John Davis Chandler was born on January 28, 1935, in Hinton, West Virginia, and was raised in Charleston, West Virginia. Standing tall and thin with fair hair, piercing blue eyes, a pale complexion, and an nasal, whiny voice, Chandler specialized in portraying mean, neurotic, and dangerous villains throughout his acting career.
Chandler made his film debut in 1961 with a starring role as the titular character in Mad Dog Coll, playing a sniveling, psychotic, homicidal weasel gangster. He went on to work with director Sam Peckinpah on a trio of Westerns, including Ride the High Country (1962),where he played the creepy and frightening Jimmy Hammond.
Chandler's other notable roles include The Young Savages (1961),where he played a vicious punk, and The Shadow of Chikara (1977),a horror-western where he played a vile bushwhacker. He also appeared in Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) as a bounty hunter, and in Major Dundee (1965) as a good guy of sorts.
In addition to his film work, Chandler appeared in several drive-in exploitation features for director William Grefé, including The Hooked Generation (1968),Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976),and Whiskey Mountain (1977). He also made numerous guest appearances on popular TV shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Walker, Texas Ranger, Chicago Hope, ER, Simon & Simon, and many more.
In his personal life, Chandler was an avid practitioner of yoga. He passed away on February 16, 2010, at the age of 75, in Toluca Lake, California.
