John Davis Chandler (1935–2010) was an American character actor renowned for his distinctive, intense onscreen presence and his prolific career playing villains, outlaws, and shady miscreants. Born in Hinton, West Virginia, and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he broke into film in 1961 by landing the title role of real-life 1930s gangster Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll in the biopic Mad Dog Coll. That breakout performance cemented his niche as an exceptional on-screen heavy, enabling him to carve out a nearly 40-year career spanning more than a hundred film and television credits. Throughout his career, Chandler became a familiar face in classic Westerns and gritty crime dramas, notably collaborating multiple times with director Sam Peckinpah in films such as Ride the High Country, Major Dundee, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Mainstream audiences also recognize him for playing the sneering gang leader Bleak in the 1987 action-comedy Adventures in Babysitting, alongside feature work in Capone, Only the Lonely, and Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead. In addition to his extensive film resume, he was a ubiquitous television guest star, appearing on classic programs ranging from The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Adam-12, and Columbo to Murder, She Wrote. Science fiction fans also remember him for his appearance as the Orion character Flith in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine sixth-season episode "Honor Among Thieves". He passed away on February 16, 2010, at the age of 75 in Toluca Lake, California, due to cancer.

Filmography

• 1995Sharon's Secret — Stan
• Chicago Hope — Mr. Ray
• ER — Thornberg
• 1994Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead — Henry
• 1993Body of Evidence — Dr. Novaro
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Flith
• Walker, Texas Ranger — Homeless Man
• 1992Inside Out 2
• Renegade — Captain at Base
• 1991Only the Lonely — Duane Earl Tyrone
• 1990Crash and Burn — Bud
• 1988Double Revenge — Big Charlie
• 1987Adventures in Babysitting — Bleak
• 1987Love Among Thieves — San Francisco Desk Clerk
• Airwolf — Gentry
• Hunter — Paul Hammond
• Murder, She Wrote — John Detweiler, Gilbert Stoner
• 1983Triumphs of a Man Called Horse — Mason
• Cassie & Co. — Gillian
• Matt Houston — Hank, Roman Petrovich
• T. J. Hooker — Waylon Gilbert
• 1982The Sword and the Sorcerer — Guard 1
• Hill Street Blues
• Simon & Simon
• 1980The Little Dragons — Carl
• B. J. and the Bear — Marsh
• Hart to Hart
• 1978Confessions of the D.A. Man — Robin Saydo (as John Chandler)
• 1978Doc Hooker's Bunch — Roy
• Fantasy Island — Ed Larson
• Lucan
• The Incredible Hulk
• 1977The Shadow of Chikara — Rafe
• 1977Whiskey Mountain — Rudy
• 1976Chesty Anderson U.S. Navy — Dr. Cheech
• 1976Mako: The Jaws of Death — Charlie
• Quincy, M.E. — Robert Gideon
• 1976Scorchy — Nicky
• Spencer's Pilots
• 1976The Outlaw Josey Wales — First Bounty Hunter
• 1975Capone — Hymie Weiss
• 1975The Desperate Miles — Truck Driver
• 1975Walking Tall Part II — Ray Henry
• Police Woman — Nolan
• 1974The Ultimate Thrill — Evans
• 1973Chase — Thomas L. Traylor
• 1973Hitched — Jannis
• 1973Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid — Norris
• Police Story
• 1972Drag Racer — Dave
• 1972Moon of the Wolf — Tom Jr.
• The Rookies
• Cannon
• Columbo — Eddie Kane
• 1971O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra — Al Garver, the Henchman
• 1971Shoot Out — Skeeter (as John Chandler)
• The Partners
• 1970Barquero — Fair
• 1969The Good Guys and the Bad Guys — Deuce
• Adam-12 — Wally Barstow, Robin Saydo, Steve Deal
• 1968The Hooked Generation — Acid
• Judd, for the Defense
• 1967Return of the Gunfighter — Sundance
• The High Chaparral — Kid Curry
• Felony Squad
• 1965Major Dundee — Jimmy Lee Benteen
• 1965Once a Thief — James Arthur Sargatanas, Walter's Henchman
• Run for Your Life — Dr. Walker
• 1964Those Calloways — Ollie Gibbons
• The Fugitive — Kenny, Quimby
• The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters — Dick McBride
• Empire — Aflen
• 1962Ride the High Country — Jimmy Hammond
• The Virginian — Dog
• 1961Mad Dog Coll — Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll
• 1961Ricochet — Kelso
• Straightaway
• 1961The Young Savages — Arthur Reardon
• Route 66 — Frank Lauderbeck
• The Detectives — Starr
• The Rifleman — Brooks
• Gunsmoke — Rogers, Willie Tomsen

Appearances as themselves (1)

• 2016They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé — Himself