Lane Chandler was an American actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 specializing in Westerns

Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

.

Early life

He was born as Robert Chandler Oakes on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana

Culbertson, Montana

As of the census of 2000, there were 716 people, 295 households, and 192 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,213.7 people per square mile . There were 356 housing units at an average density of 603.5 per square mile...

, the son of a horse rancher. At an early age, the family relocated to Helena, Montana

Helena, Montana

Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...

, where he graduated from high school. He briefly attended Montana Wesleyan College (which later merged and became part of Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College

Rocky Mountain College , located in Billings, Montana, is a private comprehensive college offering more than 25 liberal arts- and professionally oriented majors. In fall 2009, the college had 894 enrolled students...

), but quit to drive a tour bus

Tour bus

A tour bus service is a bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions. Double-decker buses and/or open top buses are commonly used, for their good views....

 at Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

.

Career

In the early 1920s, he moved to Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and started working as an auto mechanic. His real-life experiences growing up on a horse ranch landed him bit part

Bit part

A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue . In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes...

s in westerns from 1925, for Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

. Studio executives suggested changing his name to Lane Chandler, and as such he began achieving leading roles

Leading actor

A leading actor, leading actress, star, or simply lead, plays the role of the protagonist in a film or play. The word lead may also refer to the largest role in the piece and leading actor may refer to a person who typically plays such parts or an actor with a respected body of work...

 opposite stars like Clara Bow

Clara Bow

Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...

, Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...

, Betty Bronson

Betty Bronson

Betty Bronson was an American television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era. She was a famous actress in silent and sound films.-Film career:...

 and Esther Ralston

Esther Ralston

Esther Ralston was an American movie actress whose greatest popularity came during the silent era.-Early life and career:...

. His first lead role was in The Legion of the Condemned

The Legion of the Condemned

The Legion of the Condemned was a silent film directed by William A. Wellman, produced by Jesse Lasky and Adolph Zukor with E. Lloyd Sheldon as associate producer. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures....

.

As a silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 star, Chandler performed well, but when talkies

Sound film

A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...

 arrived, he was cast more in supporting roles

Supporting actor

A supporting actor is an actor who performs roles in a play or film other than that of the leads.These roles range from bit parts to secondary leads. They are sometimes but not necessarily character roles. A supporting actor must also use restraint not to upstage the main actor/actress in the...

. With the advent of television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, Chandler began appearing on numerous TV programs, making more than 50 guest appearances on television shows such as Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....

, Wagon Train, and Rawhide

Rawhide (TV series)

Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...

. He continued acting on TV and in films through 1966, retiring comfortably owning both industrial and property holdings.

He died in Los Angeles of heart disease

Cardiovascular disease

Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...

 in 1972, aged 73.

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