Born July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois to a radio actress and an actor turned advertising executive, Harrison Ford was a lackluster student with no athletic ability who never averaged more than a C grade. After dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin where he did some acting and later summer stock, he signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia, and later Universal.
Ford married first wife Mary Marquardt in 1964. His first screen appearances were uncredited roles in 1966’s Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round and 1967’s Luv. His first credited role was in 1967’s A Time for a Killing, followed by roles in TV’s Wagon Train and Ironside. Roles in episodes of TV’s The Mod Squad, The F.B.I., and Love, American Style followed.
The actor’s role in 1970’s Zabriskie Point was uncredited, followed by a minor role in the same year’s Getting Straight. It wasn’t until 1973 that he had a standout supporting role in American Graffiti that audiences began to take notice. 1974’s The Conversation provided similar recognition. Finally, with 1977’s blockbuster, Star Wars, he had arrived but still found himself cast in featured roles in such films as Heroes, Force 10 from Navarone, and Apocalypse, Now before he finally had his first leading role in 1979’s Hanover Square, the year of his divorce from Marquardt with whom he had two children.
Ford returned with his Star Wars co-stars in the 1980 blockbuster sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, followed by the starring role in another blockbuster, Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, which also produced as series of highly successful sequels. In 1982, he starred in yet another blockbuster, the futuristic Blade Runner. In 1983, he married Melissa Matheson, the writer-producer of 1982’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. That same year he returned with his Star Wars co-stars in the franchise’s third outing, The Return of the Jedi.
In 1984, Ford starred in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the first sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. 1985’s Witness provided him with his only Oscar nominated role to date. His output for the remainder of the decade included such hits as 1986’s The Mosquito Coast, 1988’s Frantic and Working Girl, a rare comedy role for him, and 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, his third film in that franchise. The 1990s began on a high note with Presumed Innocent and Regarding Henry followed by the start of yet another franchise series, this wife based on the Jack Ryan books, Patriot Games.
1993’s The Fugitive was another huge success, followed by continued success with 1994’s Jack Ryan, sequel, Clear and Present Danger, and the 1995 remake of Sabrina. 1997 found Ford in the mildly successful The Devil’s Own and the hugely successful Air Force One. 1998 found him in the mildly successful Six Days and Seven Nights. Also mildly successful were 2000’s What Lies Beneath and 2002’s K-19: The Widowmaker. As his career wound down so did his marriage to Mathison, the mother of his third and fourth children They were divorced in 2004.
Ford continued to work, marrying third wife Calista Flockhart in 2020, with whom he has a fifth child. His career didn’t return to its previous glory until 2017’s sequel, Blade Runner 2049. More recently he starred in the TV series, 1923 and Shrinking, and the 2023 film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Harrison Ford is now 81.
ESSENTIAL FILMS
STAR WARS (1977), directed by George Lucas
Nominated for 10 Oscars and winner of 6 plus a special achievement award for sound effects. The film became one of the biggest hits of all time, making overnight stars of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Ford as well as providing unforgettable late career roles for Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing. It led to two equally successful sequels, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s The Return of the Jedi with the same principal cast. Three prequels and several sequels have since followed with the original films now retitled Star Wars IV – A New Hope, Star Wars V – The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars VI – The Return of the Jedi.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1982), directed by Steven Spielberg
Nominated for 9 Oscars and winner of 4, this rousing adventure, which is still turning out sequels, is a thrill-a-minute adventure film that set in 1936 with Ford at the top of his game as an archeologist hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers. The story was conceived by Spielberg and Geroge Lucas while vacationing in Hawaii during the premiere of Star Wars that Lucas was afraid would not be successful. The cast includes Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina, Anthony Higgins, and Sheb Wooley.
WITNESS (1985), directed by Peter Weir
Nominated for 8 Oscars and winner of 2, this critically acclaimed murder mystery provided Ford with his only Oscar nominated role to date as a Philadelphia detective assigned to protecting an Amish boy who was the sole witness to a murder in a Philadelphia train station, and his mother. Lukas Haas was riveting as the boy and Kelly McGillis had the star making role of the mother which led to her casting in Top Gun and The Accused. The strong supporting cast included Josef Sommer, Jan Rubes, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover, Brent Jennings, Patti LuPone, Viggo Mortensen, and Tinothy Carhart. It deftly combines romance and action within the mystery.
THE FUGITIVE (1993), directed by Andrew Davis
Nominated for 7 Oscars and winner of one, this smash hit version of the long-running TV series was a crowd-pleaser like few other attempts at reinventing old TV series. Ford gave one of his best performances as the doctor unjustly accused of killing his wife who escapes captivity when the transport vehicle he is riding in crashes. He is pursued by a relentless U.S. marshal played by Tommy Lee Jones in the role that won him his Oscar. While it’s basically a two-man show, others in the cast such as Sela Ward as Ford’s murdered wife, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Jeroen Krabbe, and Daniel Roebuck are all given a moment or two to shine.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2023), directed by Denis Villeneuve
Nominated for 5 Oscars and winner of 2, this is a sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 groundbreaking post-apocalyptic film, Blade Runner, which was itself nominated for 2 Oscars. Ford had the starring role in the original as a blade runner assigned to tracking down replicants in a futuristic 2019. Ryan Gosling has the lead role in this one as a current blade runner who discovers a long-buried secret that leads him to track down Ford’s character who had been missing for thirty years since the action in the previous film. Ford, whose career had been in decline, made a spectacular return to superstardom with this one. Robin Wright and Jared Leto co-star.
Harrison Ford’s Oscar Nomination:
Witness (1985) – nominated – Best Actor
