Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford was born to the proud parents of Dorothy Nidelman and Christopher Ford on Wednesday, July 13, 1942. His birth came almost six months after their marriage on February 3, 1942. Days later, he was named Harrison Ford in honor of his maternal grandfather. Most of his young life, he preferred that people call him by his grandfathers name, Harry.

He had a brother named Terence. Terence and Harrison, or Terry and Harry, as they were better known, grew up in Chicago and attended the Graeme Stewart Elementary School. In grade school, a class mate remembered him as sort of a prankster or a wisecracker. As Harrison grew into a teenager, he had little trouble earning pocket money. He briefly worked on a yacht, helping cook for the heirs to Chicago's powerful Swift Meat Packing Company. His longest-running job was at the Evening Pipe Shop and it was there that Harry started smoking himself. When he graduated from Main East High School, in the class of 1960, another of his classmates stated, "No one would ever have believed that he would be a movie star. You just would never, ever have guessed it."

In the autumn of 1960, Harrison stared school at Ripon College. His first month at Ripon was filled with hazing events, wearing "beanies," taking part in grease pole fights and other mischievous freshman pranks. He spent the next four years in the fraternity house, South Hall, where forty or so students shared rooms which were watched over by a housemother. Harrison played guitar and played in a band named The Brothers Gross, which played at college bashes. He still worked part time at the pipe shop during vacations. He would supply all of his buddies with pipes at cost. Harry loved to smoke a Calabash, which is a pipe like Sherlock Holmes.

Harrison and his roommate got into the habit of obtaining credit at Ripon's stores. After one Christmas they collectively owed around $5,000. To pay off their debt, the roommates came up with the idea of creating a humorous magazine. Harry did pen and ink drawings along with many cartoons. Their magazine was called "The Mug". They gave advertisers the impression that it was an official publication of the school but it was actually an official publication of Bill and Harry.

In his junior year, Harry was cast as "Mack the Knife" which was the lead in The Threepenny Opera. Although he had tremendous stage fright, he was terrific. In 1963, Harrison Ford began seeing Mary Marquardt, who attended Ripon also. Many people thought they were opposites. She was quiet and plain, and Harrison was usually seen with girls that were prominent on campus and very attractive. Harrison dropped out of Ripon one month before graduation.

Harrison and Mary were married in June of 1964. Mary spent the early part of her wedding night watching Harrison's second performance in the production Take Her, She's Mine. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon settling into the theatrical life together. An experience both seem to relish. Soon Harrison told friends that he was off to Hollywood. Harrison and Mary loaded up their beaten-up Volkswagen bus and hit the road to California. Mary's influence was unmistakable in Harry's acting career. She was ever-present, ever-supportive, and she seemed to be the driving force behind the quiet actor.

In February 1965, Harry drove to the Laguna Beach Playhouse, a thriving community theatre on the beachfront. He auditioned for John Brown's Body. The director was impressed with his speech and gave him small cameos as a Yankee soldier and a mate aboard a slave ship. Harrison's performance was charming. The musical director at the Laguna Beach Playhouse suggested that Harrison try for a place at Columbia Pictures. When Harrison showed interest in talking to people at Columbia, the wheels were set in motion.

After Harrison's interview at Columbia he was told to report to the head of Columbia's New Talent Program. This happened just a few weeks short of his 23rd birthday. After finishing his third film as a member of the New Talent program and repeatedly clashing with the producer, who occupied the most powerful seat at the studio, his career with Columbia came to an end. By this time Mary was pregnant with their first child, Benjamin, who was born that autumn.

Harrison was put in contact with Universal Studio within three days of walking out of Columbia Pictures. For the next two years his opportunities were few, but he made the most of them. While he was cast in a few small roles, he moonlighted as a cameraman. When Jim Morrison and the Doors commissioned director Paul Ferrara to make a documentary, Harrison was hired as a member of the camera crew. In 1969 Harrison was hired back to Columbia