Harrison Ford
- For the silent film actor, see: Harrison Ford (silent film actor).
Harrison Ford | |
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| File:Harrisonford.jpg | |
| Height | 6`1 |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Marquardt (1964-79) Melissa Mathison (1983-2004) |
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, and was arguably the most bankable star of the last quarter of the 20th Century. He is best known for his performances as the tough, wisecracking space pilot Han Solo in the Star Wars film series, and the adventurous, tenacious archaeologist/action hero Indiana Jones of Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels.
Ford has also been the star of many high-grossing hit Hollywood blockbusters such as Air Force One and The Fugitive, which have distanced him from his famous Star Wars and Indiana Jones roles. At one point Ford had roles in the top five box office hits of all time.
As of September 2006, the combined domestic box office grosses of Ford's films total approximately US$3.10 Billion [1], with worldwide grosses at approaching the US$6 Billion mark, making Harrison the #2 all-time box office star behind that of Tom Hanks.
Early life
Ford was born on Monday, July 13, 1942, at 11:41 AM CST in Chicago, Illinois at Swedish Covenant Hospital to Dorothy Nidelman (born Dora Nidelman on October 17, 1917, in New Jersey; died February 10, 2004), a former radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford on November 20, 1906 in New York; died February 10, 1999), an advertising executive and a former actor. Ford's maternal grandparents, Harry Nidelman and Anna Lifschutz, were Jewish immigrants from Minsk, Belarus, who met in Brooklyn and moved to New Jersey. His Catholic paternal grandparents were John Fitzgerald Ford (an Irish American vaudeville performer) and Florence Veronica Niehaus (a German American). Ford's parents were Democrats and did not practice the religions into which they were born.[1] Harrison, when asked as to what religion he was raised in, jokingly responded, "Democrat."[2] Ford has also said that he feels "Irish as a person but I feel Jewish as an actor".[3]
In 1960, Ford graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, where he claims he was picked on by bullies and ignored by girls and also voted "Boy Least Likely to Succeed". 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. Toward the end of his college freshman year, he was a member of a folk band called The Brothers Gross, in which he played gutbucket. In 1964, Ford moved to Los Angeles, California, where he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures for $150 a week in the studio's New Talent program, playing bit roles in three films. Ford was credited as "Harrison J. Ford" for a small role in the 1967 western, 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 other actor named Harrison Ford, who died in 1957.
Ford dropped the "J" from his name and worked in minor television roles for Universal Studios. Ford was offered the role of Mike Stivic in Norman Lear's All in the Family but he turned down the part because of expressions of bigotry uttered by the leading character Archie Bunker. 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.
Career
Star Wars
Harrison Ford's work as a carpenter would land the actor his biggest role to date. In 1975, director George Lucas, who had cast Ford in a pivotal supporting role in American Graffiti, hired Ford to build some cabinets in his home and used him to read lines for actors being cast for parts in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It was Steven Spielberg who first noticed that Ford was well suited for the part of Han Solo.
The 6'1" Ford went on to star as Han Solo in the next two Star Wars sequels, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as in The Star Wars Holiday Special. He wanted George Lucas to write in the death of the iconic Han Solo character at the beginning of the third act of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, saying that it would lend more dramatic weight to the film, but Lucas refused. [4]
Other Films
He starred as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its two sequels to date, and as Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. Ford's other well-known films include Blade Runner, Witness, The Fugitive (1993), and the remake of Sabrina, among others. During production of The Fugitive, he reprised his role as Indiana Jones in an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. While often playing the leading man or the hero of many action films, Ford had a change of pace, playing an adulterous husband with a terrible secret in What Lies Beneath.
Many of Ford's major film roles came to him by default and other unusual circumstances: Han Solo, due to his reading lines for other actors; Indiana Jones, because actor Tom Selleck was not available; and Jack Ryan, apparently due to Alec Baldwin's fee demands (Baldwin had previously played the role in The Hunt for Red October).
Salary
The 2001 edition of the Guinness Book of Records listed Ford as the richest actor alive: his reported salary for the 2002 film K-19: The Widowmaker was more than $25 million. The 27 movies that he has starred in have grossed a combined box office of more than $3.3 billion.
Awards
However, 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.
In 2000, he received the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
On June 2, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
Recent Work
Ford's star power has waned in recent years, the result of appearing in numerous critically derided and commercially disappointing movies like Random Hearts, K-19: The Widowmaker, Hollywood Homicide and Firewall.[citation needed] Even 2000's What Lies Beneath, which featured an unusually dark performance from Ford, was widely criticised as predictable and formulaic. Budgeted at over $90,000,000, What Lies Beneath was released on July 21, 2000 and was met with mixed reviews. It received an average of 45% on RottenTomatoes. However, it opened at the top of the box office, grossing $29,702,959. It continued strongly through the summer, and ended up grossing $155,464,351 in the United States and $291,420,351 worldwide.
As of September 24, 2006, Harrison Ford has been overtaken by Tom Hanks [2] [3] as the top star of the combined highest-grossing films in Hollywood, and Mel Gibson has overtaken him as the richest living actor.
In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller Syriana, commenting that "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake". The role eventually went to George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. [5]. Ford also turned down leading roles in critically acclaimed films The Patriot, Traffic and A History of Violence.
He is currently scheduled to star in a fourth Indiana Jones movie with a story by George Lucas, screenplay by David Koepp, and direction by Steven Spielberg. The movie's release, originally intended for May 2007, has now been postponed to summer 2008, leading some to question if it will ever be made at all. Sean Connery, who announced his retirement from acting in 2004, has confirmed he will not appear in the film.[citation needed]
Ford has also finished recording narration for the upcoming feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama entitled Dalai Lama Renaissance.
Personal life
Ford is one of Hollywood's most notoriously private actors, rigidly guarding his private life. Outside of film promotion, he rarely appears in the press, preferring to keep to himself at his Wyoming home. In fact, Ford considers the Internet to invade his best intentions of privacy [6]
Marriages & Children
Ford has been married twice. He married Mary Marquardt in 1964, and divorced her in 1979. He had two children with her, Benjamin (born in 1967) and Willard (born in 1969). He married again, to Melissa Mathison, screenwriter of The Black Stallion, Kundun, and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, on March 14, 1983. They had two children: a son, Malcolm (born on March 10, 1987), and a daughter, Georgia (born on June 30, 1990). Mathison filed for legal separation on August 23, 2001, and their subsequent divorce in January 2004 has become one of the most expensive in Hollywood history. Ford has since been dating actress Calista Flockhart.
Aircraft Pilot
Ford is a private pilot of both planes and helicopters, and owns an 800-acre (3.2-km²) ranch in Jackson Hole, 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.
He is the current Chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program, taking over after Chuck Yeager retired.
Environmental Causes
Ford sits on the board of directors of Conservation International.
Ford is an Honorary Chairman of the Indianapolis Prize, the world's leading award for animal conservation.
Politics
Iraq Conflict Opposition
In March 2003 various newspapers reported that Ford disapproved of a letter signed by several Hollywood celebrities urging President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq. Some implied that through his disapproval he favored a Bush led invasion of Iraq. Ford responded to the reports through his spokeswoman Patricia McQueeney, now deceased. He said he favored "regime change on both sides".
In August 2003 Ford condemned the Iraq war in an interview with a Spanish newspaper. He went on to criticize the proliferation of firearms in the United States, something that caused controversy given that he has used handguns in most of his movies.
California Gubernatorial Recall
Ford opposed the recall of California Governor Gray Davis and warned that replacing him with Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a disaster for the state. In September 2003 Ford caused further controversy by presenting his friend, film director Roman Polanski, with his Best Director Oscar for The Pianist in Paris, where the director has been a fugitive since fleeing the United States in 1978 after pleading guilty to one count of statutory rape. Ford, who was directed by Polanski in 1988's Frantic, had accepted the Oscar in Polanski's absence at the 75th Annual Academy Awards.
Opposition to Chinese Most Favored Nation Status
Ford once appeared before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on behalf of the people of Tibet. His goal was to prevent China from gaining Most Favored Nation status, because of the Chinese occupation of Tibet. As a result, Ford is banned by the People's Republic of China from entering Tibet.
Other
When George Lucas and company began the merchandising for the original Star Wars films, Ford was the head negotiator in what eventually led to the lead actors receiving royalties from their likenesses and use of their images in any sold merchandise.
Aircraft
Harrison Ford began flight training in the 1960's at Wild Rose Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin flying in a TriPacer, but at $11 an hour he was unable to continue the training. His interest returned in the mid-1990's 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 Hole, Wyoming. He later switched to Teterboro, New Jersey flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he solo'ed 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 height to drop to 150 to 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 flipping onto its side. Neither Ford or 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." [7]
Ford is the owner of the following aircraft:
- De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S)
- Aviat Husky A-1B
- Cessna Citation CJ3
- Beech Bonanza B36T3
- Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
- 1929 Waco Taperwing
- Bell 407
Previous aircraft:
Ford keeps his aircraft at the Santa Monica Airport, though the Bell 407 is often kept and flown in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and has been used by the actor in two mountain rescues during the actor's assigned duty time assisting the Civil Air Patrol. 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.
In March, 2004 Harrison Ford officially became Chairman of the Young Eagles program of the Experimental Aircraft Association. 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 AirVenture gathering at Oshkosh, Wisconsin for two years. In July, 2005 at the gathering in Oshkosh Ford argeed to accept the position for another two years. Ford has flown over 200 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 Hole, Wyoming.
Harrison Ford flies his De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S) more than any of his other aircraft, and though he dislikes showing favoritism, he has repeatably 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, to better than new with updated avionics and an upgraded engine.
Trivia
- 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).
- Ford cut his chin in a car accident in Northern California when he was about 20. The scar is visible in his films. Spielberg offers an explanation for it in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in which he depicts a young Indiana Jones (played by River Phoenix) cutting his chin attempting to crack a whip to ward off a lion.
- The film Working Girl gave two explainations for the chin scar. First Ford tells Melanie Griffith that he got it in a knife fight, but then 'fesses up that he got it by slipping in the bathroom and smacking his face on the sink.
- Ford admitted in a 1997 interview that he managed to dodge the draft during the Vietnam War, because he "did not want to participate in an illegal conflict aimed at maintaining American imperialism".[citation needed]
- Prior to the release of Star Wars, Shel Dorf (founder of Comic Con) had a chance encounter with Ford at the production offices and did an interview with him for the comic book adzine then known as The Buyer's Guide for Comics Fandom (now Comics Buyer's Guide). In it Ford derisively spoke of his "so-called career" as an actor.
- Ford has assisted musician Jimmy Buffett by recording whip cracks (a skill learned during Raiders of the Lost Ark) used in the Buffett song "Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)".
- Ford has admitted to suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
- According to legend, Ford is reportedly one of the first voices ever to be heard on WMTH, radio station for all three Maine Township High School District 207 high schools.
Selected filmography
Salary history
- K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) - $25,000,000 + 20% of the Gross
- What Lies Beneath (2000) - $20,000,000
- Random Hearts (1999) - $20,000,000
- Six Days Seven Nights (1998) - $20,000,000
- Air Force One (1997) - $22,000,000
- The Devil's Own (1997) - $20,000,000
- Patriot Games (1992) - $9,000,000
- Presumed Innocent (1990) - $12,500,000
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) - $650,000 + royalties
- American Graffiti (1973) - $500/week
- A Time For Killing (1967) - $150/week
- Luv (1967) - $150/week
- Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966) - $150
References
- ^ Box Office Mojo - People Index
- ^ Jewish news weekly of Northern California: Celebrity Jews by nate bloom
- ^ Ten American showbiz celebrities of Russian descent
- ^ Starpulse News Blog: Harrison Ford Wanted Han Solo to Die.
- ^ Starpulse News Blog: Harrison Ford Regrets Passing on 'Syriana'
- ^ contactmusic.com: Ford: 'I hate the internet'.
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board: NTSB Identification: LAX00LA024
See also
External links
Interviews
- "Harrison Ford Interview". CinemasOnline. 2002. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
- Dawson, Angela (2003-06-12). "Harrison Ford: Hollywood loved him even before they knew him". Entertainment News Wire, Cincinnati Post. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Honeycutt, Kirk (1986). "Harrison Ford on Harrison Ford". Daily News. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
- Leopold, Todd (2006-02-09). "Harrison Ford and the movie machine". Cable News Network. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Newman, Bruce (2006-02-12). "At 63, Harrison Ford very much remains a leading man". Knight Ridder News Service, Miami Herald. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Rader, Dotson (2002-07-07). "I found purpose". Parade Magazine. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Turan, Kenneth (1986). "Harrison Ford wants to be alone". GQ. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
Web sites
- Harrison Ford Web
- Harrison Ford at IMDb
- Template:Nndb name
- Harrison Ford: A Web Guide
- Defunct Harrison Ford project The Boundaries of Heaven
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