Glenn Ford
Hollywood Actor
Glenn Ford was born Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford on 1 May 1916 in Portneuf, near Quebec City, Canada - his unmistakably Welsh Christian name a direct reflection of his mother's roots. Ford's mother, Hannah Wood Mitchell, came from Pontypridd in South Wales, making him half-Welsh by birth, even though his life and legendary career unfolded almost entirely in Canada and Hollywood.
He adopted the stage name Glenn Ford - taken from his father's hometown of Glenford, Ontario - after growing tired of people mishearing or misspelling "Gwyllyn". It proved a smart move: over a Hollywood career spanning more than fifty years and 80-plus films, he became one of the most bankable leading men of his era, equally at home in film noir, westerns and light comedy. His most celebrated roles include the doomed gambler Johnny Farrell opposite Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946), the vengeance-driven cop of The Big Heat (1953), the idealistic teacher of Blackboard Jungle (1955) and the resolute rancher of 3:10 to Yuma (1957).
Ford served with distinction in the US Naval Reserve during and after the Second World War, and continued acting into the 1990s. He died on 30 August 2006 at his home in Beverly Hills, aged 90, remembered as one of the last great stars of Hollywood's golden age - and, through his mother, a son of Pontypridd.
