He is an actor born in Chicago, Illinois, to a family
where his father was an advertising executive and former actor and his
mother had been an actress on radio and homemaker.As a youngster he was involved in
the Boy Scouts of America and rose to the position of Life Scout, working
as a Reptile study counsellor at a camp.This would later be the reason that the character
Indiana Jones would be a Life Scout in the movie Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade.While in
high school in Park Ridge, Illinois, he was the first broadcaster on its
new radio station and the sportscaster, from 1959 until his graduation in
1960.He took further
education Wisconsin's Ripon College, although didn't graduate from there,
and chose to take a class in drama as he thought it would be a good way to
meet women.He also ventured
into music by being a member of The Brothers Gross and played the
gutbucket, aka washtub bass.Wanting to work again in radio, he moved to California to try and
get work as a radio voice-over artist.This was unsuccessful so he signed on as a bit role
actor or extra on the New Talent Program run by Columbia Pictures.They company changed his name to
Harrison J. Ford, even though he has no middle name, so as to avoid
confusion with the silent movie actor of the same name who had his own star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.His his first films would often see him go un-credited, starting
with his initial role in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round in 1966 and
other such as the 1967 Luv.His first credited role was in the 1967 A Time for Killing.He moved companies to work in small
television roles for Universal Studios and was seen in the late 1960s and
up to the mid-1970s gracing our screens in shows such as Dynasty, Gunsmoke,
The F.B.I., Ironside, Kung Fu, Petrocelli and The Virginian.Also appearing in movies he had
further credited and un-credited roles respectively in the movies Journey
to Shiloh and Zabriskie Point.Thinking the acting life wasn't for him he decided he
wanted to earn a better living for supporting his wife and children so
taught himself to be a carpenter working in the Hollywood area and touching
on music once again built a recording studio for Sergio Mendes and was also
a stagehand for The Doors.This went on for a couple of years until he was building cabinets
for George Lucas who decided he wanted to hire him to appear in his 1973 American
Graffiti.He carried on
his carpentry work afterwards, which would prove to be lucrative, as it was
enough to get him noticed and while doing work on Francis Ford Coppola's
office he ended up getting roles from him in 1974's The Conversation
and later the 1979 Apocalypse Now.In 1975 the tide turned and he found himself
reading lines for the actors to be cast in George Lucas' new film Star
Wars.Thanks to Steven
Spielberg who said to Lucas that he could play the part of Hans Solo, he
suddenly found himself a very successful actor in the first three movies of
what would be one of the most acclaimed film series in history.Then in 1981 came the
character he is possibly his most recognisable aside from Hans Solo, the
adventurer Indiana Jones.Another incredibly successful series of movies, this time with him
as the lead character and often doing his own stunts, saw the productions
of 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984's Indiana Jones & The
Temple of Doom, 1989's Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, and
after a period of nine years, 2008's Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull.Starring in many more movies aside from his blockbuster series' he
also had roles, often leading, in films such as Air Force One, Blade
Runner, Clear & Present Danger, Crossing Over, Dalai Lama Renaissance,
The Devil's Own, Firewall, Force 10 from Navarone, Frantic, The Frisco Kid,
The Fugitive, Hanover Street,Heroes, Hollywood Homicide, The Hunt
for Red October, K-19: The Widowmaker, Patriot Games, Presumed Innocent,
Random Hearts, Regarding Henry, Sabrina, Six Days Seven Nights, Water to
Wine, What Lies Beneath, Witness and Working Girl. He also
played the role of the school principal in E.T. in 1982,which
ended up not making the final cut, but nevertheless, his success as an
actor was such that he had featured in the Top 5 box-office hits of all
time at one point and five of his movies are also in the National Film
Registry.Not
content just to stay with films, he stepped into the music scene in
1985 by working with the singer Jimmy
Buffett
to provide the authentic whip cracking on his song
"Desperation Samba (Halloween in Tijuana)" on his album Last Mango in
Paris.A lunch
with Jimmy
Buffett and the late Ed
Bradley
also resulted in him getting his ear being
pierced.Recognised for his
contribution to the entertainment industry he has won a Golden Globe, been
nominated for several Academy and BAFTA Awards, was given a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame and is ranked No. 4 in the lost of domestic
box-office stars with his films grossing an estimated $6 billion worldwide.Having a huge interest in aircraft
he is the owner of a collection of 7 airplanes and helicopters, is
currently the Chairman of the Young Eagles program in the Experimental
Aircraft Association and has been known to provide emergency services in
his helicopter when required.His work with charitable concerns has seen him as a General Trustee
on the Archaeological Institute of America's governing board, served meals
to to the homeless for Thanksgiving at the Los Angeles Mission, being on
the board of Conservation International, being given the Jules Verne Spirit
of Nature Award and having the newly discovered ant species pheidole
harrisonfordi and the spider species calponia harrisonfordi
named in his honour.
