Friday, July 6, 2012

Harrison Ford and His Multi-Faceted Life

By Sredna Nesegleh


For decades, we have loved the acting abilities of Harrison Ford. Whether you are young or old, you are sure to have seen at least a few of his movies that have featured his talents. From Star Wars to Indiana Jones to the upcoming, Ender's Game, he is showing us his wide range of acting abilities, but that is not the only thing that Ford has to offer. In addition, he can produce, making him a multi-dimensional character that keeps us guessing and keeps us lining up at the movie theatres to see what he has to offer.

Beginnings

Harrison Ford was born to a former actress and actor on July 13, 1942. His upbringing was that of a normal child, including being in the Boy Scouts and achieving its second highest rank. Chicago, Illinois was his first home and he was raised in an Irish-Jewish household. His mother, Dorothy, stayed at home with the kids, while his father, Christopher, was an advertising executive. In 1960, Ford graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, where he was the first student voice broadcasted on the school's radio station. He then went on to attend college, where he took a drama class during his senior year to get over his shyness.

Career Starts

Harrison moved to Los Angeles after his graduation from college to apply for voice-over jobs. He did not get a job doing voice-overs, but he did join Columbia Pictures' New Talent program, which gave him access to bit jobs on movies. He played many uncredited roles in movies during the early 1960's, but his first credited role was in 1967 in A Time for Killing, which was a western. Roles in television shows quickly followed and he can be found playing parts in Gunsmoke, American Style, Kung Fu, and Love, American Style. He was not happy with the roles that he was getting, so he became a self-taught carpenter to support his family. He worked for many important people, among those, George Lucas, who would go on to be an important person in his journey to stardom.

Cabinet Making to Star Making

The relationship that he created with George Lucas was one that had a huge effect on his life. Lucas hired him to read lines for auditioning actors in Star Wars, but soon began to see Ford's potential and cast him in the role of Han Solo. This lead to many other roles that he is widely known for including his title role as Indiana Jones. He then went on to star in a number of other movie roles in other movies, including Air Force One, Patriot Games, Extraordinary Measures, and Cowboys & Aliens.

Harrison Ford's Personal Life

The personal life of Harrison Ford is something that he keeps very private. He has been married three times in his life and has five children and three grandchildren. His latest marriage to Calista Flockhart gave him his youngest child, Liam, who they adopted together. Harrison is interested in many different things, including archaeology, aviation, social causes, and politics. He has a normal life when he is not on set of one of his numerous movies.

Han Solo and Indiana Jones may be his two most recognizable characters, but he is so much more than these two different roles. He has been in numerous different movies, including movies based on the Tom Clancy books. Harrison Ford is sure to be one actor that will be remembered and enjoyed for years to come. He is a classy movie star that is sure to continue entertaining us far into the future. Keep your eye out on his career and you will be sure to see amazing movies that you will enjoy.




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