GLENN FORD
BIRTH: May 1, 1916
DEATH: August 30, 2006
AGED: 90 yrs
DIED FROM: old age but had years of issues with circulation issues, heart attack and a series of strokes
REAL NAME: Gwyllyn Ford
MARRIED: 4 times- Eleanor Powell ( great dancer and star), Kathryn Hays, Cynthia Hayward, Jeanne Baus…all divorced. Eleanor gave up her film career for him to raise their son and make a home.
CHILDREN: 1 child, son.
AFFAIRS: SLUT Alert!! Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney, Eva Gabor, Angie Dickinson, Judy Garland, Stella Stevens, Loretta Young, Suzanne Pleshette, Debbie Reynolds, Hope Lange, Marilyn Monroe( a one night stand) and sex star Liz Renay. In total about 146 actresses, Hayworth got pregnant and had an abortion since it would have destroyed their marriages ( hahahaa) and their careers.
OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Nil!
TALENT: Aside from being a man whore, excellent horseman, quick on the draw with a gun, plumber, electrician and air conditioning fixer
KNOWN FOR: seducing everyone. Keeping many women as friends, just not his wives. Taping his phone calls and making a diary of his conquests.
Who knew this young Canadian man would become a star during Hollywood’s golden age even if he didn’t hit the big time like John Wayne, James Stewart, Gary Cooper and his best friend, William Holden. He was still a big enough name to carry many a film and could play drama, western, comedy and suspense with equal aplomb but almost always playing someone with integrity unlike his issue with sex..can we say sex addict anyone. When he expressed interest in being an actor, his dad suggested he study a back-up trade, just in case so he actually became a certified plumber, electrician and air-conditioning repairman and he would fix things for fun. He was also an expert horseman and was the best in drawing a gun, better than John Wayne, James Arness and many others. He missed out on World War 2 due to illness that ended up as pneumonia creating a lingering illness. This didn’t stop him during the Vietnam War where he was part of the crew for combat training films and found himself in the demilitarized zone in the Mekong Delta where he dealt with enemy fire. He also took up handgliding and liked this challenge but failed miserably when he tried to raise 140 leghorn chickens. When a fox appeared, eating his chickens, he stayed up with his rifle which was the final straw for the fancy people in California. The cops came and shut down his illegal chicken coop. From what I have read, his 5 times co-star and 40 year love affair ( off and on) with Rita Hayworth was the closest to true love to the point where they were “neighbours” with a gate adjoining their gardens and Ms. Hayworth could freely come and go. They each had a picture of the other on their bed stand and when she died, from complications Alzheimer’s disease, he was a pallbearer. When Ford died, his son found tapes that his dad made of his many, many conquests detailing the lovemaking etc.. but, he also taped his conversations he had with his many friends from Holden, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne and Charlton Heston and many more. He learned from his former studio boss, Harry Cohn that taping might be a good idea so he started taping his, then, wife, Eleanor Powell to find out what she knew about all his dalliances. To say he was F&## up is an understatement but, many of the gals still remained good friends with him, just not his wives.
FILMS
1. So Ends Our Night-1941
2. Gilda-1946
3. A Stolen Life-1946
4. An Affair In Trinidad-1952
5. The Big Heat-1953
6. Blackboard Jungle-1955
7. The Teahouse Of August Moon-1956
8. 3:10 To Yuma-1957
9. The Sheepman-1958
10. The Pocketful Of Mircles-1960
11. Experiment In Terror-1962
12. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father-1963
I'm familiar with him, but I had no idea he was such a manwhore. Wow.
ReplyDeleteOh yes…he was a big man whore
DeleteHe sounds a charmer.
ReplyDeleteHe must have been a charmer to be that active
DeleteThe original 3:10 to Yuma! Good film. And he really got around.
ReplyDeleteThat’s an excellent film. He still does not compete with Errol Flynn…in like Flynn!
DeleteOMG. Not exactly citizen of the year.
ReplyDeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Hahahaa..you are right about that
DeleteWow. I never realized that he was such a Man Ho.
ReplyDeleteOh yes…he belongs to the Errol Flynn fan club
DeleteHe did indeed get around to an astounding degree but in that I do not think he was a lone wolf in that respect at that point in time. Especially for movie stars who were coddled to the nth degree by their studios if they were moneymakers, which Ford most certainly was for a substantial portion of his career. I say this not as an approval but an observation.
ReplyDeleteI like his work without him being an especial favorite. He was always at least competent and often much more, but his solid reliability isn’t the type of work that garners nominations let alone awards. He seemed a bit slick to me but he could exude a sexual energy in the right role with the proper costar. Other times not so much but that stolid dependability served him well in many films particularly noirs and Westerns.
I will say that his warm affability and gentle reserve often allowed his female costar to shine (Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat, Rita in Gilda, Geraldine Page in Dear Heart for instance) but his magnetism was strong enough for them not to completely overshadow him.
For someone who was a major star, and he was a big money earner in his prime, a sizable portion of his output was programmers or just a step above. Still, he made his share of quality pictures.
My top 10:
1. The Big Heat (1953)-Gloria Grahame is so inimitable in this that is now surprising that she was second choice after Fox wanted too much money to borrow Marilyn Monroe.
2. Pocketful of Miracles (1961)-Capra didn’t think he was right for Dave the Dude, but his company co-financed the picture and then Ford insisted on Hope Lange rather than Capra’s choice of Shirley Jones. Along with the fact that Ford insulted Bette Davis ruining their friendship the set was a battlefield, but I love it just the same and adore Peter Falk as Joy Boy!!
3. Dear Heart (1964)-My favorite Gerry Page performance as the endearing but lonely postmistress who unexpectedly stumbles into love with Ford’s equally lonely salesman who almost traps himself in marriage with the overbearing (but delightful!) Angela Lansbury and her truly awesome beehive hairdo!
4. Superman (1978)-The first and best take on the tale with Glenn and Phyllis Thaxter perfect in their small roles as the Mid-Western couple who discover and raise Clark Kent.
5. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963)-It’s a shade overlong but its sweetly pensive air and great cast (Shirley Jones, a divinely funny Stella Stevens, Ronny Howard, Dina Merrill) carries it.
6. 3:10 to Yuma (1957)-The remake is aces but this is terrific in its own right.
7. Cowboy (1958)-Starts as an ordinary Western but then Jack Lemmon turns up as a dandy who longs to go on a cattle drive and the picture becomes quite the rugged character study.
8. The Undercover Man (1949)-Ford is a treasury agent determined to bust up a crime syndicate!
9. Gilda (1946)-It’s really Rita Hayworth’s picture but Glenn and George Macready make fine sparring partners.
10. Experiment in Terror (1962)-Fine suspenseful thriller that again belongs to Ford’s costar Lee Remick, but he gives a good, dogged performance.
Hey…I was worried that you gave up on me since I have been poor to respond even though I read all the comments. I hope you are well and just enjoyed a nice vacation.
DeleteI agree with you about Glenn Ford. He is solid but not one, I think, is big star material like John Wayne, Henry Fonda or Clark Gable. He shone with the right woman like Rita Hayworth but it surprised me how much of a lothario he was although nothing like good ole’ Errol. I do think he is up there for the amount of women he slept with and must have had some major issues since he felt the need to tape it all.
My favourite, like you, is The Big Heat. Followed by Pocketful, just like you but then I veer to Gilda, 3:10 to Yuma, Courtship of… and Superman. I haven’t seen the others but want to. I have seen him in other films like Midway but he is one of many stars.
WTH?!
ReplyDeleteMy earlier comment seems to have disappeared from here. Lemme try it again. TAKE TWO! . . .
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I've never particularly been a Glenn Ford fan. But whenever the name comes up, I immediately think of an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. No, Glenn Ford isn't in the episode 'The Bank Job' (season 3, episode 13), but his name gets mentioned a couple of times in a very funny scene featuring Barney Fife. It's definitely an episode well worth watching!
~ D-FensDogG