GLENN FORD
May 1, 1916 -
Aug. 30, 2006
Ford was a cowboy, a cop, a soldier, Superman's adoptive dad, and that wasn't
counting his real-life career as a U. S. Marine and, later, officer in the U. S.
Navy. Yet the archetypal American leading man was actually a native of Quebec
who moved to California as a child and, despite family ties to the dominion's
first prime minister, became a U. S. citizen in his mid-20s. His first forays
into screen acting were interrupted by World War II service as a marine, but the
young actor returned to celluloid with a vengeance as leading man opposite Rita Hayworth in the 1946 film noir classic "Gilda." In the decades that followed, he became a dependable
and versatile star whether mining more noir depths in Fritz Lang's 1953 scorcher, "The Big Heat," iconic westerns like "3:10 to Yuma" or avuncular comedy in '60s screen comedies such
as "Don't Go Near the Water" and "The Teahouse of the August Moon." Ford was scheduled to make his
first public appearance in 15 years for a 90th birthday tribute gala hosted by
the American Cinematheque on May 1, 2006, but had to bow out the week before.
Ever the pro, he had already produced a filmed message a week before.
(Image: Cole A. Pele/Starface/Retna Ltd.)
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