Glenn Ford Biography,Career and Personal Life

June 2024 · 6 minute read

Glenn Ford Biography

Glenn Ford born Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford  was a Canadian actor born in May 1, 1916, he held dual Canadian and American citizenship in Sainte-Christine-d’Auvergne, Quebec. He was born to Hannah Wood and Newton Ford, an engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was a great-nephew of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and also related to U.S. President Martin Van Buren. In 1922, the family moved first to Venice and then to Santa Monica California when he was 6.

Glenn Ford Career

He began working in small theatre groups after  graduating from Santa Monica High School . While in high school, he took odd jobs,  he later commented that his railroad executive father had no objection to his growing interest in acting, but told him that it was all right for him to try acting but learn something else first.  He 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. At times, he worked as a roofer and installer of plate-glass windows.

In 1939, he acted in West Coast stage companies before joining Columbia Pictures . His stage name came from his father’s hometown of Glenford, Alberta. His first major movie part was in the 1939 film, Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence. Top Hollywood director John Cromwell was impressed enough with his work to borrow him from Columbia for the independently produced drama, So Ends Our Night (1941), where he delivered a poignant portrayal of a 19-year-old German exile on the run in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Glenn Ford photo

After a highly publicized premiere in Los Angeles and a gala fundraiser in Miami, the White House hosted a private screening of So Ends Our Night for President Franklin Roosevelt, who admired the film greatly. The starstruck youngster was invited to Roosevelt’s annual Birthday Ball. He returned to Los Angeles and promptly registered as a Democrat, a fervent FDR supporter.

His next picture, Texas, was his first Western, a genre with which he would be associated for the rest of his life. Set after the Civil War, it paired him with another young male star under contract, Bill Holden, who became a lifelong friend. More routine films followed. In the summer of 1941, he enlisted in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, though he had a class 3 deferment . He began his training in September, 1941, driving three nights a week to his unit in San Pedro and spending most weekends there.

In 1981, Ford co-starred with Melissa Sue Anderson in the slasher film Happy Birthday to Me. In 1991, Ford agreed to star in a cable network series, African Skies. However, he developed blood clots in his legs which,  his situation was so severe that he was listed in critical condition and forced to drop out of the series and was replaced by Robert Mitchum. The 2006 movie Superman Returns includes a scene where Ma Kent  stands next to the living room mantel after Superman returns from his quest to find remnants of Krypton. On that mantel is a picture of Glenn Ford as Pa Kent.

Glenn Ford Marriages

He married  Eleanor Powell, an actress and dancer in 1943 and had a son in  1945 ,actor Peter Ford. They couple parted ways in 1959 .  He dated Christiane Schmidtmer during the mid-1960s, but subsequently married actress Kathryn Hays in 1966 to 1969,then married Cynthia Hayward  from 1977 to 1984, he finally married Jeanne Baus from 1993 to 1994.

Glenn Ford Death

He suffered a series of minor strokes that left him in frail health in the years that led  up to his death. He died on August 30, 2006, at the age of 90 in his Beverly Hills home.

Glenn Ford Awards

Winner

Glenn Ford Son

His son, Peter Newton Ford is a retired American actor, singer and former President and Co-Founder of Blackoak Development Company.

Glenn Ford Net Worth

He had a net worth of $12 million.

Glenn Ford Military Service

For his service in Vietnam, the Navy awarded him a Navy Commendation Medal. He finally retired from the Naval Reserve in the 1970s at the rank of captain. He was awarded the Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon, which recognizes those who spend 10 years of honorable reserve service.

Glenn Ford House

This was his final long-time home. He died in this residence on August 30, 2006 at the age of 90.

Glenn Ford house

Glenn Ford Movies

Glenn Ford Video

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