William Frank Jones (August 18, 1941 â€" January 31, 2014), better
known as Christopher Jones, was an American stage, movie, and
television actor.He was born in Jackson, Tennessee, where his father
was a grocery clerk and his mother, Robbie, was an artist. Jones's
father admitted her to the state hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee, in
1945, for holding a gun to his head after he was caught being
unfaithful. Jones and his brother were then placed in Boys Town in
Memphis, where he became a fan of James Dean after being told he bore
a resemblance to him. He then joined the Army, but went AWOL, and
after serving a sentence in a military prison, he moved to New York,
where he began his acting career. His mother died when he was 19.Jones
(adopting the stage name Christopher) made his Broadway debut on
December 17, 1961, in Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana,
directed by Frank Corsaro and starring Shelley Winters. Winters
introduced Jones to actress Susan Strasberg, the daughter of method
acting progenitor Lee Strasberg. Jones studied at Strasberg's Actors
Studio. Jones married Susan in 1965; the couple divorced in 1968.
Their daughter, Jennifer Robin Jones, was born in 1966.Moving to
Hollywood, Jones was cast in the title role of ABC's television series
The Legend of Jesse James (produced by 20th Century Fox), which ran
for 34 episodes in the 1965â€"66 season. When the series ended, he
accepted the title role in the 1968 movie Chubasco (1968) with Susan
Strasberg playing his character's lover/wife. Their real marriage did
not survive the filming, and they divorced in 1968.
known as Christopher Jones, was an American stage, movie, and
television actor.He was born in Jackson, Tennessee, where his father
was a grocery clerk and his mother, Robbie, was an artist. Jones's
father admitted her to the state hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee, in
1945, for holding a gun to his head after he was caught being
unfaithful. Jones and his brother were then placed in Boys Town in
Memphis, where he became a fan of James Dean after being told he bore
a resemblance to him. He then joined the Army, but went AWOL, and
after serving a sentence in a military prison, he moved to New York,
where he began his acting career. His mother died when he was 19.Jones
(adopting the stage name Christopher) made his Broadway debut on
December 17, 1961, in Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana,
directed by Frank Corsaro and starring Shelley Winters. Winters
introduced Jones to actress Susan Strasberg, the daughter of method
acting progenitor Lee Strasberg. Jones studied at Strasberg's Actors
Studio. Jones married Susan in 1965; the couple divorced in 1968.
Their daughter, Jennifer Robin Jones, was born in 1966.Moving to
Hollywood, Jones was cast in the title role of ABC's television series
The Legend of Jesse James (produced by 20th Century Fox), which ran
for 34 episodes in the 1965â€"66 season. When the series ended, he
accepted the title role in the 1968 movie Chubasco (1968) with Susan
Strasberg playing his character's lover/wife. Their real marriage did
not survive the filming, and they divorced in 1968.
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