System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Jeffrey Hunter, Actor - Christopher Pike on Star Trek
November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969
Jeffrey Hunter was born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr. (nicknamed Hank McKinnies), on November 25, 1926 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The only child of a sales engineer and his wife, Hunter was raised in Milwaukee, WI. While still in high school, Hunter acted on Milwaukee radio station WTMJ; this led to summer stock work. His career was interrupted by service in U.S. Navy at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois, 1945-46 until his medical discharge.
He then attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he received a bachelor’s degree from the School of Speech. He continued his stage appearances and was featured in the 1949 film version of "Julius Caesar", which starred Charlton Heston. Attending UCLA on a scholarship, Hunter was spotted by Hollywood talent scouts while appearing in a school production of "All My Sons" in May of 1950. He made a screen test at Paramount, but was hired by 20th Century Fox where he made his first "mainstream" film appearance in Fox's "Fourteen Hours", a film which also served as the debut for Grace Kelly. His movie career gained momentum after he co-starred with John Wayne in the Western classic The Searchers (1956).
Hunter was married to actress Barbara Rush on December 1, 1950. They had one child, a son Christopher. Although they were divorced on March 29, 1955, Rush would remember him fondly and said she considered him to be the handsomest man she ever met. On July 7, 1957 Hunter married Joan "Dusty" Bartlett a former model. 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.
In 1961, Hunter was cast in the difficult and challenging role of Jesus Christ in "The King of Kings". His reverent performance earned Hunter considerable praise, although the actor's youthful appearance prompted industry wags to dub the picture "I Was a Teenaged Jesus,” while in fact Hunter was 33 at the time.
In 1963, Hunter signed a two-year contract with Warner Brothers. At Warners, he starred in the western TV series "Temple Houston". Nearly 30 episodes of the hour-long series were filmed before the series was canceled in 1964. Hunter’s 1963 film "The Man From Galveston" was originally the pilot episode of this television series.Hunter was cast as Captain Christopher Pike of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" television pilot in 1964, but turned down the option to continue the role in the series. The pilot was later incorporated into a two-part episode in "Star Trek’s" first season.
During the next several years, he acted in several films in Europe and Asia. After a whirlwind courtship, Hunter married actress Emily McLaughlin on February 4, 1969. She is best known for her role as Nurse Jessie Brewer on the ABC soap opera "General Hospital" from 1963 until her death in 1990.
With his career on hold, Hunter desperately lobbied to be cast as Mike Brady for the TV series "The Brady Bunch." Producer Sherwood Schwartz would not consider him as he thought him to be "too good looking to be an architect." Ironically, Hunter died just months before the show premiered in 1969.
While in Spain to film the Chicago Mafia story ˇViva América! (1969), Hunter 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 Hunter on the chin with a Karate chop when Hunter, who knew judo, failed to defend himself in time. 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. He was taken directly off the plane upon landing, to a hospital in Los Angeles. An examination showed that a vertebra in his neck was out of place. He was released after a couple of weeks. Shortly after signing to co-star with Vince Edwards in Desperados, The (1969), Hunter suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while on a short flight of steps in his living room, and collapsed, injuring his head in the fall. He was found unconscious an unknown length of time later. He died, without regaining consciousness, the following day, following surgery to repair the skull fracture, at age 42.
