Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd ( September 3 , 1913 – January 29 , 1964 ) was an American film actor and one of the most popular and well - known celebrities of the 1940s and the first half of the 1950s . His visibility decreased between the mid - 1950s and his death . Early life . Ladd was born in Hot Springs , Arkansas . He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd , Sr . He was of English ancestry . His father died when he was four , and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers , a housepainter . The family then moved again to North Hollywood , California where Ladd became a high school swimming and diving champion and participated in high school dramatics at North Hollywood High School , graduating on February 1 , 1934 . He opened his own hamburger and malt shop , which he called Tiny ' s Patio . He worked briefly as a studio carpenter ( as did his stepfather ) and for a short time was part of the Universal Pictures studio school for actors . But Universal decided he was too blond and too short and dropped him . Intent on acting , he found work in small theatres . He had short term stints at MGM and RKO , and eventually started getting steady work on radio . Film career . Ladd was heard on radio by the agent Sue Carol who signed him to her books and enthusiastically promoted her new client , starting with " Rulers of the Sea " , in which he played a character named " Colin Farrell . " Ladd began by appearing in dozens of films in small roles , including " Citizen Kane " , in which he played a newspaper reporter towards the end of the film . He first gained some wide recognition with a featured role in the wartime thriller " Joan of Paris " , 1942 . Stardom . For his next role Sue Carol found a vehicle which made Ladd ' s career , Graham Greene ' s " This Gun for Hire " in which he played " Raven , " a hitman with a conscience . " Once Ladd had acquired an unsmiling hardness , he was transformed from an extra to a phenomenon . Ladd ' s calm slender ferocity make it clear that he was the first American actor to show the killer as a cold angel . " – David Thomson ( " A Biographical Dictionary of Film , " 1975 ) Both the film and Ladd ' s performance played an important role in the development of the " gangster " genre : " That the old fashioned motion picture gangster with his ugly face , gaudy cars , and flashy clothes was replaced by a smoother , better looking , and better dressed bad man was largely the work of Mr . Ladd . " – " New York Times " obituary ( January 30 , 1964 ) . Ladd was teamed with actress Veronica Lake in this film , and despite the fact that it was Robert Preston who played the romantic lead , the Ladd - Lake pairing captured the public ' s imagination , and would continue in another three films . ( They appeared in a total of seven films together , but three were only guest shots in all - star musical revues . ) Ladd went on to star in many Paramount Pictures ' films , with a brief timeout for military service in the United States Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit . He appeared in Dashiell Hammett ' s story " The Glass Key " , his second pairing with Lake , and " Lucky Jordan " with Helen Walker . His cool , unsmiling persona proved popular with wartime audiences , and he was quickly established as one of the top box office stars of the decade . In 1946 , he starred in a trio of silver screen classics : the big screen adaptation of Richard Henry Dana ' s maritime classic , " Two Years Before the Mast " ( for which he also received critical acclaim ) , the Raymond Chandler original mystery " The Blue Dahlia " ( his third pairing with Lake ) , and the World War II espionage thriller " O . S . S . " . He formed his own production companies for film and radio and then starred in his own syndicated series " Box 13 " , which ran from 1948 – 49 . Ladd and Robert Preston starred in the 1948 western film , " Whispering Smith " , which in 1961 would become a short - lived NBC television series , starring Audie Murphy . In the 1949 version of " The Great Gatsby " , Ladd had the featured role of Jay Gatsby . Ladd played the title role in the 1953 western " Shane " . The film was nominated for five Academy Awards , including Best Picture . It was listed at No . 45 on the American Film Institute ' s 2007 ranking of " 100 Years . . . 100 Movies . " Ladd made the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll three times : in 1947 , 1953 , and 1954 . In 1954 exhibitors voted him the most popular star among British filmgoers . In 1950 the Hollywood Women ' s Press Club voted him the easiest male star to deal with in Hollywood . Leaving Paramount . When former agent Albert R . Broccoli formed Warwick Films with his partner Irving Allen , they heard Ladd was unhappy with Paramount and was leaving the studio . With his wife and agent Sue Carol , they negotiated for Ladd to appear in the first three of their films made in England and released through Columbia Pictures : " The Red Beret " ( 1953 ) ; " Hell Below Zero " ( 1954 ) , based on the Hammond Innes book " The White South " ; and " The Black Knight " also ( 1954 ) . All three were co - written by Ladd ' s regular screenwriter Richard Maibaum , the last with additional dialogue by Bryan Forbes . In 1954 Ladd formed a new production company , Jaguar Productions , originally releasing his films through Warner Bros . and then with " All the Young Men " through Columbia . Ladd ' s pictures became less distinguished as the decade went on . He turned down the chance to appear in the role of Jett Rink in " Giant " ( 1956 ) which was subsequently played by James Dean and became one of the biggest hits of the decade . In November 1962 , he was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood with a bullet wound near his heart , in what might have been an unsuccessful suicide attempt . In 1963 Ladd ' s career looked set to make a comeback when he filmed a supporting role in " The Carpetbaggers " , which became one of the most popular films of 1964 . He would not live to see its release . On January 29 , 1964 he was found dead in Palm Springs , California , of an acute overdose of " alcohol and three other drugs " , at the age of 50 ; his death was ruled accidental . Ladd suffered from chronic insomnia and regularly used sleeping pills and alcohol . It was determined that he had not taken a lethal amount of either , but that the combination can produce a synergistic reaction in which " one plus one equals ten or even fifty . " He was entombed in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale , California . Not until June 28 , 1964 did " Carpetbaggers " producer Joseph E . Levine hold an elaborate premiere screening in New York City with an afterparty staged by his wife at The Four Seasons Restaurant . Ladd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1601 Vine Street . His handprint appears in the forecourt of Grauman ' s Chinese Theater , in Hollywood . In 1995 , a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs , California , Walk of Stars was dedicated to him . Personal life . Ladd married a high - school acquaintance , Midge Harrold . Their only child , a son named Alan Ladd , Jr . , was born in 1937 . In 1942 , Ladd married his agent and manager , former film actress Sue Carol , with whom he had a son , David Ladd . Alan Ladd , Jr . , is a film executive and producer and founder of the Ladd Company . Alan Ladd ' s daughter , actress Alana Ladd , who co - starred with her father in " Guns of the Timberland " and " Duel of Champions " , is married to the veteran talk radio broadcaster Michael Jackson . Actor David Ladd , who co - starred with his father as a child in " The Proud Rebel " , was married to " Charlie ' s Angels " star Cheryl Ladd ( née Stoppelmoor ) , 1973 – 80 . Their daughter is actress Jordan Ladd , granddaughter of Alan Ladd . Few biographical sources refrain from speculation on Ladd ' s height , which legend contends was slight . Reports of his height vary from to ( 1 . 65 m – 1 . 75 m ) , with ( 1 . 68 m ) being the most generally accepted today . His U . S . Army enlistment record , however , indicates a height of . Ladd owned properties in Beverly Hills and Alan Ladd Hardware in Palm Springs . Filmography . Box office ranking . For a number of years , film exhibitors voted him amongst the top stars at the box office .