"I've never played anyone but myself on screen."
Canadian-American actor (1916-2006). Real name: Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford. Ford was born in Quebec but grew up in Southern California and learned his trade in school and local theatre. He made his film debut in 1939 with "Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence," and showed a talent for playing everything from dramas to Westerns to romances to comedies in "Babies for Sale," "Blondie Plays Cupid," "Texas," "The Adventures of Martin Eden," and "Desperadoes." After serving as a Marine in World War II, Ford returned to acting, starring opposite Bette Davis in "A Stolen Life" and Rita Hayworth in "Gilda." In fact, Hayworth was one of his most frequent co-stars, appearing with him in "The Loves of Carmen," "Affair in Trinidad," and "The Money Trap."
Ford had one of his biggest successes in 1955 in "Blackboard Jungle," which led to high-profile roles in "Trial," "3:10 to Yuma," "Experiment in Terror," "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," "The Rounders," "Is Paris Burning?", "Midway," and "Superman," among a host of others. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, he began to transition himself away from leading roles and into work as a supporting and character actor, particularly in television movies and miniseries. He retired from acting around 1991 because of health problems.
Ford was married four times and divorced four times. He didn't stay on good terms with any of his exes. He was a notorious womanizer, and he had affairs with, according to his diaries, 146 actresses, including Rita Hayworth, Geraldine Brooks, Stella Stevens, Gloria Grahame, Gene Tierney, Eva Gabor, Barbara Stanwyck, Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Connie Stevens, Suzanne Pleshette, Angie Dickinson, Debbie Reynolds, Liz Renay, Jill St. John, Brigitte Bardot, Hope Lange, and Loretta Young.
He also secretly taped phone calls with every celebrity he talked to for 40 years. These included friends, lovers, and everyone else. He even secretly tape-recorded Richard Nixon, if you like some sloppy irony. He originally started taping his calls because he was afraid his first wife would learn he was cheating on her. (Glenn Ford was a great actor but an absolute asshole.)
And he also illegally raised 140 chickens at his home until the Beverly Hills Police Department told him to cut it out.
On May 1, 2006, a big 90th birthday party was held for Glenn at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater, featuring a restored print of "Gilda." Unfortunately, though the event sold out, Glenn was unable to attend. He died only a few months later.
Research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)