Harrison Ford is the most accomplished and established actor of the recent times. He appeals to both the male and female audiences of the world. Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois to Irish-Catholic father and a Russian Jewish mother. Success did not come this easy for him too. He never knew what he wanted to be when he grows up. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs of Park Ridge and Morton Grove, where his father was an advertising executive, producer of TV commercials, and sometime radio actor
Ford graduated from high school in 1960 and went on to college. Ford was never academically inclined and was therefore booted out of the RIpon College in Ripon. . One good thing did come out of Ford's college nightmare, he started taking drama courses.
A Columbia Pictures talent scout spooted Ford and feferd him to work After playing numerous bit parts in movies, he was booted from his Columbia contract. Although he got numerous television roles in shows like "The Partridge Family", "Gunsmoke", "Kung Fu", and "The Virginian", acting just wasn't paying the rent for his family. In 1974, he turned his back on acting and became a full-time carpenter.
When the money started to come in, he began to accept acting jobs again. Finally, Harrison's big break came. One of his clients, Fred Roos, was a casting director at Universal, who had just been appointed to an unknown director named George Lucas for a film called AMERICAN GRAFFITI. The film was the surprise smash of 1973, and Roos gave Ford another job idea: the part of the smuggler Han Solo. To Harrison's disbelief, Lucas gave him the part. His future as an actor was sealed when STAR WARS was released on May 25, 1977. It was a box office smash and a merchandiser's dream.
Harrison's career took a bit of a blow after STAR WARS. Ford met screenwriter Melissa Mathison, who, after his breakup with Mary Marquardt, became his wife. Ford and Mathison married in 1983.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK rejuvanated Ford's career. It was just as successful as its predecessor, despite the chaotic production. It was that summer of 1980 that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg first developed the character of Indiana Jones, the adventurous, slightly immortal archaeologist. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, besides being the most fun Ford had ever had doing a film, won him the most notice of his career so far.
BLADE RUNNER proved to be a nightmarish experience for many involved in it's creation. Ford played Rick Deckard, the dark, brooding hero who hunts down and destroys androids in Los Angeles, 2019. The film, despite being a flop, is a cult classic which still endures today. After BLADE RUNNER, Ford returned to the familiar character of Han Solo in RETURN OF THE JEDI. After RETURN OF THE JEDI came the second installment of the Indiana Jones adventures, called INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM.
Ford began to hunt for a role in which his abilities as a serious actor would be magnified, and the outcome was WITNESS. It represented Ford's best acting, and his only Academy Award nomination, for best actor in 1985. Harrison and his second wife, Melissa Mathison, had been brought together because of their dislike of Hollywood. After purchasing 800 acres of undeveloped land seven miles from the town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, they moved into a two story farmhouse. Ford and Mathison had two children, Malcolm and Georgia, in 1987 and 1990, respectively.
After THE MOSQUITO COAST, Ford took a role in the psychological thriller FRANTIC. Harrison's next role was different from any role he had previously played. He took the part of Jack Trainer in WORKING GIRL, a romantic comedy with Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. In 1989, the third chapter of the Indiana Jones saga was released - INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. The filming was fun for all, with Ford and Connery, neither of whom were known for their senses of humor, pulling practical jokes which would cause the crew to break up in laughter.
Ford's next two roles were different from his previous ones. The first was the lead in PRESUMED INNOCENT, adapted from the Scott Turow novel of the same name. The second is the part of Henry Turner, in the film REGARDING HENRY. Harrison's next film, THE FUGITIVE, was a big box office hit. Ford played the nervous Dr. Richard Kimble, accused of killing his wife and on the run from the law. The film was among the top thirty box offices hits of all time when it opened in 1993. Harrison then replaced Kevin Costner in the action flick AIR FORCE ONE, in which he played the 'ass-kicking president', in the words of David Letterman. The film was one of the major box office smashes of the summer. He also has several projects lined up for the future, including the thriller WHAT LIES BENEATH, and INDY IV. All-in-all, the future looks to be Ford-filled!
Ford is famously reluctant to reveal much about his personal life to the press. In 1978 he divorced Marquardt, with whom he has two sons, Ben and Willard. In 1983, Ford married Melissa Mathison, a screenwriter who penned the scripts for movies such as E.T., The Indian in the Cupboard, and Kundun. They have two children, Malcolm and Georgia. After he and Mathison divorced in 2001, he started dating Calista Flockhart.
|
|
|
