Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 â€" August 30, 2006)
was a Canadian-American actor best known for playing ordinary men in
unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's
Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940s, 1950s,
and 1960s, who had a career that lasted more than 50 years. Although
he played in many genres of movies, some of his most significant roles
were in the film noirs Gilda (1946) and The Big Heat (1953), and the
high school angst film Blackboard Jungle (1955). However, it was for
comedies or westerns which he received acting laurels, including three
Golden Globe Nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy movie, winning for
Pocketful of Miracles (1961). He also played a supporting role as
Clark Kent's adoptive father in Superman (1978).Five of his films have
been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of
Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically"
significant: Gilda (1946), The Big Heat (1953), Blackboard Jungle
(1955), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and Superman (1978).Gwyllyn Samuel Newton
Ford was born on May 1, 1916, in Sainte-Christine-d'Auvergne, Quebec,
the son of Hannah Wood (née Mitchell) and Newton Ford, an engineer
with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Through his father, Ford was a
great-nephew of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald,
and was also related to U.S. President Martin Van Buren. In 1922, when
Ford was six, the family moved first to Venice and then to Santa
Monica, California; Newton became a motorman for the Venice Electric
Tram Company, a job he held until he died at age 50 in 1940.While
attending Santa Monica High School, he was active in school drama
productions with other future actors such as James Griffith. After
graduation, he began working in small theatre groups. While in high
school, he took odd jobs, including working for Will Rogers, who
taught him horsemanship. Ford later commented that his father had no
objection to his growing interest in acting, but told him, "It's all
right for you to try to act, if you learn something else first. Be
able to take a car apart and put it together. Be able to build a
house, every bit of it. Then you'll always have something." Ford
heeded the advice and during the 1950s, when he was one of Hollywood's
most popular actors, he regularly worked on plumbing, wiring, and air
conditioning at home.
was a Canadian-American actor best known for playing ordinary men in
unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's
Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940s, 1950s,
and 1960s, who had a career that lasted more than 50 years. Although
he played in many genres of movies, some of his most significant roles
were in the film noirs Gilda (1946) and The Big Heat (1953), and the
high school angst film Blackboard Jungle (1955). However, it was for
comedies or westerns which he received acting laurels, including three
Golden Globe Nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy movie, winning for
Pocketful of Miracles (1961). He also played a supporting role as
Clark Kent's adoptive father in Superman (1978).Five of his films have
been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of
Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically"
significant: Gilda (1946), The Big Heat (1953), Blackboard Jungle
(1955), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and Superman (1978).Gwyllyn Samuel Newton
Ford was born on May 1, 1916, in Sainte-Christine-d'Auvergne, Quebec,
the son of Hannah Wood (née Mitchell) and Newton Ford, an engineer
with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Through his father, Ford was a
great-nephew of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald,
and was also related to U.S. President Martin Van Buren. In 1922, when
Ford was six, the family moved first to Venice and then to Santa
Monica, California; Newton became a motorman for the Venice Electric
Tram Company, a job he held until he died at age 50 in 1940.While
attending Santa Monica High School, he was active in school drama
productions with other future actors such as James Griffith. After
graduation, he began working in small theatre groups. While in high
school, he took odd jobs, including working for Will Rogers, who
taught him horsemanship. Ford later commented that his father had no
objection to his growing interest in acting, but told him, "It's all
right for you to try to act, if you learn something else first. Be
able to take a car apart and put it together. Be able to build a
house, every bit of it. Then you'll always have something." Ford
heeded the advice and during the 1950s, when he was one of Hollywood's
most popular actors, he regularly worked on plumbing, wiring, and air
conditioning at home.
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