significant footage from “The Cage” and introduced Captain Pike to “Star Trek” fans.

Jeffrey Hunter with Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek: The Cage
With Leonard Nimoy, in Star Trek: The Cage

Late Career

During the last years of his life, he mostly worked in films made in Europe and Asia.  Jeff’s last stage appearance was in “The Rainmaker” in Chicago, in 1967.

Marriages and Children

Hunter married actress Barbara Rush on December 1, 1950. They had one child, a son, Christopher. Although they divorced on March 29, 1955, Rush would remember him fondly and said she considered him to be the handsomest man she ever met.

Jeffrey Hunter with first wife Barbara Rush
With his first wife, Barbara Rush

On July 7, 1957, Hunter married Joan “Dusty” Bartlett, a former model.  Jeff met Dusty when she worked as a stuntwoman on Jeff’s film A Kiss Before Dying. They had two sons – Todd and Scott. He also adopted Steele, Dusty’s son from a previous marriage. This marriage ended in divorce in 1967.

After a whirlwind courtship, Hunter married actress Emily McLaughlin in February 1969. She is best known for her role as Nurse Jessie Brewer on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital.”  She played Nurse Jessie from 1963 until her death in 1990.

Jeffrey Hunter’s Death

In 1969, while filming ¡Viva America! in Spain, Jeffrey Hunter was accidentally injured in an on-set explosion. Soon afterward he began complaining of dizziness and headaches.  On May 26th, 1969, he fell down a short flight of stairs at home and struck his head.  Around that same time, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.  He died the next day during surgery to repair the skull fracture. What exactly caused his death has been the subject of some debate since then. Jeffrey Hunter was only 42 years old.

Check out Paul Green’s excellent biography of Jeffrey Hunter for more details.  It’s available here.

Jeffrey Hunter, in TV series "Temple Houston"

Home

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SPEND TIME WITH JEFF….

Jeffrey Hunter in Lure of the Wilderness“Without sounding smug, I’ve always felt that you have to be well prepared when old man opportunity comes knocking. I always wanted to be an actor, and so I did everything possible to prepare myself for my career.”
         ….. Jeffrey Hunter

“Be natural, sincere and honest on and off screen and stage or radio. A good acting job must come from the mind and heart.”
         ….. Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter in Sgt. Rutledge
“He was the finest, most decent man I’ve ever known.”
         ….. Longtime friend Lee Riordan

“Despite his looks and talent, there was nothing of the snob about Hank. His voice was quiet and gentle and his manners came right out of the Civil War South.”
         ….. Friend Don Kreger

Jeff Enjoyed a Wide-Ranging Career in Movies…

Born Hank McKinnies, Jeff was a fine actor whose career spanned a wide range of roles:

Also, Jeff acted opposite some of the greatest screen actors of his day: most notably John Wayne – in The Searchers, and Spencer Tracy – in The Last Hurrah.

And in Radio and TV!

In many 1950’s radio dramas, he showed off his college training as a radio actor. He also guest-starred regularly on TV series, especially during the 1960’s – including a role as a serial killer (!) on the very first episode of the popular series The FBI. During NBC-TV’s 1963-64 season, he starred in and co-produced his own series, Temple Houston, as a frontier lawyer in the Old West.

Many fans first discovered Jeffrey Hunter as the iconic first captain of the starship USS Enterprise – Christopher Pike, in the early days of Star Trek.

Jeffrey Hunter as Christopher Pike with Leonard Nimoy as Spock: Star Trek
With Leonard Nimoy in “Star Trek: The Cage”

His Most Unforgettable Role? How About…

Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus with Siobhan McKenna as his mother Mary in King of Kings
Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, with Siobhan McKenna as His mother Mary in “King of Kings” (1961)

We dedicate this website with love and gratitude to Jeffrey Hunter, whose work as an actor, and whose untimely death in 1969, touched the lives of so many.

About Jeff’s Star on the Walk of Fame, including a photo!

 

There are many excellent resources about Jeffrey Hunter on the Web! In particular, we recommend IMDb and Memory Alpha.

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Although we gathered the materials on this website from advertising sources, no copyright infringement is intended. However, if anyone can prove copyright ownership of any materials and requests their deletion, we will remove said materials. Claudia Henry designed the site, with some content carried over from the original jeffreyhuntermovies site created by Jim Lalley and Claudia Henry.
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