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Wallace Ford

Wallace Ford
Wallace Ford
Born: Feb 12, 1898 in Farnworth, Bolton, England
Died: Jun 11, 1966 in Woodland Hills, California
Occupation: Actor
Active: '30s-'50s
Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
Career Highlights: Freaks, The Man from Laramie, The Lost Patrol
First Major Screen Credit: The Possessed (1931)
16 Videos for Wallace Ford
A Patch of Blue (1965) Dead Reckoning (1947) Blues in the Night (1941)
A Patch of Blue (1965) Blood on the Sun (1945) The Mummy's Hand (1940)
The Last Hurrah (1958) Spellbound (1945) The Informer (1935)
The Man from Laramie (1955) They Were Expendable (1945) The Lost Patrol (1934)
The Great Jesse James Raid (1953) Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Freaks (1932)
Harvey (1950)
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Biography:

Once there was a film historian who opined that Wallace Ford was in more movies than any other character actor of his prominence. This is unlikely, but Ford was certainly kept busy in roles of all shapes and sizes during his 35-year movie career. Orphaned in infancy, Ford grew up in various British orphanages and foster homes (his search in the mid-1930s for his natural parents drew worldwide headlines).

He first set foot on stage at age 11, playing in vaudeville and music halls before working his way up to Broadway. His inauspicious feature-film debut was in Swellhead (1931), a baseball melodrama which lay on the shelf for nearly five years before its release. He went on to play wisecracking leading roles in such Bs as Night of Terror (1933), The Nut Farm (1935) and The Mystery of Mr.

Wong (1935); the critics paid no heed to these minor efforts, though they always showered Ford with praise for his supporting roles in films like John Ford's The Informer (1935) and Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He occasionally took a leave of absence from films to accept a stage role; in 1937, he created the part of George in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men (1937).

As he grew balder and stockier, he remained in demand for middle-aged character roles, often portraying wistful drunks or philosophical ne'er-do-wells. Wallace Ford ended his film career with his powerful portrayal of Elizabeth Hartman's vacillating father in A Patch of Blue (1965). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.