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Page 70 Classic Images April 2011 It was the perfect family. Mom was an athletic, beautiful woman who gave up international fame to devote herself to being a mother. Dad was a sexy, charismatic leading man just reemerging in A-list Hollywood, but taking time to shower his family with loving attention. Their son was a blonde, blue-eyed little boy, an only child, photographed endlessly enjoying all the perks of the privi- leged. “He’s the luckiest kid in the world”, the fans must have imagined as they pored over the photos of this All-American family appearing reg- ularly in newspapers and movie fan magazines. Looks can be deceiving, however, especially in Hollywood. The dad was actor Glenn Ford, who conceived his baby boy with dancer-actress Eleanor Powell on his 28th birthday, but 15 years later in 1959, on his 43rd birthday, she would file for divorce. “I filed on the grounds of mental cruelty, and that’s exactly what I meant,” she reported. Like many war-time romances, this story really began when the little family moved into a place of their own, composer Max Steiner’s old home, less than a mile from where they were married in a movie-star mansion on Bedford Drive that mom Eleanor Powell had been renting from Mary Pickford. Ironically, when their child was born, the cou- ple were living apart, with their own mothers! On Cove Way, just off Benedict Canyon and within walking distance of The Beverly Hills Hotel, the new Mrs Ford occupied herself with all the joys of motherhood, to the exclu- sion of her husband. Meanwhile, he kept busy pursuing a seemingly end- less string of affairs on movie loca- tions and elsewhere. The little family loved music, but as in other matters, their tastes differed. Mom listened to her favor- ites, Fats Waller and Frank Sinatra, on the state-of-the-art sound sys- tem installed by the head of the sound department at MGM, Douglas Shearer. Dad enjoyed the Hawaiian and Country/Western sounds of the day. And in the 1950s, their 10-year- old son Peter could claim respon- sibility for beginning the decline of American popular music. When director Richard Brooks began look- ing into the latest trends in popular music in preparation for his new movie, young Peter handed him three of his favorite rock ’n’ roll records. One of these was chosen to be the theme song of the influential MGM picture The Blackboard Jungle. The film broke new ground with its raucous opening, featuring the Bill Haley and the Comets recording of “Rock Around the Clock”. Peter’s dad was, of course, the film’s star. Peter’s childhood home was a 2 1/2-acre estate, staffed with a but- ler, a maid, and a nurse, as well as a full-time chef, part-time mas- seuse, and gardening crew. The boy would visit the Pickfair estate of Mary Pickford where the silent star, once “America’s Sweetheart” would hold him on her lap. His friends were the children of his parents’ A- list friends, including Peter Holden, Steve Lovejoy, Jim O’Keefe and Michael Reagan. His first crush was on Gloria May, Ann Rutherford’s daughter from her first marriage. Real-life television “Range Rider” Peter Ford, A Star’s Son The Hardest Job In The World by Charles Ziarko Peter Ford in 1952 at the ranch with Mom, Eleanor Powell, and Dad, Glenn Ford. Father and son in 1969. 1949 cover of Movie Stars Parade
Transcript of Page 70 Classic Images April 2011 Peter Ford, A Star’s Songlennfordbio.com/Peter Ford story.pdfof...
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Page 70 Classic Images April 2011
Itwastheperfectfamily.Momwasanathletic,beautifulwomanwhogaveupinternationalfametodevoteherselftobeingamother.Dadwasasexy,charismaticleadingmanjustreemerginginA-listHollywood,buttaking time to shower his familywithlovingattention.Theirsonwasa blonde, blue-eyed little boy, anonly child, photographed endlesslyenjoying all the perks of the privi-leged.
“He’s the luckiest kid in theworld”,thefansmusthaveimaginedastheyporedoverthephotosofthisAll-Americanfamilyappearingreg-ularly innewspapersandmoviefanmagazines.Lookscanbedeceiving,however,especiallyinHollywood.
The dad was actor Glenn Ford,who conceived his baby boy withdancer-actress Eleanor Powell onhis28thbirthday,but15yearslaterin 1959, on his 43rd birthday, she
wouldfilefordivorce.“Ifiledonthegroundsofmentalcruelty,andthat’sexactlywhatImeant,”shereported.
Like many war-time romances,thisstoryreallybeganwhenthelittlefamily moved into a place of theirown, composer Max Steiner’s oldhome, less than a mile from wherethey were married in a movie-starmansiononBedfordDrivethatmomEleanor Powell had been rentingfrom Mary Pickford. Ironically,when theirchildwasborn, thecou-plewerelivingapart,withtheirownmothers!
OnCoveWay,justoffBenedictCanyonandwithinwalkingdistanceofTheBeverlyHillsHotel,thenewMrs Ford occupied herself with allthejoysofmotherhood,totheexclu-sionofherhusband.Meanwhile,hekeptbusypursuingaseeminglyend-lessstringofaffairsonmovie loca-tionsandelsewhere.
The little family loved music,but as in other matters, their tastesdiffered.Momlistenedtoherfavor-ites,FatsWaller andFrankSinatra,on the state-of-the-art sound sys-tem installed by the head of thesounddepartmentatMGM,DouglasShearer. Dad enjoyed the Hawaiian
and Country/Western sounds of theday.Andinthe1950s,their10-year-old son Peter could claim respon-sibility for beginning the declineof American popular music. WhendirectorRichardBrooksbeganlook-ing into the latest trends in popularmusic in preparation for his newmovie,youngPeterhandedhimthreeofhis favorite rock’n’ roll records.One of these was chosen to be thethemesongof the influentialMGMpicture The Blackboard Jungle.Thefilmbrokenewgroundwithitsraucous opening, featuring the BillHaley and the Comets recording of“Rock Around the Clock”. Peter’sdadwas,ofcourse,thefilm’sstar.
Peter’s childhood home was a21/2-acreestate,staffedwithabut-ler, a maid, and a nurse, as wellas a full-time chef, part-time mas-seuse,andgardeningcrew.Theboywould visit the Pickfair estate ofMaryPickfordwherethesilentstar,once“America’sSweetheart”wouldhold him on her lap. His friendswerethechildrenofhisparents’A-list friends, includingPeterHolden,Steve Lovejoy, Jim O’Keefe andMichaelReagan.Hisfirstcrushwason Gloria May, Ann Rutherford’sdaughter from her first marriage.Real-life television “Range Rider”
Peter Ford, A Star’s SonThe Hardest Job In The Worldby Charles Ziarko
Peter Ford in 1952 at the ranch with Mom, Eleanor Powell, and Dad, Glenn Ford. Father and son in 1969. 1949 cover of Movie Stars Parade
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www.classicimages.com Page 71
The University of Wisconsin Press announces the publication of
Glenn Ford: A Lifeby Peter Ford
Join Peter and celebrity guests at the world famous Egyptian Theaterin Hollywood, California
on the evening of April 16th, 2011for an evening of celebration and memories of one of Hollywood's
most iconic movie stars — Glenn Ford.
The evening will feature a Tribute to Glenn Ford!Double Feature: Framed (1947) / Mr. Soft Touch (1949).
Part of Noir City: Hollywood, 13th Annual Festival of Film Noir (April 1–20, 2011).
Featuring the book launch and signing of Glenn Ford: A Life,a biography written by his son Peter Ford
The event is presented by American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatrewww.americancinematheque.com
at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028.Connect with Twitter (sidgrauman), Facebook (egyptian theatre, aero theatre), Going & Myspace.
Purchase tickets online at www.fandango.com.
The Cinema Arts Centre (Long Island, New York) presents:A Tribute to Glenn Ford: An Evening with son and biographer, Peter Ford. Screeningof Blackboard Jungle (Archival Print) - Interview - Q&A with Foster Hirsch – Receptionand book signing of Glenn Ford: A Life. For information visit: www.cinemaartscentre.org
May 13, Friday A salute to director Delmer Daves' 3:10 to Yuma. The opening nightscreening at Film Forum (Greenwich Village, New York) will be introduced by Peter Ford,son of star Glenn Ford and author of a new biography of his father, Glenn Ford: A Life.Following the screening, there will be a book signing in the lobby. For information visit:www.FilmForum.org
May 14–15, Saturday and Sunday Peter Ford will appear in midtown Manhattan NYC,(New York), at Your 2nd Childhood Memorabilia Show. The show is publicized as “Joinus for a Salute to Legendary Actor Glenn Ford with his son Peter Ford and his new bioGlenn Ford: A Life.” For information visit: www.2cms.webs.com
June 2–4, Thursday–Saturday Peter and Lynda will appear at theWestern Clippings andthe Memphis Film Festival A Gathering of Guns 3 - A TV Western Reunion held in Olive Branch, Missis-sippi. For information visit: www.westernclippings.com and www.memphisfilmfestival.com
July 25, Saturday Peter Ford will appear at Cinema Paradiso, the year-round theater of the Fort LauderdaleInternational Film Festival in Florida for a Glenn Ford film screening followed by a discussion and book sign-ing. For information visit: www.fliff.com
August 18–20, Thursday–Saturday Peter and Lynda will appear at theWestern Legends Roundup inKanab, Utah. For information visit: www.westernlegendsroundup.com
If you would like Peter and Lynda to visit your city to share their memories of Hollywood’s Golden Ageplease visitwww.GlennFordBio.com or contact [email protected]
Books are available at your bookseller, or online at http://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4293.htm
Paper $24.95, e-book $14.95
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Page 72 Classic Images April 2011JockMahoneywasa surpriseguestat a childhood birthday party, andmany weekends were devoted tofamilyphoto-ops.
Peterhadeverything--excepttheloveofhisever-presentbutalways-distantfather.Indeed,heremembersgoingoutsidehishomeonenightinarainstormduringtheheightof thepolio scare and lying down on thewet ground, hoping to contract thedread disease “so my father wouldlove me.” When the time came tolearnthefactsoflife,hedidn’tlearnfrom dad (who could have taughthim plenty!) but from dad’s stuntdouble, with the aid of an under-ground stag film! “Being a moviestar’schild is thehardest job in theworld,”hesays,citing20childhood
friendswhoselivesendedinsuicideorwerediminishedbydrugs.
He followed the A-list-kid pathfrom El Rodeo elementary school(to the5thgrade) andTheBuckleySchool (through 9th grade), thenon toBeverlyHillsHigh(wherehebecameaproblemchildintheafter-mathofdivorce)andTheChadwickSchool(adestinationforHollywoodincorrigibles), then lasted onesemesteratLakeForestCollegenearChicago.Forawhilehehadhisownmusical group, “The Creations”.Then,debilitatingarthritisstruckandhesufferedforfiveyears,untilsud-denly it subsided at age 21, thankshebelievestohismother’sprayerfulintervention.
Peter turnedhis lifearoundand
got an AA degree in English fromSanta Monica College and a BAwith honors, from USC where hemet the love of his life, aspiringactress Lynda Gundersen. Next tothe Christmas tree in Dad’s liv-
ing room in 1970, Peter and Lyndaweremarried.Theywillcelebrate41yearsofmarriagethisyear.
GlennandEleanorkeptmarriedforthesakeoftheirson,butwhenit
In 1950 on the set of Redhead and Cowboy. 1948 portrait of the family at home on Cove Way.
Peter Ford on motorcyle in 1972.
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ended,momkeptthelong-timefam-ilyhomeonCoveWay.Shealsogot$2,500permonth alimony, for life,and collected $250 monthly childsupportforPeter.She“feltmarriedtoGod,”shesaidofherdevotiontothePresbyterianChurch,andstayedsingleuptoherdeathfromcancer,in1982,attheageof69.
Dadmovedon,butnotveryfar.His life-long friend (and five-timeco-star)RitaHayworthsoldhimoneof her two adjacent Beverly Hillsresidential lots, a triangular 2/3-acre only a few blocks from CoveWay. Here, he commissioned forhimself the penultimate 1960s one-bedroom bachelor pad. Completewithpool andprojection room, andtotaling 8800 square feet, it would
behishomeforover40years,untilSeptember 2006 when a series ofminor strokes ended his life. Thehome is for sale now, and, likea surprising number of Hollywoodstarhomesit’sconsideredareplace-able“tear-down”at$7million,asisRita’s old house next door, also ontheblockat$13.5million.
A heart operation in the early1990s spelled the end of Glenn’scareer before the cameras, and hewashousebound for the lastdecadeof his life, with around-the-clocknursingcare,rarelyleavinghisbed,even after Peter and his wife lefttheir own home in the HollywoodHills to be his companions, andconservators. They also presentedhim with three grandchildren, now
The chair Glenn always used on the set between takes late in his career.
1972: Peter and wife, Lynda.Dad gets out the projector and screens some home movies.
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Page 74 Classic Images April 2011in their twenties, but to the end ofGlenn’s life, he and his only sonwere never as close as Peter hopedtheycouldbe.
During this time, loyal friendscame tovisit, includingDeanJones(a born-again Christian, no longerthehellionofhisMGMsaladdays),Debbie Reynolds, Buddy Hackett,AngieDickinson,BillHart(hisstu-dio stuntman) and Grace Godino(Rita’s stand-in). Another guestwas Anne Francis, Glenn’s costarin two of his biggest MGM hits ofthe1950s,whoencouragedPeter to
begin a biography while his fatherwasstillalive.Andsohedid.
At first, it was a daunting task,butnot for lackofmaterial.On thecontrary,therewasanoverwhelmingamount of information and docu-mentation at hand! Unlike celebri-tieswholeavenothingbehind,GlennFord was a pack rat who savedeverything--including detailed dia-riescoveringeveryyearofhiscareerfrom1934intothe1980s(whatothermoviestardidthat?).Therearealso200to300hoursoftape-recordingsoftelephonecallsmadeathishome,
Peter co-starred with his father in the series Cade’s County (CBS-TV, 1972).
Sensitive portrait of Peter’s wife, Lynda.
Fan magazines never seemed to tire of showing the blissful family life of the Fords.Family, reading the menu at Roy Rogers’ Buckaroo Town.
Peter with Glenn on his 1971 TV show America.
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dating back to the 1950s, includinga secretly recorded call made bythe ultimate phone tapper, RichardNixon.
Peter had long since grown upandput asidehis childhood frustra-tions with his dysfunctional father,eventoworkingwithhimandforhimontenfilmsduringthelastdecadeofhisstarringcareer.IfPetercouldn’tadmire Glenn as a father figure oras a person, he could admire hisprofessional work. As time passed,he became Glenn Ford’s greatestfan,andsetaboutcreatingacompre-hensive studyofhis100 films (andhis146documented loveaffairs) inordertobehonestwithoutexploitinghisfatherorbeingcruel.
PeterfoundthatonceGlennwasrestored to official bachelorhood inNovember 1959, he experimentedwith the new and trendy, includingjoining neighbors Cary Grant andauthor Aldous Huxley in explor-ing Transcendental Meditation, andLSD. And he married three timesmore(Peterwashisbestmanfor#2,toactressKathrynHays),thefourthand last a short-lived union with amember of the nursing staff whichbrought him some unwelcome tab-loidpublicityin1994.
What about The Ones ThatGot Away? (There can’t havebeenmany,witha list that includesMarilynMonroeandJudyGarland!)Of these, Glenn mourned for dayswhen Hope Lange married AlanPakula (a “one-sided and unrequit-
ed” love, says Peter, though HopeacceptedcostarringroleswithGlennintwoconsecutivefilmsearlyinhercareer),andhewassorrynottohavewed Maria Schell, his Swiss costarinMGM’sCimarron.
And there was always Rita,whom he allegedly impregnated in1948, during the making of The Loves of Carmen, the least favoritefilmofhiscareer.Theirfivepicturesspannedaquarter-century,fromThe Lady in Question at Columbia in1940 to The Money Trap at MGMin 1966, with the iconic Gilda anditssemi-sequel,Affair in Trinidadinbetween. They were closer to eachother, perhaps, than to any of theirhusbandsandwives.
Afterhisstarringcareerpeaked,during his decade at MGM, whenhewasinhisforties,it thenwaned.Foranotherdecade,however,Glenncouldstillcommandsix-figuresala-ries (sometimes paid with a brief-case full of cash) and first-classtravel perks (which delighted him)inreturnforspecialbillingandafewdaysofworkinanexoticlocation.
Peter’sbookrefutessomeoftheuntruths promulgated by Columbiapublicists. For instance,GlennwasNOTrelatedtoPresidentMartinVanBuren,nortothefirstPrimeMinisterofCanada.HisfatherNewton,whileaffiliated with Canadian National
Railways, was NOT an executive,butanengineer.Thefamilymovedto Santa Monica when Glenn (bornGwyllyn)was eight, and theyoftenfished off the Venice Pier for thatnight’s supper. Because he grewup without money, Glenn alwaysvalued the security of the studiocontract---first at Columbia, then atMGM---over the independencepur-suedby someother leadingmenofhisday.
Thebookreinforcessometruths,too. Glenn was “the fastest gunalive”,atleastinHollywood,wherehisdrawwasclockedat0.4seconds,putting him ahead of John WayneandJamesArness.Hedidfavorhisleft profile (though NOT because
he’d been kicked by a horse, asreported.)Hedidtakeuphang-glid-ingin1964,andhedidsuccessfullyquitsmokingin1958.
He flunked his first screen test(at 20th Century-Fox, where hestarredadozenyearslater, in1951,in two flops). Then Harry Cohnat Columbia Pictures signed himupalongwithhis futurebest-friendWilliam Holden---as young buckswho he saw as mutually replace-ablerivals. Glennspent thedecadeof the 1940s there, and remainedloyal toHarryCohn tohisdeath in1958,knowingthathewouldalwaysfind work at Columbia---even if itwasmorelikelytobeinThe Flying Missile or The Violent Menthanthe
With dear friend Rita Hayworth on the set of Lady from Shanghai.1946, Glenn Ford and son Peter with his supply of Gerber baby food.1957: Glenn and his horse, Tenny.
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Page 76 Classic Images April 2011majorpicturehewaspromised,thendenied,From Here to Eternity.
ImpressedbyavisitwithFDR,and First Lady Eleanor, in theWhite House just before AmericaenteredWWII,Glennwasanenthu-siastic Democrat, even campaign-ing for presidential candidate AdlaiStevenson in1956.Then,under theinfluence of his first wife and herfriends fromMGM,hebecamedis-enchanted. Like his friend RonaldReagan, he transformed fromardent Democrat to equally ardentRepublican.
Glenn’s military career needssome explanation. Before WWIIheservedastintintheCoastGuard.Later he enlisted in the Marines,but spent his tour in Oceanside,California, finally mustering outaftertwoyearswithableedingulcer,whichkepthimoutofofficers’can-didateschoolatQuantico,Virginia.
A decade later, influenced byWWII movies he was making forMGM, he became interested in theNavyandrosetotherankofcaptainin the US Naval Reserve (but did
NOT reach “flag-rank”, as publi-cized). Even as late as the mid-Sixties,whenhewas50,herequestedandwenttoVietnam,comingunderfireintheMekongDelta,alongwithUS marines, until being evacuatedbyhelicopter.
Though a long-time MotionPicture Academy member, he wasnever an Oscar nominee. His ownfavorite pictures were MGM’s The Rounders in 1966, and So Ends Our Night (at the beginning of hiscareer, when costar Fredric Marchwas especially kind to him). Healsoprized fourof the fivepictureshe made with Rita Hayworth. Hisleast-favorite was Columbia’s 1949The Man from Colorado, playing
a psychotic villain, which his wifethought would enhance his career.(Itdidn’t).
Ina1949interview,GlennFordsaid: “We are all three people---theperson we think we are, the personthe world thinks we are, and theperson we really are.” In GlennFord:ALifeyouwillbecomewell-acquaintedwithallthreeofthem.
Author’s Note: Glenn Ford: A Life runs 312 pages and is being published by the University of Wisconsin Press. Further information may be obtained from Peter Ford’s own website: www.GlennFordBio.com
1968 photo of Peter and Lynda.Lynda Ford today.Peter Ford today.
1971 - Peter Ford and Glenn Ford on the Brotherhood of Bell set.
A Life
Cover shot of Peter Ford’s book on his father, “Glenn Ford: A Life”.
