On May 13, 1961, he entered a hospital in Culver City, California, and had surgery for a spinal disc herniation. Severe complications arose; an artery was damaged, and Chandler hemorrhaged. On May 17, in a seven-and-a-half-hour emergency operation following the original surgery, he was given 55 pints of blood. A third operation followed on May 27, in which he received an additional 20 pints of blood."Jeff Chandler Still Critical But Better", Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1961: 2. He died on June 17, 1961. The cause was a blood infection complicated by pneumonia."Blood Infection Caused Death of Jeff Chandler", Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1961: B1.
