The son of a Canadian railroad executive, his family moved to Santa Monica, California, when he was eight years old. His acting career began with plays at high school, followed by acting in West Coast, a traveling theater company. In 1939 he took a screen test for Columbia Pictures, which won him a contract, although he debuted in 20th-Century-Fox's Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence. His rise to stardom was interrupted by military service during WWII. After the war he jump-started his career with Gilda. His career during the 1940s and 1950s showed that his talents were extensive, playing film noir in The Big Heat, westerns like 3:10 to Yuma and comedies like The Gazebo or The Teahouse of the August Moon. He has usually been cast as a calm and collected everyday-hero, showing courage under pressure as in Blackboard Jungle. Since the 1970s he has mainly done supporting roles in mini-series.
Ford was a US Naval Reserve officer who rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. Glenn appeared in 5 movies with classic leading actress, Rita Hayworth: Affair in Trinidad, The Lady in Question, The Loves of Carmen, The Money Trap and Gilda. Parents, with Eleanor Powell, of the actor Peter Ford, Awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal by the Country of France for his service in World War II. [1992] Inducted into the Hall of Fame of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. [1978] Voted the number one box office attraction. [1958] Often during his career Ford insisted on being shot looking to camera left - he had been kicked in the right side of his jaw by a horse and insisted the left side of his face was his only filmable side. He is credited with being the fastest "gun" in Hollywood westerns, able to draw and fire in 0.4 seconds, he was faster than James Arness (Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke) and John Wayne. Related to Sir John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada. Portrayed the title character on NBC Radio's "The Adventures of Christopher London" (1950). He is a direct descendant of President Martin Van Buren Grandfather of Aubrey Newton Ford (b. 1977), Ryan Welsie Ford (b. 1984), and Eleanor Powell Ford (b. 1988), whose parents are Ford's son, Peter Ford (b. 5 February 1945), and wife Lynda Gundersen. Served in Vietnam as a reserve military officer. Went on a jungle mission with a Special Forces Team during the Vietnam War. Retired from acting in 1991 following heart and circulatory problems. On May 1st, 2006, Glenn had a gala 90th birthday celebration at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. There was a showing of a newly restored print of "Gilda" and his son Peter hosted the event. Over 700 tickets went on sale and were quickly sold out. Ford had been scheduled to make his first public appearance in fifteen years at a 90th birthday tribute gala in his honor hosted by the American Cinematheque at Grauman's Eqyptian Theatre in Hollywood on 1 May 2006, but he was unable to attend. He had suffered a series of minor strokes since his retirement, and was consequently very frail. Was half Welsh, his mother was from Pontypridd in south Wales. Has family roots in the English town of Bolton, Lancashire, England Played Jonathan Kent in the 1978 film Superman. In Superman Returns, a photograph of him as Jonathan Kent can be seen in Clark Kent's old home. Like his close friend Ronald Reagan, Ford started as a Democrat but gradually switched to becoming a conservative Republican. After having been a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary for a year, he joined the Marine Corps during WWII in December of 1942, and subsequently met first wife, tap-dancing extraordinaire Eleanor Powell, at a war-bond cavalcade. They married in 1943. His first screen test at 20th Century Fox did not turn out well. He was given a second chance by Columbia a year later, however, and was signed. During his salad days, he worked in a Santa Monica bar as a barkeep for $5 s week. Despite his excellence and popularity as a star, he was never nominated for an Oscar. Parents were Newton and Hannah Ford. His father did not block his movie star aspirations but insisted that he learn a trade first. He listened and became an expert on plumbing, wiring and air-conditioning. He also worked as a roofer and installer of plate-glass windows. Romantically linked over the years with Joan Crawford, Brigitte Bardot, Linda Christian, Hope Lange, Debbie Reynolds, Dinah Shore and Rita Hayworth. He was a close friend of William Holden.