Jordan Christopher (October 23, 1940 – January 21, 1996) was an American actor and singer. He was the lead singer of The Wild Ones, who recorded the original version of the rock classic " Wild Thing" after Christopher had left the band.

Early life

Born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, to

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

immigrants Eli and Dorothy Zankoff, he moved at an early age to

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, where his father ran a downtown bar.

Career

Music

Christopher became interested in singing with the rise of rock & roll, spending much of his time at the music clubs in Akron's black neighborhoods. He formed a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

group called the Fascinations, who released unsuccessful singles on several small labels in the early 1960s. Christopher's break came when he joined The Wild Ones, the house band at New York's

Peppermint Lounge The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many cla ...

, as singer and guitarist. After a residency at the Peppermint Lounge of eight months, The Wild Ones were hired to play at Arthur, the Manhattan discothèque operated by Sybil Williams, then recently divorced from actor

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

. Within a month of meeting, Christopher and Williamseleven years his seniorbegan dating and married in 1966. Thanks to the publicity Williams received as the ex-wife of Richard Burton, there was great interest in Arthur, and The Wild Ones were able to secure a recording contract with

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

, releasing an album, ''The Arthur Sound''. However, Christopher left the band shortly after its release to develop an acting career. Producer

Gerry Granahan Gerald Granahan (April 20, 1932 – January 10, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work in the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Granahan was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1932. He ...

later commissioned

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and farther uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. The Brill Building hous ...

songwriter

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". He is the paternal uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and former actor James Haven. He is the ...

to write a song specifically for the band. "Wild Thing"sung by the band's new lead vocalist, Chuck Alden, not Christopherwas the result.

Acting

Christopher acted in several films including ''

The Fat Spy ''The Fat Spy'' is a 1966 Z movie that attempts to parody teenage beach party films rather than spy films. It is featured in the 2004 documentary ''The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made''. Briefly released to theaters in 1966, it was rarely seen until ...

'' (1966), ''

Return of the Seven ''Return of the Seven'', later marketed as ''Return of the Magnificent Seven'', is a 1966 Western film, and the first sequel to '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960). Yul Brynner, who reprises his role as Chris Adams, is the sole returning cast m ...

'' (1966), '' The Tree'' (1969), ''

Pigeons Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

'' (1971), ''

Star 80 ''Star 80'' is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' Village Voice'' article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian ''Playboy'' ...

'' (1983), '' Brainstorm'' (1983) and ''

That's Life! ''That's Life!'' was a satirical consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving between 10,000 and 15,000 letters a week. The series was broadcast on BBC1 for 21 yea ...

'' (1986). His most celebrated role is likely as a dissolute rock star in the

cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...

Angel, Angel, Down We Go ''Angel, Angel, Down We Go'', also known as ''Cult of the Damned'', is a 1969 American film directed by playwright and screenwriter Robert Thom, his sole directorial credit. Thom based his screenplay on an unproduced stage play of the same title ...

'' (1969), in which he played the male lead opposite

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...

. He also appeared on stage, including on Broadway in ''

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''. Christopher continued to act intermittently.

Other pursuits

He worked behind the scenes with his wife in her operation of the New Theatre on 54th Street in New York City and Bay Street Theater in

Sag Harbor, New York Sag Harbor is an Administrative divisions of New York#Village, incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns of Southampton, New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town) ...

Personal life

A marriage early in his adulthood ended but produced a daughter, Jodi. He began dating Manhattan discothèque operator Sybil Williams about a month of meeting. He was eleven years younger than her. They married in 1966 and had a daughter, Amy. Christopher died of a heart attack on January 21, 1996, at age 55.

Filmography

References

Local history: Fascinating life for Buchtel alum -- Ohio.comThe Making Of… The Troggs’ ‘Wild Thing’ -- Uncut

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Jordan 1940 births 1996 deaths American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Youngstown, Ohio Male actors from Akron, Ohio Singers from Ohio 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers