Christopher Jones

Christopher Jones was an actor who rose to fame in his twenties with roles in such feature films as Wild in the Streets, The Looking Glass War  and Ryan's Daughter, but left the profession abruptly after the murder of actress Sharon Tate by members of the Manson Family in 1969.

Jones, who was often compared to James Dean, grew up an orphan in hardscrabble circumstances in Tennessee before moving to New York, where he began his career. His first break came when, at a casting call for a 1961 production of Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana, the playwright selected Jones for a small role in the play.

In 1965 he starred in the short-lived television series The Legend of Jesse James, in the title role. He also had guest roles in the series Judd for the Defense and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. before being cast as the lead in Wild in the Streets, about a rock star who is elected president of the United States when the voting age is lowered to 14.

He then made Three in the Attic, The Looking Glass War and A Brief Season, followed by Ryan's Daughter, a World War I drama directed by iconic British filmmaker David Lean.

Then, with his career continuing to gain momentum, Jones withdrew from acting. According to news reports, he was shattered by the grisly death of Tate, with whom he was said to have been involved at the time.

In the years that followed he pursued painting and scupture, returning to acting just once, with a role in the 1996 crime-world comedy Mad Dog Time, directed by Larry Bishop, who had appeared with Jones in Wild in the Streets.

Jones died January 31, 2014, in Los Alamitos, California. He was 72.