Christopher Jones
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Not to be confused with the youthful actor of the same name who appeared in "Forrest Gump" and The Family Channel TV-movies "Tad" and "Stolen Memories: Secrets From the Rose Garden"
On his years away from screen acting, Jones told Pamela des Barres in MOVIELINE, August 1996:"I was flipped out on the agony and the ecstacy. Let me tell you, if you have two managers trying to rob you, an ex-wife driving you crazy, and everybody's after your fucking money--I went through a Howard Hughes kind of thing. . . . I guess I went a little nuts."
Biography
A moodily handsome leading player of the 1960s, Christopher Jones retreated from the entertainment industry after portraying Sarah Miles' English lover in David Lean's "Ryan's Daughter" (1970). He only acted in one more film before his death in 2014.
Born in Tennessee, Jones and his brother were placed in a Memphis orphanage after the death of their mother in 1945. Jones ran away at age 16 and enlisted in the Army, but reportedly went AWOL after only two days. After spending time traveling around the US, he turned himself in and served a six month jail sentence. Not long after his release, Jones met acting coach and director Frank Corsaro who encouraged him to attend classes at The Actors Studio. Corsaro cast Jones alongside Bette Davis and Margaret Leighton in the original 1961 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana." Jones later landed the leading role in the short-lived ABC series "The Adventures of Jesse James" (1965-66).
Jones moved to the big screen in 1968 and that year had the role for which he is perhaps best-remembered: Max Frost, a rock star who becomes president in the political-musical-satire "Wild in the Streets." After only two more films, Jones disappeared from view, devastated by the shocking murder of actress Sharon Tate, with whom he had been having an affair at the time of her death. Quentin Tarantino supposedly offered the actor the role of Zed in "Pulp Fiction" (1994), but Jones balked at the storyline and refused to appear in the film. He did, however, accept a small role in Larry Bishop's crime comedy "Mad Dog Time" a.k.a. "Trigger Happy" (1996). Christopher Jones died of cancer on January 31, 2014.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (Short)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1956
Joined the US Army at age 16; went AWOL after a few days (date approximate)
1961
Played featured role in Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana", starring Margaret Leighton and Bette Davis
1965
Starred in title role in short-lived television series, "The Legend of Jesse James"
1968
First leading role in a feature film, "Wild in the Streets"
1970
Last film for over 25 years, "Ryan's Daughter"
1996
Returned to films with a cameo role in "Trigger Happy"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Not to be confused with the youthful actor of the same name who appeared in "Forrest Gump" and The Family Channel TV-movies "Tad" and "Stolen Memories: Secrets From the Rose Garden"
On his years away from screen acting, Jones told Pamela des Barres in MOVIELINE, August 1996:"I was flipped out on the agony and the ecstacy. Let me tell you, if you have two managers trying to rob you, an ex-wife driving you crazy, and everybody's after your fucking money--I went through a Howard Hughes kind of thing. . . . I guess I went a little nuts."
