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About Harrison Ford

By Cathy Richey, the Cathy Factor

Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, IL. His father, Christopher Ford, was an Irish Catholic while his mother, Dora Nidelman was a Russian Jewish.

Ford attended Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, IL. He graduated from the school in 1960 and immediately registered to Ripon College in Wisconsin. In this school, his life wasn't so fortunate.

He was not sporty and did not excel in his studies. Depression came as early as his first year. He would sleep during the day, stop attending classes and failed most of the classes. The future was bleak, but he found a new field in which he had grown fond of, acting.

Ford's claim to fame was starring as Han Solo in the Star Wars Trilogy.

Before Ford's rise to megastardom, he had bit parts in film and on TV during the '60s. But his lack of progress by the end of that decade compelled him to abandon show business and switch his focus to carpentry. One of his projects was the entrance to Francis Ford Coppola's offices. The director later cast him in his films The Conversation and Apocalypse Now.

In the '70s, Ford resumed his quest for acting success and soon landed a noticeable role in George Lucas' 1973 nostalgia-fest American Graffiti. Finally a working actor, he had turned in solid work in a string of supporting parts when Lucas asked if Ford could help out at an audition for his new project, a sci-fi saga called Star Wars, by reading the part of Han Solo opposite potential Luke Skywalker. Ford perfectly embodied the lone laser-slinger, and Lucas eventually offered him the breakthrough role.

Suddenly, the Force seemed to be with Ford as he proceeded to become one of the most bankable stars ever.

In addition to the Star Wars franchise, he launched the Indiana Jones movies after Tom Selleck was forced to turn down the part. Ford then tackled more challenging fare when he earned his sole Oscar nod as a hard-bitten cop trying to protect an Amish boy in Witness, played an obsessive inventor in Mosquito Coast and embodied a noirish antihero in Blade Runner.

In the '90s, he took over the role of CIA agent Jack Ryan from Alec Baldwin in two film adaptations of Tom Clancy novels. Ford then slowed down his pace by appearing in one big-budget movie per year.

Some were hits (The Fugitive, Air Force One), and some were misfires (the romantic comedy Six Days Seven Nights. And there was the historic thriller, K-19: The Widowmaker).

Several years later, Ford's fans rejoiced when he finally agreed to return to the role of everyone's favorite archaeologist in 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Off screen, Ford's marriage to his college sweetheart ended in divorce in the late '70s, as did his marriage to his second wife, E.T. screenwriter Melissa Mathison. He then began a long-term relationship with actress Calista Flockhart, 22 years his junior. They married in 2010.

Harrison Ford Facts:

• Early work on TV included guest shots on Gunsmoke, The F.B.I. and The Virginian.
• To supplement his meager acting earnings in the late '60s and early '70s, became a self-taught carpenter. Jobs included a recording studio for Sergio Mendes and a portico entrance for Francis Ford Coppola's L.A. office.
• Was cast in a small but memorable part in George Lucas' 1973 hit American Graffiti leading to his breakout role as Han Solo in the director's 1977 blockbuster Star Wars.
• Popularized the adventure character Indiana Jones, beginning with the high-grossing Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
• Had a new species of spider named after him in 1993 by the American Museum of Natural History, the Calponia harrisonfordi.
• An avid flyer, earned pilot's license in 1996 and flew the plane in 1998's romantic adventure Six Days Seven Nights.
• Named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 1998.
• Presented with a Life Achievement Award by the American Film Institute in 2000.
• Involved in environmental-conservation groups, including Lancaster Farmland Trust, which helps protect Amish farms in Lancaster County, PA.
• Was inspired to get his ear pierced in 2007 after having lunch with friends Jimmy Buffet and Ed Bradley, both of whom were wearing earrings.
• Elected to the Archaeological Institute of America's board of directors in 2008.

Harrison Ford Awards:

• 2002 Golden Globe: Cecil B. DeMille Award.
• Winner 1985 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
• Nominee 1998 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Actor.
• Winner 2000 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Actor.
• Winner 1999 People's Choice Awards: All Time Favorite Motion Picture Star.
• Winner 1985 BAFTA Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role.

He was also a nominee, including:

• Nominee 1986 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama.
• Nominee 1987 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama.
• Nominee 1994 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama.
• Nominee 1996 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.