Jeffrey Hunter

Jeffrey Hunter Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: November 25, 1926

Death Date: May 27, 1969

Birth Place: New Orleans, Louisiana

Spouses: Emily McLaughlin, Barbara Rush

Jeffrey Hunter was the stage name of Henry Herman McKinnies, Jr., an actor whose all too brief career initially showed tremendous star-making potential. Tall, blue-eyed, and magnetically handsome, Hunter was offered a studio contract by talent scouts at 20th Century Fox while studying at UCLA. Often appearing alongside such formidable leading men as Charlton Heston and John Wayne, Hunter's reputation as an appealing co-star grew in the 1950s.

He took on memorable roles in three classic John Ford-directed westerns: 1956's "The Searchers," 1958's "The Last Hurrah," and 1960's "Sergeant Rutledge." While the parts proved his meddle as a leading man-in-the-making, Hunter's debut as a top-billed actor in the 1961 Biblical film "King of Kings" yielded mixed reviews, with many critics opining that the then 35 year-old actor looked too young for the part of Jesus. The scathing reviews took their toll, and Hunter scarcely found movie roles in Hollywood during the late 1960s, even going so far as to relocate to Europe for a time to work in B-westerns. In May 1969, Hunter died from a cerebral hemorrhage after suffering two strokes.

Credits

Mafia Mob

Actor
Movie
1969

Viva América

Actor
Frank Mannata
Movie
1969

La Verdadera Historia de Frank Mannata

Actor
Movie
1969

Custer of the West

Actor
Capt. Benteen
Movie
1968

Frau Wirtin hat auch einen Grafen

Actor
Graf Enrico
Movie
1968

Find a Place to Die

Actor
Joe Collins
Movie
1968

The Christmas Kid

Actor
Joe Novak
Movie
1967

Dimension 5

Actor
Justin Power
Movie
1967

Cry Chicago

Actor
Frank Mannata
Movie
1967

The Green Hornet

Guest Star
Series
1966

Star TrekStream

Actor
Capt. Christopher Pike
Series
1966
80%

A Witch Without a Broom

Actor
Garver Logan
Movie
1966

Trains of Silence

Actor
Fred Girard
Movie
1966

The Legend of Jesse James

Actor
Jeremy Thrallkill
Show
1965

Brainstorm

Actor
Jim Grayam
Movie
1965

Murieta

Actor
Joaquin Murieta
Movie
1965

Daniel Boone

Guest Star
Series
1964

Gold for the Caesars

Actor
Lacer
Movie
1964

Temple Houston

Actor
Temple Houston
Show
1963

The Man From Galveston

Actor
Timothy Higgins
Movie
1963

Combat!

Guest Star
Series
1962

Alfred Hitchcock HourStream

Actor
Series
1962

Uno Contra Todos

Actor
Movie
1962

No Man Is an Island

Actor
George R. Tweed
Movie
1962

The Longest DayStream

Actor
John H. Fuller
Movie
1962
87%

Man-TrapStream

Actor
Matt Jameson
Movie
1961

King of KingsStream

Actor
Jesus
Movie
1961
85%

Key Witness

Actor
Fred Morrow
Movie
1960

Hell to EternityStream

Actor
Guy Gabaldon
Movie
1960
83%

Sergeant RutledgeStream

Actor
Lt. Tom Cantrell
Movie
1960
91%

Le Temps de la peur

Actor
Movie
1959

The Last Hurrah

Actor
Adam Caulfield, Journalist and Skeffington's Nephew
Movie
1958

Count Five and Die

Actor
Captain Bill Ranson
Movie
1958

In Love and WarStream

Actor
Sgt. Nico Kantaylis
Movie
1958

No Down Payment

Actor
David Martin
Movie
1957

Gun for a Coward

Actor
Bless Keough
Movie
1957

The Way to the Gold

Actor
Joe Mundy
Movie
1957

The True Story of Jesse JamesStream

Actor
Frank James
Movie
1957
88%

The SearchersStream

Actor
Martin Pawley
Movie
1956
94%

The Proud OnesStream

Actor
Thad Anderson
Movie
1956

A Kiss Before Dying

Actor
Gordon Grant
Movie
1956

The Great Locomotive ChaseStream

Actor
William A. Fuller
Movie
1956

Hour of Stars

Actor
Show
1955

Infernale poursuite

Actor
Movie
1955

Seven Cities of Gold

Actor
Matuwir
Movie
1955

White Feather

Actor
Little Dog
Movie
1955

Seven Angry Men

Actor
Owen Brown
Movie
1955

Climax!

Actor
Series
1954

Princesa del Nilo

Actor
Movie
1954

Princess of the Nile

Actor
Prince Haidi
Movie
1954

Three Young Texans

Actor
Johnny Colt
Movie
1954

Sailor of the King

Actor
Signalman Andrew "Canada" Brown
Movie
1953

Death Valley DaysStream

Actor
Capt. Walter Reed
Series
1952

Belles on Their Toes

Actor
Dr. Bob Grayson
Movie
1952

Red Skies of Montana

Actor
Ed Miller
Movie
1952

Lure of the Wilderness

Actor
Ben Tyler
Movie
1952

Dreamboat

Actor
Bill Ainslee
Movie
1952

Call Me Mister

Actor
The Kid
Movie
1951

Fourteen Hours

Actor
Danny Klempner
Movie
1951
63%

The FrogmenStream

Actor
Pappy Creighton
Movie
1951