Harrison Ford

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For the silent film actor, see Harrison Ford (silent film actor).
Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford
Born July 13, 1942 (1942-07-13) (age 65)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1966–present
Spouse(s) Mary Marquardt (1964–1979) (divorced)
Melissa Mathison (1983–2004) (divorced)
Domestic partner(s) Calista Flockhart (engaged girlfriend)

Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is a BAFTA- and Academy Award-nominated, as well as Golden Globe-winning, American actor. Ford is best known for his performances as the tough, wisecracking space pilot Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the adventurous archaeologist and action hero Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. in the Indiana Jones film series. He is also known for his role as the haunted android tracker Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's sci-fi cult film Blade Runner. His four-decade career also includes roles in other Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fugitive, Air Force One and What Lies Beneath. At one point, Ford had roles in the top five box-office hits of all time, though his role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (as Elliot's school principal) was deleted from the final cut of the film. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

In 1997, Ford was ranked # 1 in Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. As of May 2008, the domestic box office grosses of Ford's films total more than US$3.2 billion,[1] with worldwide grosses surpassing $6 billion, making Ford the No. 3[2] domestic box-office star for lead roles behind only Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks. If counting both supporting movie roles as well as starring roles, Ford would be the 5th biggest film star,[3] behind that of voice-actor Frank Welker, Samuel L. Jackson (whose biggest grossing films, consist of him as a non-lead, supporting actor), Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Ford was born on Monday, July 13, 1942, at 11:41 a.m. in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, at the Swedish Covenant Hospital. His mother, Dorothy (née Dora Nidelman; October 17, 1917–February 10, 2004), was a homemaker and former radio actress, and his father, Christopher Ford (né John William Ford; November 20, 1906–February 10, 1999), was an advertising executive and former actor.[4][5] His paternal grandparents, Florence Veronica Niehaus and John Fitzgerald Ford, were of German and Irish Catholic descent, respectively.[4] Harrison Ford's maternal grandparents, Anna Lifschutz and Harry Nidelman, were Jewish immigrants from Minsk.[4] When asked in which religion he was raised, Ford jokingly responded, "Democrat";[6] he has also said that he feels "Irish as a person but I feel Jewish as an actor".[7]

Ford was active in the Boy Scouts of America, and achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout, and worked at a Scout camp as a counselor for the Reptile Study merit badge. Because of this, he and director Steven Spielberg later decided that the character of young Indiana Jones would be depicted as a Life Scout in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They also jokingly reversed Ford's knowledge of reptiles into Jones's fear of snakes.

In 1960, Ford graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. His was the first student voice broadcast on his high school's new radio station, WMTH-FM, and was its first sportscaster during his senior year, 1959–1960. The radio room still bears his graffiti. He attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He took a drama class in his junior year, chiefly as a way to meet women. Ford, a self-described "late bloomer", became fascinated with acting. Towards the end of his college freshman year, he was a member of a folk band called The Brothers Gross, in which he played gutbucket. He did not graduate from Ripon. It was around this time that he suffered from a period of intense clinical depression; he would sleep much longer and eventually lost respect for his appearance.

[edit] Career

In 1964, Ford travelled to Los Angeles, California to pursue a job in radio voice-overs. He did not get the job, but stayed in California, and eventually signed a $150/week contract with Columbia Pictures's New Talent program, playing bit roles in films. His first known part was an uncredited role as a bellhop in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966). A popular myth has him appearing in a scene of The Great Escape but this movie was filmed while he was still attending Ripon.[8] There is little record of his non-speaking roles (or "extra" work) in film. His speaking roles continued next with Luv (1967) though he was again uncredited. In his next film, he was credited as "Harrison J. Ford" in the 1967 Western film, A Time For Killing, but the "J" didn't stand for anything because he does not have a middle name. It was added to avoid confusion with the silent film actor named Harrison Ford, who appeared in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1932, and who died in 1957. Ford later said that he was unaware of the existence of the earlier Harrison Ford (who is no relation) until he stumbled across a star with his own name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ford soon dropped the "J" from his name and worked for Universal Studios playing minor roles in many television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s including Gunsmoke; Ironside; The Virginian; The F.B.I.; Love, American Style; and Kung Fu. Then, he played in the western Journey to Shiloh (1968) and had an uncredited role in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film Zabriskie Point as an airport worker. Not happy with the acting jobs being offered to him, Ford became a self-taught professional carpenter to better support his then-wife and two small sons. Some of Ford's carpentry work remains in the Hollywood Hills area. While working as a carpenter, he became a stagehand for the popular rock band The Doors. He also built a sun deck for ­­­Sally Kellerman and a recording studio for Sergio Mendes.

He turned to acting again when George Lucas, who had hired him to build cabinets in his home, cast him in a pivotal supporting role for his film American Graffiti (1973). The relation he forged with Lucas was to have a profound effect on Ford's career. After director Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather was a success, he hired Ford to do expansions of his office and Harrison was given a small role in his next two films, The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979).

[edit] Star Wars

Ford's work as a carpenter would land the actor his biggest role to date. In 1975, director George Lucas used him to read lines for actors being cast for parts in his upcoming space opera, Star Wars (1977), though Steven Spielberg convinced Lucas that Ford was meant to star in the film, resulting in him being cast as Han Solo. The film was a huge success and boosted Ford's career. Ford went on to star in the Star Wars sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), as well as the The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). He wanted Lucas to write in the death of the iconic Han Solo at the end of Return of the Jedi, saying "that would have given the whole film a bottom", but Lucas refused.[9]

[edit] Indiana Jones

Ford achieved another huge career boost when he starred as Indiana Jones in the Lucas/Spielberg collaboration Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). He reprised the role for the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), which turned Ford himself into a blockbuster phenomenon. He again reprised his role as Indiana Jones for a 1993 aepisode of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and for the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unlike many other actors of the same or similar genre, Ford's authenticity as a daring action hero was supported by his willingness to perform many of his own stunts for the Indiana Jones films.

[edit] Other works

Ford has been involved in numerous other movies including Heroes (1977), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), and Hanover Street (1979). Ford also co-starred alongside Gene Wilder in the buddy-western The Frisco Kid (1979), playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. He then starred in a number of dramatic-action films: Peter Weir's Witness (1985) and The Mosquito Coast (1986), and Roman Polanski's Frantic (1988). He also starred in Mike Nichols's romantic drama Working Girl (1988) and as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's cult sci-fi classic Blade Runner (1982).

The 1990s brought Ford the role of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), as well as leading roles in Alan Pakula's Presumed Innocent (1990) and The Devil's Own (1997), Andrew Davis's The Fugitive (1993), Sydney Pollack's remake of Sabrina (1995), and Wolfgang Petersen's Air Force One (1997). Ford has also played straight dramatic roles, including an adulterous husband with a terrible secret in both Presumed Innocent (1990) and What Lies Beneath (2000), and a recovering amnesiac in Mike Nichols' Regarding Henry (1991).

Many of Ford's major film roles came to him by default or unusual circumstances: he won the role of Han Solo while reading lines for other actors, was cast as Indiana Jones because Tom Selleck was not available, and took the role of Jack Ryan due to Alec Baldwin's fee demands (Baldwin had previously played the role in The Hunt for Red October).

[edit] Awards

Despite being one of the most financially successful actors of his generation, Ford has received just one Oscar nomination, that of Best Actor for Witness. On June 2, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On October 6, 2006, Ford was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his work in nature and wildlife preservation. The ceremony took place at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.[10]

[edit] Recent work

Ford's star power has waned in recent years, the result of appearing in numerous critically derided and commercially disappointing movies, including Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Random Hearts (1999), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), Hollywood Homicide (2003), and Firewall (2006). One exception is 2000's What Lies Beneath, which ended up grossing over $155 million in the United States and $300 million world-wide.

In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller Syriana, later commenting that "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake."[11] The role eventually went to George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. Ford also turned down leading roles in the critically acclaimed films Traffic and A History of Violence as well as The Patriot.

Also in 2004, Ford appeared in the straight-to-video Water to Wine, credited as "Jethro the Bus Driver", as a favor to his son Malcolm.

[edit] Current and upcoming projects

Ford enjoyed recent success with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, another collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Production of the movie lasted from June to October 2007, and it was released on May 22, 2008.[12]

He has also completed filming on a film called Crossing Over, directed by Wayne Kramer. He will play Immigrations officer Max Brogan alongside Sean Penn and Ray Liotta.[13][14]

Ford has also finished recording narration for the upcoming feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama entitled Dalai Lama Renaissance.

He recently expressed interest in returning to the Jack Ryan franchise.[15]

[edit] Personal life

Ford is one of Hollywood's most notoriously private actors, zealously guarding his personal life. He has two sons (Willard and Benjamin) with his first wife, Mary Marquardt, as well as two children (Malcolm and Georgia) with his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison, and he is currently (as of 2002) engaged to Calista Flockhart who has an adopted son, Liam. In 2008, Ford stated in a Nightline interview that he has no strong religious beliefs.

In June, 1983 at the age of 40, during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in London, he herniated a disc in his back, resulting in him flying back to Los Angeles for an operation and returning to work just over six weeks later.[16]

[edit] Environmental causes

Ford sits on the board of directors of Conservation International. He was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his ongoing work in preservation of the planet.[17]

In 1993, the arachnologist Norman Platnick named a new species of spider Calponia harrisonfordi, and in 2002, the entomologist Edward O. Wilson named a new ant species Pheidole harrisonfordi (in recognition of Harrison's work as Vice Chairman of Conservation International).[18]

In April 2008, Ford waxed a portion of his chest hair to illustrate the effect of deforestation. Critics hail the commercial for its use of lighting and subtle humor to illustrate a serious point.

[edit] Political views

Like his parents, Ford is a lifelong Democrat.[19] In 2003 he publicly condemned the Iraq War, and called for "regime change" in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making violent movies, and called for more gun control in the United States.[20] He opposed the recall of Californian Governor Gray Davis, and warned in an interview that replacing Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a mistake.

[edit] Archaeology

Following on his success portraying the archaeologist Indiana Jones in four films, Ford also plays a part in supporting the work of professional archaeologists. He serves as a General Trustee[21] on the Governing Board of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. Ford assists them in their mission of increasing public awareness of archaeology and preventing looting and the illegal antiquities trade.

[edit] Community work

On November 21, 2007, Ford and other celebrities, including Kirk Douglas, Nia Long and Calista Flockhart, helped serve hot meals to the homeless at the annual Thanksgiving feast at the Los Angeles Mission.[22]

[edit] Aircraft

Ford is a private pilot of both planes and helicopters, and owns an 800-acre (3.2 km²) ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. On several occasions, Ford has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the behest of local authorities, in one instance rescuing a hiker overcome by dehydration.[23]

He is the current chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program, taking over after Chuck Yeager retired.

Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a TriPacer, but at $15 an hour he was unable to continue the training. His interest returned in the mid-1990s when he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started out flying a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming. He later switched to Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he soloed in.

On October 23, 1999, Harrison Ford was involved in the crash of a Bell 206-L4 helicopter (N36R). The NTSB accident report states that Ford was piloting the aircraft over the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California on a routine training flight. While making his second attempt at an autorotation with powered recovery Ford allowed the aircraft's altitude to drop to 150–200 feet before beginning power up. As a result the aircraft was unable to recover power before hitting the ground. The aircraft landed hard and began skidding forward in the loose gravel before one of its skids struck a partially embedded log and flipped onto its side. Neither Ford nor the instructor pilot suffered any injuries though the helicopter was seriously damaged. When asked about the incident by fellow pilot James Lipton in an interview on the TV show Inside the Actor's Studio Ford replied "I broke it."[24]

Ford owns various aircraft:

Previous aircraft:

Ford keeps his aircraft at Santa Monica Airport, though the Bell 407 is often kept and flown in Jackson, Wyoming, and has been used by the actor in two mountain rescues during the actor's assigned duty time assisting the Teton County Search and Rescue. On one of the rescues Ford recovered a hiker who had become lost and disoriented. She boarded Ford's Bell 407 and promptly vomited into one of the rescuers' caps (she says it was not Ford's cap), unaware of who the pilot was until much later, saying, "I can't believe I barfed in Harrison Ford's helicopter!"

In March 2004, Ford officially became chairman of the Young Eagles program of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Ford was asked to take the position by Greg Anderson, Senior Vice President of the EAA at the time, to replace General Charles "Chuck" Yeager who was vacating the post that he had held for many years. Ford at first was hesitant, but later accepted the offer and has made appearances with the Young Eagles at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh gathering at Oshkosh, Wisconsin for two years. In July 2005 at the gathering in Oshkosh Ford agreed to accept the position for another two years. Ford has flown over 280 children as part of the Young Eagles program, usually in his De Havilland Beaver, which can seat the actor and five children. Ford is involved with the EAA chapter in Driggs, Idaho, just over the mountains from Jackson, Wyoming.

Harrison Ford flies his De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S) more than any of his other aircraft, and though he dislikes showing favouritism, he has repeatedly stated that he likes this aircraft and the sound of its Pratt & Whitney 985 radial engine. He uses it regularly for impromptu fly-ins at remote airports, and bush strips, as well as gatherings with other Beaver owners and pilots. Ford first encountered the Beaver while filming Six Days Seven Nights, and soon purchased one. Kenmore Air in Kenmore, Washington restored Ford's yellow and green DHC-2 (N28S), a junked former U.S. military Beaver, with updated avionics and an upgraded engine.

[edit] Awards and honors

[edit] Academy Award

  • Nominated: Best Actor, Witness (1985)

[edit] BAFTA Award

  • Nominated: Best Actor, Witness (1985)

[edit] Golden Globe Award

  • Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Witness (1986)
  • Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, The Mosquito Coast (1987)
  • Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, The Fugitive (1994)
  • Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy, Sabrina (1996)
  • Won: Cecil B. DeMille Award (2002)

[edit] Scream Awards


Preceded by
George Clooney		 People's Sexiest Man Alive
1998		 Succeeded by
Richard Gere

[edit] Filmography

As actor

Year Film Role Other notes
1966 Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round Bellhop uncredited
1967 Luv Hippy uncredited
A Time for Killing Lt. Shaffer
The Virginian Cullen Tindall/Young Rancher TV series
Ironside Tom Stowe TV series
1968 Journey to Shiloh Willie Bill Bearden
The Mod Squad Beach Patrol Cop TV series - uncredited
1969 My Friend Tony TV series
The F.B.I. Glen Reverson/Everett Giles TV series
Love, American Style Roger Crane (segment "Love and the Former Marriage" TV series
1970 Zabriskie Point Airport Worker uncredited
Getting Straight Jake
The Intruders Carl TV
1971 Dan August Hewett TV series
1972–1973 Gunsmoke Print/Hobey TV series
1973 American Graffiti Bob Falfa
1974 Kung Fu (TV series) Harrison TV series
The Conversation Martin Stett
Petrocelli Tom Brannigan TV series
1975 Judgement: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley Frank Crowder TV
1976 Dynasty Mark Blackwood TV
1977 The Possessed Paul Winjam TV
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Han Solo
Heroes Ken Boyd
1978 Force 10 from Navarone Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby
The Star Wars Holiday Special Han Solo TV
1979 Apocalypse Now Colonel Lucas
Hanover Street David Halloran
The Frisco Kid Tommy Lillard
More American Graffiti Officer Bob Falfa uncredited
1980 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Han Solo
1981 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones
1982 Blade Runner Rick Deckard
1983 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Han Solo
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Indiana Jones
1985 Witness Det. Capt. John Book Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1986 The Mosquito Coast Allie Fox Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1988 Frantic Dr. Richard Walker
Working Girl Jack Trainer
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana Jones
1990 Presumed Innocent Rusty Sabich
1991 Regarding Henry Henry Turner
1992 Patriot Games Jack Ryan
1993 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Indiana Jones - age 50 TV series
The Fugitive Dr. Richard David Kimble Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1994 Clear and Present Danger Jack Ryan
1995 Sabrina Linus Larabee Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1997 The Devil's Own Tom O'Meara
Air Force One President James Marshall
1998 Six Days Seven Nights Quinn Harris
1999 Random Hearts Sergeant William 'Dutch' Van Den Broeck
2000 What Lies Beneath Dr. Norman Spencer
2002 K-19: The Widowmaker Alexei Vostrikov
2003 Hollywood Homicide Sgt. Joe Gavilan
2004 Water to Wine Jethro the Bus Driver
2006 Firewall Jack Stanfield
2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones
Crossing Over Max Brogan

[edit] Salary history

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ PEOPLE INDEX. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  2. ^ Box Office Mojo - People Index
  3. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/people/records/
  4. ^ a b c Jenkins, Gary (March 1999). Harrison Ford: Imperfect Hero. Kensington Books, 9–12. ISBN 10080658016X. 
  5. ^ Harrison Ford Biography (1942-). Film Reference. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  6. ^ Bloom, Nate (2003-12-12). Celebrity Jews. Jewish News Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  7. ^ Stated on Inside the Actors Studio; Ten American showbiz celebrities of Russian descent. Prauda (2005-11-18). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  8. ^ http://www.harrisonfordweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6815
  9. ^ Harrison Ford Wanted Han Solo to Die. Starpulse (2006-03-02). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  10. ^ Harrison Ford. Jules Verne Festival. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  11. ^ Harrison Ford Regrets Passing on 'Syriana'. Starpulse (2006-03-03). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  12. ^ Can you dig it? Fourth 'Indy' in '08. The Hollywood Reporter (2007-01-02). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  13. ^ Harrison Ford (I). IMDB. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  14. ^ Crossing Over (2008). IMDB. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  15. ^ Ford Talks Jack Ryan's Return. Dark Horizons (2008-29-05). Retrieved on 2008-30-05.
  16. ^ Rinzer, J. W. (2008). The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films. New York: Del Rey, imprint of Random House, Inc., p. 153. ISBN 978-0-345-50129-5. “Lucas arrived on June 20 [1983]. 'Harrison was in really terrible pain,' he says. 'He was on the set lying on a gurney. They would lift him up and he'd walk through his scenes, and they'd get him back on the bed.' That same day Ford was filming his fight with the Thuggee assassin in Indy's suite on Stage 3. 'Harrison had to roll backward on top of the guy,' Spielberg says. 'At that moment his back herniated and Harrison let out a call for help.'” 
  17. ^ Harrison Ford. Jules Verne Festival. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  18. ^ Harrison Ford. Our Planet. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  19. ^ 2008 PRESIDENTIAL DONOR WATCH. Newsmeat. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  20. ^ Harrison Ford blasts US Iraq policy. The Age (2003-08-27). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  21. ^ About the AIA. Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  22. ^ Schou, Solvej (2007-11-21). Celebs Serve Holiday Meals to Homeless. ABC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  23. ^ Harrison Ford credited with helicopter rescue of sick hiker in Idaho. CNN (2000-08-07). Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  24. ^ LAX00LA024. National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.

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Persondata
NAME Ford, Harrison
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH