CHICK CHANDLER

January 18, 1905

Chick Chandler was born Fehmer Christy Chandler in Kingston, New York. By the age of 12, he was appearing as a dancer and entertainer in local stage shows. At 16, although he was being groomed for a military career, he dropped out to work in vaudeville and to study dance. Chandler maintained a successful career throughout the 1920s as a dancer and comedian in vaudeville and burlesque. In 1932, he landed a role in the Broadway play The Great Magoo. Spotting him, David O. Selznick signed him to a film contract at RKO, telling the press that Chandler was “a cross between Lee Tracy and James Cagney.”

Although he did a low budge western in 1925, his first RKO feature was Sweepings (1932) starring Lionel Barrymore, although he remained uncredited. 

The following year he was credited in Blood Money (1933) which also starred a young RKO background performer named Lucille Ball. 

Chandler’s first television experience was doing two episodes of “The Bigelow Theatre”, a CBS anthology series that also featured William Frawley in three episodes just prior to “I Love Lucy.”  

Lucy-lovers will best remember Chandler as Billy Hackett, Albuquerque newspaper reporter in “Ethel’s Hometown” (ILL S4;E16). The episode was filmed on November 25, 1954 and first aired on January 31, 1955. This was his one and only appearance with Lucy on television. 

In 1957, he returned to Desilu to film an episode of “December Bride” titled “The Piano Show.” Producer Desi Arnaz made an appearance on the series as himself in February 1960. 

In November 1960, he did an episode of Desilu’s “The Real McCoys” titled “Father and Son Day.” 

On the very same evening he made an appearance on Desilu’s “The Ann Sothern Show” in “Go-Go Gordon”. 

A month later, in December 1960, he did the second of his two episodes of “The Danny Thomas Show”, the first one had been in 1958. She show was filmed at Desilu Studios. “Lucy Makes Room for Danny” (LDCH S2;E2) was a cross-over episode with “The Danny Thomas Show” (formerly “Make Room for Daddy”) to mark their move to CBS from ABC.  In return, the Aranz’s played The Ricardos in a January 6, 1959 episode titled “Lucy Upsets the Williams Household.”

In 1963, Chandler did an episode of Desilu’s one-season wonder “Angel” featuring Keith Andes and Harvey Korman. The series was created by Jess Oppenheimer.

In February 1966, he was seen in an episode of “Gomer Pyle USMC” filmed at Desilu Studios titled “Gomer and the Phone Company”. The episode featured Parley Baer and Olan Soule.  In November 1966, Gomer Pyle showed up on an episode of “The Lucy Show.” 

Chandler’s final screen appearance was in a 1971 episode of “Bonanza”, his sixth of the series. 

In February 1925, Chandler became engaged to Ziegfeld performer, beauty contestant winner, and model Dorothy Knapp. Knapp broke off the engagement to pursue her career and Chandler then became involved with 17-year-old Sallie Sharon. The pair formed a vaudeville team, but never married. On April 4, 1931, Chandler married Eugenia “Jean” Frontai, a former performer with David Belasco’s theatrical company. They were married 57 years, until Chandler’s death from a heart attack on September 30, 1988.  Jean Chandler followed her husband in death the very next day in the same hospital. They had no children.