Glenn Ford

After having been a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary for a year, he joined the Marine Corps during WWII in December of 1942, and subsequently met first wife, tap-dancing extraordinaire Eleanor Powell, at a war-bond cavalcade. They married in 1943.

On May 1st, 2006, Glenn had a gala 90th birthday celebration at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. There was a showing of a newly-restored print of Gilda (1946) and his son, Peter Ford, hosted the event. Over 700 tickets went on sale and were quickly sold out.

Portrayed the title character on NBC Radio's "The Adventures of Christopher London" (1950).

Glenn appeared in 5 movies with classic leading actress, Rita Hayworth: Affair in Trinidad (1952), The Lady in Question (1940), The Loves of Carmen (1948), The Money Trap (1965) and Gilda (1946).

Ford had intended to play Hondo Lane in Hondo (1953), but backed out when John Farrow was chosen to direct. Ford and Farrow had not got along while making Plunder of the Sun (1953). The part was subsequently played by John Wayne.

He is credited with being the fastest "gun" in Hollywood westerns, able to draw and fire in 0.4 seconds, he was faster than James Arness (Matt Dillon of "Gunsmoke" (1955)) and John Wayne.

Actively campaigned for Adlai Stevenson in the 1956 presidential election, and attended the Democratic National Convention that year.

Voted the number one box office attraction. [1958]

Quit smoking cigarettes in 1958.

In 1967, Naval Reserve Officer Lt. Cmdr. Ford (then aged 50) volunteered to serve for three months as a liaison officer attached to a Marine unit with the rank of Colonel in Vietnam, and on several occasions endured enemy shelling.

According to a biography of Sam Peckinpah, Ford was considered for Robert Ryan's role in The Wild Bunch (1969).

Grandfather of Aubrey Newton Ford (b. 1977), Ryan Welsie Ford (b. 1984), and Eleanor Powell Ford (b. 1988), whose parents are Ford's son, Peter Ford (b. 5 February 1945), and his wife, Lynda Gundersen.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. [1978]

Played "Jonathan Kent" in the 1978 film Superman (1978). In Superman Returns (2006), a photograph of him as "Jonathan Kent" can be seen in Clark Kent's old home.

Retired from acting in 1991 following heart and circulatory problems.

He was replaced by Robert Mitchum in "African Skies" (1991) after being hospitalized with blood clots in his legs.

Awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal by the Country of France for his service in World War II. [1992]

Ford had been scheduled to make his first public appearance in fifteen years at a 90th birthday tribute gala in his honor hosted by the American Cinematheque at Grauman's Eqyptian Theatre in Hollywood on 1 May 2006, but he was unable to attend. He had suffered a series of minor strokes since his retirement, and was consequently very frail.