Editing of this article by new or unregistered users is currently disabled because of a content dispute., Protection is not an endorsement of the current version., See the protection policy and protection log for more details. If you cannot edit this article and you wish to make a change, you can request an edit, discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or create an account. Alan Ladd , circa 1950s Born Alan Walbridge Ladd, (1913-09-03)September 3, 1913, Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. Died January 29, 1964(1964-01-29) (aged 50), Palm Springs, California, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1932-64 Spouse(s) Marjorie Jane Harrold (m. 1936-1941), Sue Carol (m. 1942-1964) Children Alan Ladd, Jr. (b. 1937) (Harrold), Alana Ladd (b. 1943) (Carol), David Ladd (b. 1947)(Carol) 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. Ladd began by appearing in dozens of films in small roles, including Citizen Kane in which he played one of the "faceless" reporters who are always shown in silhouette. He first gained some wide recognition with a featured role in the wartime thriller Joan of Paris, 1942. Superstardom: 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 film-goers. 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/Paratrooper (1953); Hell Below Zero (1954), based on Hammond Innes's book The White South; and The Black Knight (1954). All three were co-written by Ladd's regular screenwriter Richard Maibaum. 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's mother was Selina Rowley, born Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England, in late 1888. She used the stage name Ina Raleigh and emigrated to the USA in 1907, aged 19. Ladd's stepfather died suddenly. 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. 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. Another son, actor David Ladd, who co-starred with Ladd as a child in The Proud Rebel, married Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd, 1973-80. Actress Jordan Ladd is his granddaughter. Reports of his height vary from 5 ft 5 in - 5 ft 9 in (1.65 m - 1.75 m), from his military records, with 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) being the most generally accepted today. Ladd owned properties in Beverly Hills and, in Palm Springs, Alan Ladd Hardware. Filmography: Year Title Role Notes 1932 Tom Brown of Culver Cadet Once in a Lifetime Projectionist 1933 Saturday's Millions Student 1936 Pigskin Parade Student 1937 Last Train from Madrid !The Last Train from Madrid Soldier Souls at Sea Sailor All Over Town Young Man Hold 'Em Navy Chief Quartermaster 1938 Goldwyn Follies !The Goldwyn Follies First Auditioning Singer Come On, Leathernecks! Club Waiter Freshman Year Student 1939 Mysterious Miss X !The Mysterious Miss X Henchman Hitler, Beast of Berlin Karl Bach Rulers of the Sea Colin Farrell 1940 Green Hornet !The Green Hornet Gilpin, Student Pilot Brother Rat and a Baby Cadet in trouble Light of Western Stars !The Light of Western Stars Danny, Stillwell Ranch Hand In Old Missouri Landlord's Son Gangs of Chicago Cross-Country Romance Mr. Williams, First Mate Those Were the Days! Keg Rearick Captain Caution Newton, Mutinous Sailor Howards of Virginia !The Howards of Virginia Backwoodsman Meet the Missus John Williams Victory Heyst as an 18-year-old Her First Romance John Gilman 1941 Petticoat Politics Higgins Daughter's Boyfriend Citizen Kane Reporter smoking pipe at end Black Cat !The Black Cat Richard Hartley Paper Bullets Jimmy Kelly aka Bill Dugan Reluctant Dragon !The Reluctant Dragon Al, Baby Weems storyboard artist They Met in Bombay British Soldier Great Guns Soldier in Photo Shop Cadet Girl Harry, Musician 1942 Joan of Paris "Baby" This Gun for Hire Philip Raven Glass Key !The Glass Key Ed Beaumont Lucky Jordan Lucky Jordan Star Spangled Rhythm Alan Ladd, Scarface Skit 1943 China David Jones 1944 And Now Tomorrow Doctor Merek Vance 1945 Salty O'Rourke Salty O'Rourke Duffy's Tavern Himself 1946 Two Years Before the Mast Charles Stewart Blue Dahlia !The Blue Dahlia Johnny Morrison, Lt.Cmdr., ret. O.S.S. Philip Masson / John Martin 1947 My Favorite Brunette Sam McCloud Calcutta Neale Gordon Variety Girl Himself Wild Harvest Joe Madigan 1948 Saigon Maj. Larry Briggs Beyond Glory Capt. Rockwell "Rocky" Gilman Whispering Smith Whispering Smith 1949 Great Gatsby !The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby Chicago Deadline Ed Adams 1950 Captain Carey, U.S.A. Captain Webster Carey Branded Choya 1951 Appointment with Danger Al Goddard Red Mountain Capt. Brett Sherwood 1952 Iron Mistress !The Iron Mistress Jim Bowie Thunder in the East Steve Gibbs 1953 Botany Bay Hugh Tallant Desert Legion Paul Lartal Shane Shane Red Beret !The Red Beret Steve "Canada" McKendrick 1954 Hell Below Zero Duncan Craig Saskatchewan Thomas O'Rourke Black Knight !The Black Knight John Drum Beat Johnny MacKay 1955 McConnell Story !The McConnell Story Capt. Joseph C. "Mac" McConnell, Jr. Hell on Frisco Bay Steve Rollins 1956 Santiago Caleb "Cash" Adams A Cry in the Night Opening narrator 1957 Big Land !The Big Land Chad Morgan Boy on a Dolphin Dr. James Calder 1958 Deep Six !The Deep Six Alexander "Alec" Austen Proud Rebel !The Proud Rebel John Chandler Badlanders !The Badlanders Peter Van Hoek ("The Dutchman") 1959 Man in the Net !The Man in the Net John Hamilton 1960 Guns of the Timberland Jim Hadley All the Young Men Sgt. Kincaid One Foot in Hell Mitch Garrett 1961 Duel of Champions Horatio 1962 13 West Street Walt Sherill 1964 Carpetbaggers !The Carpetbaggers Nevada Smith Short subjects: Unfinished Rainbows (1940), Meat and Romance (1940), Blame It on Love (1940), American Portrait (1940), I Look at You (1941), Training Film No. A-3: Military Training (1941), Letter from a Friend (1943), Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform (1943), Skirmish on the Home Front (1944), Hollywood Victory Caravan (1945), Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party (1946), Eyes of Hollywood (1949), Grantland Rice Sportlight No. R11-10: A Sporting Oasis (1952), Box office ranking: For a number of years, film exhibitors voted him amongst the top stars at the box office. Year USA Britain 1943 15th 1945 15th 1946 14th 8th 1947 10th 7th 1949 17th 7th 1951 17th 8th 1952 16th 1953 4th 1954 6th 1st 1955 5th Unmade Films: Oh Promised Land (1955) - based on a novel by James Street, Rap Sheet - based on autobiography of James H Audett, The Chislers (1957) - detective film, Select Radio Credits: Regular Series: Box 13 - 52 episodes (22 August 1948 - 14 August 1949), Guest Starring: Lux Radio Theatre - "The Return of Peter Grimm" (13 Feb 1939), "Only Angels Have Wings" (29 May 1939), "China" (25 Jan 1943), "Casablanca" (24 Jan 1944), "Destroyer" (3 April 1944), "Coney Island" (17 April 1944), "Disputed Passage" (5 March 1945), "And Now Tomorrow" (21 May 1945), "Whistle Stop" (15 April 1946), "OSS" (18 Nov 1946), "Two Years Before the Mast" (22 Sept 1947), "Shane" (22 Feb 1955), Suspense - "One Way Ride to Nowhere" (6 Jan 1944), "The Defense Rests" (9 March 1944), "Motive For Murder" (16 March 1950), "A Killing in Abilene" (14 Dec 1950), The Burns and Allen Show (15 Jan 1945), Command Performance (14 June 1945), Screen Director Theater - "Saigon" (29 July 1949), "Chicago Deadline" (24 March 1950), "Take a Letter, Darling" (1 Feb 1951), "Lucky Jordan" (8 Feb 1951), Screen Guild Theater - "The Blue Dahlia" (21 April 1949)

Source: Wikipedia

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