Trivia of Jeffrey Hunter

Trivia of Jeffrey Hunter (25 November 1926 - 27 May 1969)

*In his teens, he acted in productions of the North Shore Children's Theater performed in summer stock with the local Port Players.He appeared in a college production of All My Sons (in the role of Chris) and spotted by talent scouts from 20th Century Fox and Paramount. Paramount tested him - doing two scenes from All My Sons. They were impressed and offered him an option; Darryl F. Zanuck of Fox heard about this and offered him a long-term contract. He agreed and the studio changed his name from Henry to "Jeffrey Hunter".

*He made his first “mainstream” film appearance in Fourteen Hours (1951), a film which also served as the debut for Grace Kelly.

*Appeared in six films with his fellow Robert Wagner: The Frogmen (1951), White Feather (1955), A Kiss Before Dying (1956), The True Story of Jesse James (1957), In Love and War (1958) and The Longest Day (1962).

*He was the first friend actor Roger Moore made in Hollywood. In his autobiography, Moore says he named his son Geoffrey Moore in his honor.

*While playing Jesus Christ in King of Kings (1961), not only was Jeffrey Hunter's chest hair shaved for the crucifixion scene but his underarms as well. So much attention has been paid to this situation over the past fifty years that nobody's ever noticed Hunter also wears a false putty nose throughout the film, most evident in the close-ups at the crucifixion scenes.Although Jeffrey Hunter was given some makeup to make him appear as the appropriate ethnicity, he was not fitted with contacts. This led to much criticism of having a Jesus with bright blue eyes.

*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.

*While in Spain to film the Chicago Mafia story ¡Viva América! (1969), he was injured in an on-set explosion, suffering facial lacerations from broken glass and powder burns. Later an old friend, a former British commando, accidentally hit him on the chin with a karate chop when Hunter, who knew judo, failed to defend himself in time, banging the back of his head against a door. Then, while on the plane with his wife returning to the United States, Hunter's right arm suddenly became semi-paralyzed and he lost the power of speech, two signs of a stroke. He was taken directly off the plane upon landing, to a hospital in Los Angeles. He recovered and was released after a couple of weeks. Shortly after signing to co-star with Vince Edwards in The Desperados (1969), Hunter suffered another cerebral hemorrhage while on a short flight of steps in his living room, and collapsed, injuring his head in the fall. It was not known how long he had been unconscious when he was finally found. He died without regaining consciousness, the following day after surgery to repair the skull fracture, at age 42.