Jeffrey Hunter

Biography: Born Henry McKinnies, he began performing on radio in Milwaukee in his late teens, then worked in summer stock. He served in the Navy and attended college, where in 1950 he appeared in a student film, Julius Caesar. He made his professional screen debut in 1951, going on to play rugged leads in many Hollywood films, usually action-oriented; he was extremely busy as a screen actor in the '50s, and for a time enjoyed popularity as something of a teen heart-throb. His most famous role, however, was a non-aggressive one: he portrayed Jesus Christ in Nicholas Ray's King of Kings (1961). In 1969, when he was 43, he suffered severe head injuries in a fall, and died during brain surgery. From 1950-55 he was married to actress Barbara Rush.