 glenn ford (may 1, 1916 &ndash; august 30, 2006) was a canadian-born american actor from hollywood's golden era with a career that lasted over 50 years. despite his versatility, ford was best known for playing ordinary men in unusual circumstances. ==early life and career== born gwyllyn samuel newton ford at jeffrey hale hospital in quebec city,"photos from the glenn ford library." ford family. retrieved: october 30, 2008. ford was the son of anglo-quebecers hannah wood mitchell and newton ford, a railway conductor."marriage certificate of newton ford and hannah wood mitchell." quebec vital and church records (drouin collection), 1621-1967 (portneuf (church of england), 1914. through his father, ford was a great-nephew of canada's first prime minister sir john a. macdonald.severo, richard. "glenn ford, leading man in films and tv, dies at 90." the new york times, august 31, 2006. retrieved: may 3, 2010. ford moved to santa monica, california, with his family at the age of eight, and became a naturalized citizen of the united states in 1939. after ford graduated from santa monica high school, he began working in small theatre groups. while in high school, he took odd jobs including working for will rogers who taught him horsemanship. ford later commented that his railroad executive father had no objection to his growing interest in acting, but told him, "it's all right for you to try to act, if you learn something else first. be able to take a car apart and put it together. be able to build a house, every bit of it. then you'll always have something."severo, richard. "glenn ford, actor 1916-2006". the globe and mail, september 1, 2006, p. s10. ford heeded the advice and during the 1950s, when he was one of hollywood's most popular actors, he regularly worked on plumbing, wiring and air conditioning at home. 
1916_births 2006_deaths 20th-century_American_male_actors 20th-century_Canadian_male_actors American_male_film_actors American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II Anglophone_Quebec_people Best_Musical_or_Comedy_Actor_Golden_Globe_(film)_winners Burials_at_Woodlawn_Memorial_Cemetery,_Santa_Monica California_Republicans Canadian_emigrants_to_the_United_States Canadian_male_film_actors Deaths_from_stroke Disease-related_deaths_in_California LA(c)gion_d\'honneur_recipients Male_Western_(genre)_film_actors Male_actors_from_Quebec Male_actors_from_Santa_Monica,_California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer_contract_players People_from_Capitale-Nationale United_States_Marine_Corps_reservists United_States_Marines United_States_Navy_officers