Jordan Christopher

Jordan Christopher (October 23, 1940 – January 21, 1996) was an American actor and singer born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Macedonian immigrants Eli and Dorothy Zankoff. The family relocated to Akron at an early age, where his father operated a bar in the downtown area. Christopher developed an interest in singing during the rise of rock and roll, spending considerable time at music clubs in Akron's Black neighborhoods. In the early 1960s he formed a doo-wop group called the Fascinations, which released singles on several small labels without commercial success.

His career gained momentum when he joined the Wild Ones, the house band at New York's Peppermint Lounge, as singer and guitarist. Following an eight-month residency there, the group was hired to perform at Arthur, the Manhattan discothèque run by Sybil Williams, who had recently divorced actor Richard Burton. Christopher and Williams began dating within a month of his audition for the club and married in June 1965. Williams was eleven years his senior, and the couple later had a daughter, Amy, in 1967. Christopher also had a daughter, Jodi, from an earlier marriage.

The publicity surrounding Williams as Burton's former wife generated significant interest in Arthur, which helped the Wild Ones secure a recording contract with United Artists Records. The band released an album titled The Arthur Sound, but Christopher departed shortly after its release to pursue acting. Producer Gerry Granahan subsequently hired Brill Building songwriter Chip Taylor to write a song for the band. The result was "Wild Thing," recorded with Chuck Alden as the new lead vocalist rather than Christopher.

Christopher's film work spanned two decades and included The Fat Spy (1966), Return of the Seven (1966), The Tree (1969), Pigeons (1971), Star 80 (1983), Brainstorm (1983), and That's Life! (1986). He played the male lead opposite Jennifer Jones in the 1969 cult film Angel, Angel, Down We Go, portraying a dissolute rock star. On Broadway, Christopher appeared in productions between 1967 and 1970, with credits including Sleuth and White Liars. He received a Theatre World Award in 1968. He also worked behind the scenes alongside 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. Christopher died of a heart attack on January 21, 1996, at the age of 55.