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3 articles from 2006

31 August 2006 | From IMDb News

<N N="0001229">Glenn Ford</N>, the laconic actor best known for his roles in <T T="0038559">Gilda</T>, <T T="0047885">Blackboard Jungle</T>, and as Jonathan Kent, the adoptive father in <T T="0078346">Superman</T>, died Wednesday (8/30) in Los Angeles. Ford had suffered a series of strokes over the last ten years and was in failing health. He was 90.<p> Ford played the strong but silent type, most frequently on the range in films such as <T T="0059661">The Rounders</T> and <T T="0050086">3:10 to Yuma</T>, but just as effectively in urban settings such as his role as the put-upon teacher in <T T="0047885">Blackboard Jungle</T>.<P> Born May 1st, 1916 as Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford in Quebec, Canada did not seem a likely start for a man to become a box-office draw in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. When his family moved to Southern California at age 8, however, Ford became smitten with all things show business, leading to high school plays and West Coast stage productions. <p> Under contract with the notoriously difficult Harry Cohn at Columbia Ford was requested to change his name to something catchier. He salvaged what he could of his birth name, keeping his last name and switching his first to Glenn, after his father's birthplace of Glenford, Wales.<p> Ford labored for several years in productions that ranged from the broad serialized comedy of <T T="0032262">Blondie Play Cupid</T> to program westerns such as <T T="0034269">Texas</T> (which also starred contemporary and sometimes rival for acting parts, <N N="0000028">William Holden</N>).<p> But Ford found particular on-screen chemistry with <N N="0000028">Rita Hayworth</N> and their 1946 noir classic <T T="0038559">Gilda</T> catapulted them both into stardom. Ford played Hayworth's ex-lover, who is put into the tempting position of watching over her by her unsuspecting crime-boss husband. The sultry turn for Hayworth made her a superstar and Ford a leading man, assuring work for him for the next two decades, including several more films with Hayworth (<T T="0040552">The Loves of Carmen</T> and <T T="0044331">Affair in Trinidad</T>).<p> In <T T="0045555">The Big Heat</T> Ford was given the chance to work with <N N="0000485">Fritz Lang</N>, a true craftsman (and again in <T T="0047101">Human Desire</T>), and the actor also starred in lesser films of <N N="0001008">Frank Capra</N> (<T T="0055312">Pocketful of Miracles</T>) and <N N="0591486">Vincente Minelli</N>. The second film Ford made with Minelli, a collaboration called <T T="0056956">The Courtship of Eddie's Father</T>, was quite popular and inspired a <T T="0063887">television show of the same name</T>.<p> More often than not, however, he took direction from under-appreciated, work-for-hire helmers such as <N N="0091430">Budd Boetticher</N> and <N N="0550892">George Marshall</N>. His work in the `70s was largely restricted to television, of varying quality.<p> In 1978 his brief role as Jonathan Kent, the man who adopts Kal-El in <T T="0078346">Superman</T>, Ford lent some moral heft and humanity to the film as the warm counterpart to Kal-El's Krypton father, <N N="0000008">Marlon Brando</N>'s cold intellectual, Jor-El.<p> Ford was married to famed dancer-actress <N N="0007224">Eleanor Powell</N> for 16 years (1943-1959) and they had one son, Peter. Powell passed away in 1982. Peter hosted a gala birthday celebration at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on Ford's 90th birthday in May (featuring a restored 35mm print of <i>Gilda</I>) but, due to setbacks in his health, the actor was unable to attend and sent a videotaped message in his stead.

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30 August 2006 | From IMDb News

Glenn Ford, the laconic actor best known for his roles in Gilda, Blackboard Jungle, and as Jonathan Kent, the adoptive father in Superman, died Wednesday (8/30) in Los Angeles. Ford had suffered a series of strokes over the last ten years and was in failing health. He was 90.<p> Ford played the strong but silent type, most frequently on the range in films such as The Rounders and 3:10 to Yuma, but just as effectively in urban settings such as his role as the put-upon teacher in Blackboard Jungle.<P> Born May 1st, 1916 as Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford in Quebec, Canada did not seem a likely start for a man to become a box-office draw in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. When his family moved to Southern California at age 8, however, Ford became smitten with all things show business, leading to high school plays and West Coast stage productions. <p> Under contract with the notoriously difficult Harry Cohn at Columbia Ford was requested to change his name to something catchier. He salvaged what he could of his birth name, keeping his last name and switching his first to Glenn, after his father's birthplace of Glenford, Wales.<p> Ford labored for several years in productions that ranged from the broad serialized comedy of Blondie Play Cupid to program westerns such as Texas (which also starred contemporary and sometimes rival for acting parts, William Holden).<p> But Ford found particular on-screen chemistry with Rita Hayworth and their 1946 noir classic Gilda catapulted them both into stardom. Ford played Hayworth's ex-lover, who is put into the tempting position of watching over her by her unsuspecting crime-boss husband. The sultry turn for Hayworth made her a superstar and Ford a leading man, assuring work for him for the next two decades, including several more films with Hayworth (The Loves of Carmen and Affair in Trinidad).<p> In The Big Heat Ford was given the chance to work with Fritz Lang, a true craftsman (and again inHuman Desire), and the actor also starred in lesser films of Frank Capra (Pocketful of Miracles) and Vincente Minelli. The second film Ford made with Minelli, a collaboration called The Courtship of Eddie's Father, was quite popular and inspired a television show of the same name.<p> More often than not, however, he took direction from under-appreciated, work-for-hire helmers such as Budd Boetticher and George Marshall. His work in the `70s was largely restricted to television, of varying quality.<p> In 1978 his brief role as Jonathan Kent, the man who adopts Kal-El in Superman, Ford lent some moral heft and humanity to the film as the warm counterpart to Kal-El's Krypton father, Marlon Brando's cold intellectual, Jor-El.<p> Ford was married to famed dancer-actress Eleanor Powell for 16 years (1943-1959) and they had one son, Peter. Powell passed away in 1982. Peter hosted a gala birthday celebration at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on Ford's 90th birthday in May (featuring a restored 35mm print of <i>Gilda</I>) but, due to setbacks in his health, the actor was unable to attend and sent a videotaped message in his stead.

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20 June 2006 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Vincent Sherman, who directed more than 50 films and television shows over a career that spanned some 45 years, died Sunday in Los Angeles one month shy of his 100th birthday. Sherman, who began his film career as an actor in 1933, turned to directing in 1939 when he helmed The Return of Doctor X, Humphrey Bogart's only horror film. During the 1940s and '50s he directed films featuring some of Hollywood's most glamorous stars, including Bette Davis, Ronald Reagan, Ida Lupino, Errol Flynn, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Paul Newman, and Ava Gardner. In the 1960s, he turned to TV, directing such shows as The Waltons, Baretta, and several episodes of Trapper John, M.D.

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3 articles from 2006