Wheaton Chambers

Chambers was born on October 13, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,{{cite book|last1=Hess|first1=Earl J.|last2=Dabholkar|first2=Pratibha A.|title=The Cinematic Voyage of THE PIRATE: Kelly, Garland, and Minnelli at Work|date=2014|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=9780826273185|page=207|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pn3EAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Wheaton+Chambers%22&pg=PA207|accessdate=22 January 2018|language=en}} to a Philadelphia Main Line family.{{cite news|title=J. Wheaton Chambers, Veteran Actor, Dies|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16751734/wheaton_chambers/|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=February 5, 1958|location=California, Los Angeles|page=Part III-Page 24}}

He graduated from Princeton University in 1909. with a bachelor of arts degree. While there, he was captain of a championship swimming team.{{cite news|title=The Men Who Did the Work|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tRBbAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Wheaton+Chambers%22+Princeton&pg=PA381|accessdate=22 January 2018|work=The Princeton Alumni Weekly|publisher=Princeton University|date=February 11, 1914|page=381|language=en}} In 1909, he went to China to work with marines and soldiers of the Legation Guards as part of Princeton's YMCA work in Peking.{{cite book|title=The Princeton Work in Peking|page=7|url=https://archive.org/stream/princetonworkinp02prin#page/n5/mode/2up/search/Wheaton+Chambers|accessdate=22 January 2018}} After he had to leave because of the Chinese Revolution, he worked for the Associated Press.

Chambers gained early acting experience with the Henry Duffy Players.

He made his film debut in the small role of a servant in the 1935 film The Florentine Dagger.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4110 | title=The Florentine Dagger: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} Over the next 23 years he would appear in almost 150 feature films.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&retailCheck=&Type=PN&CatID=DATABIN_CAST&ID=154575&AN_ID=&searchedFor=Wheaton_Chambers_| title=Wheaton Chambers: Filmography | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} Some of his more notable roles include: as Dr. Allen in Marshal of Laredo (1945), one of the series of Red Ryder films;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24496 | title=Marshal of Laredo: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} as Lewis Havener in the 1946 fantasy-horror film The Flying Serpent;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24782 | title=The Flying Serpent: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} as Jasper Braydon in Stagecoach to Denver, a 1946 western directed by R. G. Springsteen;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25369 | title=Stagecoach to Denver: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} as Doctor William R. James in the 1951 film noir The Prowler, starring Van Heflin;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=50254 | title=The Prowler: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} as Sam Wilkins in the 1952 western Wagons West, starring Rod Cameron;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=53452 | title=Wagons West: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} and as Doc Runyon in the western The Peacemaker (1956).{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=51952 | title=The Peacemaker: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}}

Other notable films in which Chambers appeared include: the 1936 biopic, The Story of Louis Pasteur, starring Paul Muni;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6481 | title=The Story of Louis Pasteur: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} as a lawyer in Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942), starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, and Paulette Goddard;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=27420 | title=Reap the Wild Wind: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} as a reporter in the 1943 version of the classic, Phantom of the Opera, starring Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, and Claude Rains;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=613 | title=Phantom of the Opera: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} in the Abbott and Costello comedy, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=734 | title=Abbott and Costello in Hollywood: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} Michael Curtiz' 1945 classic, Mildred Pierce, starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, and Zachary Scott;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24502 | title=Mildred Pierce: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} in the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, State Fair (1945), starring Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24599 | title=State Fair: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} the 1945 romantic comedy Lover Come Back, starring George Brent and Lucille Ball;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24863 | title=Lover Come Back: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} Curtiz' 1946 biopic about Cole Porter, Night and Day, starring Cary Grant and Alexis Smith;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24891 | title=Night and Day: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} the classic film noir Lady in the Lake (1947), starring and directed by Robert Montgomery;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=24847 | title=Lady in the Lake: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} the 1948 classic version of The Three Musketeers, starring Gene Kelly, Lana Turner and June Allyson;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25774 | title=The Three Musketeers: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} the 1949 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical The Barkleys of Broadway;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25845 | title=The Barkleys of Broadway: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} DeMille's 1950 epic, Samson and Delilah, starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=26090 | title=Samson and Delilah: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} the science fiction classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=50072 | title=The Day the Earth Stood Still: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} Elia Kazan's classic East of Eden, starring Julie Harris, James Dean (in his first major screen role), and Raymond Massey;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=51490 | title=East of Eden: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}} and the 1956 classic western The Fastest Gun Alive, starring Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain and Broderick Crawford.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=51821 | title=The Fastest Gun Alive: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}}

In addition to his feature film work, Chambers also appeared in several film shorts, and film serials. The serials in which he appeared include: as Dr. Humphrey in Drums of Fu Manchu (1940); as Boswell in Adventures of Red Ryder (1940), as Professor Benjamin in The Purple Monster Strikes (1945); as Wilson in The Crimson Ghost (1946); and in the featured role of Caleb Baldwin in Son of Zorro (1947).

Chambers' debut on the small screen was in the featured role of Father Batista in the eighth episode of the classic television western, The Lone Ranger, in 1949. Other television shows he appeared on include: two episodes of The Roy Rogers Show in 1952, in different roles; as a member of the Kryptonian council on the first episode of Adventures of Superman; on two episodes (in different roles) of Hopalong Cassidy in 1952–53; as Papa Dodger in the premiere episode of the situation comedy Willy in September 1954;[https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/willy/ Television Obscurities: Willy Accessed October 30, 2020] as Mr. Kennedy in a December 1954 episode of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show; and a February 1957 episode of the crime drama, Dragnet.

Chambers' last performance was in a small role in the 1958 film, Gunman's Walk, starring Van Heflin and Tab Hunter. Chambers had worked on the film in December 1957, and it was released in July, 1958, six months after his death.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=53581 | title=Gunman's Walk: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= August 6, 2015}}

On January 31, 1958, Chambers died after a brief illness. He was 70 years old and was survived by a sister. He was buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Freehold, New Jersey, Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

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Category:1887 births

Category:1958 deaths

Category:American male film actors

Category:Male actors from Philadelphia

Category:American male telenovela actors

Category:20th-century American male actors