Glenn Ford mini-bio: Legendary actor Glenn Ford was discovered in 1939 by Tom Moore, a talent scout for
20th Century Fox and then subsequently signed a contract with Columbia Pictures the
same year. Ford's contract with Columbia marked a significant departure in that
studio's successful business model. Its boss, Harry Cohn had spent decades
observing other studios' -- most notably Warner Brothers -- troubles with their
contract stars and had built his poverty row studio around their loan outs.
Basically, major studios would use Columbia as a penalty box for unruly behavior --
usually salary demands or work refusals. The cunning Cohn usually assigned these
stars his little studio could not normally afford into pictures directed by his
best director, Frank Capra and the studio's status rose immensely as the 1930s
progressed. Cohn understandably had long resisted developing his own stable of
contract stars (he'd first hired German ?migr? 'Peter Lorre' in 1934 but didn't
know what to do with him) had relented in the late 1930s, first adding 'Rosiland
Russell' then signing Ford and fellow newcomer William Holden. Cohn reasoned that
the two prospects could be used interchangeably, should one become troublesome.
Although often competing for the same parts, the two actors became good friends.
Their careers would roughly parallel each other through the 1940s, until Holden
became a superstar through his remarkable association with director Billy Wilder in
the 1950s. He made his official debut in Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939) and
continued working in various small roles throughout the 1940s until his movie
career was interrupted to join the Marines in World War II. During his service, he
helped build safe houses in France for those hiding from the Nazis. Ford continued
his military career in the Naval Reserve well into the Vietnam War, becoming one of
the few actors to achieve flag-rank. In 1943, he married legendary tap dancer,
Eleanor Powell and had one son, Peter Ford. Like many actors returning to Hollywood
after the war (including James Stewart and Holden, who had already acquired a
serious alcohol problem) he found it initially difficult to regain his career
momentum. He was able to resume his movie career with the help of Bette Davis who
gave him his first post-war break in the 1946 movie A Stolen Life (1946). However,
it was not until his acclaimed performance in the 1946 classic film noir, Gilda
(1946) with Rita Hayworth that he became a major star and one of the the most
popular actors of his time. He scored big with the film noir classic, The Big Heat
(1953) and The Blackboard Jungle (1955). He continued to make many notable films
during his prestigious 50 year movie career, but he is best known for his fine
westerns such as 3:10 to Yuma (1957), The Rounders (1965), and pulled a hugely
entertaining turn in The Sheepman (1958) and many more fine films. In the 1970s,
Ford made his television debut in the controversial Brotherhood of the Bell and
appeared in two fondly-remembered television series: Cade's County and The Family
Holvak. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ford limited his appearance to documentaries
and occasional films, including a nice cameo in Superman (1978). Glenn Ford is
remembered fondly by his fans for his more than 100 excellent films and his
charismatic silver screen presence
