Harrison Ford Biography

Harrison Ford was born July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. Ford's childhood was not all 'peaches and cream'; he had few friends and was often beat up and teased by the schoolyard bully. He went to Maine Township High School, in Des Plaines, Illinois, where life was no different; he was friends with the girls, and was thought of as a 'geek'. Ford later attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, but dropped out a year before graduation. He married his college girlfriend, Mary Marquardt, in 1964, with whom he had two children, Willard and Ben.

After getting a job for a summer as a stock actor in a local theatre, Ford decided this was 'what he wanted to do'. Unfortunately, Ford's high standards did not earn him any acting jobs; he was once told by a studio executieve that he had a no 'star quality'. In order to support himself, Ford learned the trade of carpentry, at which he excelled. Small TV and movie roles occasionally came his way, but nothing that would launch a full-fledged career.

Then came George Lucas, a young director who offered Ford a role in his film "American Graffiti"; Ford accepted, and the film was a surprise hit. When his friend Lucas was unable to cast the role of Han Solo for "Star Wars", Ford, who had been working on the set, was asked to read the part- he got it, and the rest is history.

Actually, after the original Star Wars, Ford was only slightly better known; the next few movies were not big successes. Not until "The Empire Strikes Back" was Ford once again widely known. The film that carried Ford to interntaional stardom and acclaim was "Raiders of the Lost Ark", made by Steven Spielberg and Georde Lucas. As Indiana Jones, Ford's acting ability and sex appeal were so widely apparent he earned both public and critical acclaim.

Later films, such as "Blade Runner", "Witness", "Mosquito Coast" concretely established Harrison Ford as a strong actor, and he has now appeared in over 25 feature films, seven of which have been among the top 25 grossing films in movie history. Rising from a $500 a week salary for "American Graffiti", Ford is now payed $20 million a film. He is now married to screenwriter Melissa Matheson, whom he married in 1983, after divorcing Mary Marquardt in 1979. They have had two children together, Malcolm and Georgia. Harrison Ford and his family live on an 800 acre ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Awards and Other Recognition

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