Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford (March 16, 1884 – December 2, 1957) was an early 20th-century American actor. He was a leading Broadway theater performer and a star of the silent film era.

Career

Ford was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Anna and Walter. He began his acting career on the stage, and made his Broadway debut in 1904 in Richard Harding Davis's Ranson's Folly. He went on to appear in productions of William C. deMille's Strongheart; Glorious Betsy by Rida Johnson Young (the production lasted only 24 performances but the play was later adapted for an Oscar-nominated film of the same name); Bayard Veiller's The Fight (which quickly closed); Edgar Wallace's The Switchboard; Edward Locke's The Bubble; and Edgar Selwyn's Rolling Stones.

In 1915, Ford turned to film and moved to Hollywood. He became a leading man opposite stars such as Constance Talmadge, Norma Talmadge, Marie Prevost, Marion Davies, Marguerite De La Motte and Clara Bow. Ford's film career ended with the advent of talkies. His final film, and only talkie, Love in High Gear, was released in 1932. He returned to acting in the theatre, and also directed productions at the Little Theater of the Verdugos in Glendale, California. During World War II, he toured with the United Service Organizations (USO).

Personal life

Ford married New York stage actress Beatrice Prentice (1884–1977), in Rochester, New York on March 29, 1909.

On September 13, 1951, he was struck by a car while out walking and severely injured. He never recovered, and spent the rest of his life at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and died there on December 2, 1957, at the age of 73. He was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Harrison Ford has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Musso & Frank Grill at 6665 Hollywood Boulevard.

Ford has no known relation to the later film actor of the same name.

Filmography