dresser. According to the Los Angeles Times, many friends and colleagues of Chandler rejected her claims. Jane Russell commented, "I've never heard of such a thing. Cross-dressing is the last thing I would expect of Jeff. He was a sweet guy, definitely all man." He was also linked with Ann Sheridan. Chandler's public support for Israel's 1956 attack on Egypt during the Suez Crisis prompted the United Arab Republic to campaign for his films to be banned in Arab countries in 1960. Chandler was an active Democrat. He represented the Screen Actors Guild during talks throughout the 1960 actors' strike. Death While working on Merrill's Marauders in the Philippines, on April 15, 1961, Chandler injured his back playing baseball with U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers who served as extras in the film. He had injections to deaden the pain and enable him to finish the production. On May 13, 1961, he entered a hospital in Culver City, California, and had surgery for a spinal disc herniation. Severe complications arose; an artery was damaged, and Chandler hemorrhaged. On May 17, in a seven-and-a-half-hour emergency operation following the original surgery, he was given 55 pints of blood. A third operation followed on May 27, in which he received an additional 20 pints of blood. He died on June 17, 1961. The cause was a blood infection complicated by pneumonia. At the time of his death, Chandler was involved with British actress Barbara Shelley. Tony Curtis and Gerald Mohr were among the pallbearers at Chandler's funeral, attended by more than 1,500 people. He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City. An investigation ensued into Chandler's death. It was deemed malpractice, and resulted in his children suing the hospital for $1.5 million. Chandler's own estate was worth $600,000, which he left to his daughters. His ex-wife sued his estate for $80,000 for money owed under their divorce settlement. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Chandler has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1770 Vine Street. Critical appraisal Film historian David Shipman wrote this analysis of Chandler's image: An obituary of Chandler said: In a 1960 interview Chandler said his favorite films were Broken Arrow, Battle of Apache Pass, Two Flags West, Because of You ("my first real love story"), Sign of the Pagan, The Toy Tiger ("a change for me"), Drango, Raw Wind in Eden ("beautiful