"Special Issue" #7
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He tore up the screen with his cutting-edge style of acting and riveting performances in practically every genre of film. Throughout his career spanning six decades and consisting of more than 100 films, the versatile Glenn Ford consistently connected with audiences with his winning smile and strong screen persona.
Ford just had a knack for evoking the gamut of emotions with his facial expressions, uttering words in a spine-chillingly meaningful way, and bursting into action that made the screen want to explode. If all that isn't enough, Ford could carefully blend tranquility with resoluteness, authoritativeness with congeniality, and sensitivity with strength...often, all in one role!
Had Gilda, Blackboard Jungle, The Big Heat, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Dear Heart, Pocketful of Miracles, Midway and Superman been the sum of Ford's accomplishments, we'd be impressed. But Ford triumphed with a slew of superb Westerns like The Rounders, The Fastest Gun Alive, Jubal, The Man from Colorado, 3:10 to Yuma, Cowboy, The Sacketts, and television's modern-day Cade's County.
Glenn Ford is the quintessential cowboy, so it's not hard to reason that his favorite films to make were Westerns. Where horsemanship is concerned, Ford's being aptly named the "best rider in motion pictures" by the Arizona Wranglers Association, says it all. As for gunplay, Ford has been credited with being the fastest gun in Hollywood Westerns, being able to draw and fire in 0.4 seconds! In 1978 he was inducted the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and today maintains his position in the Top 15 Western leading men.
In this issue, the legendary Glenn Ford shares his memories that reflect the makings of the ultimate everyday hero - a calm, collected, and often gentle individualist - who, when pushed too far, would exude such ferocity, force and fight that his foes wished they were already in hell. But more than Ford's unobtrusive toughness is his unmistakable sincerity that never failed to come across in a performance. Perhaps above all of Ford's qualities , it's that sincerity that has for generations propelled viewers to like him, believe him, and count on him to " save the day."
It was a great honor to meet and interview Mr. Ford which would not have been possible without the help of the actor's lifelong friend, the ever-beautiful Rhonda Fleming (who co-starred with Ford in Redhead and the Cowboy), and Ford's son, Peter, who helped conduct the interview, on occasion jogged his father's memory, and provided many insights and an array of publicity movie stills from the Ford family archives. Peter Ford is a celebrity in his own right; not only did he have a singing career in the 1960s and hosted a popular political Los Angeles talk radio show in the 1990s, he also worked in over three dozen film projects with his father both as an actor and dialogue director and enjoyed a supporting role for an entire season on his dad's TV show Cade's County.
We were privileged to attend the ceremony in which singing cowboy Monte Hale received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's not often that our Western heroes are recognized and we couldn't be more elated for this much deserving hero and humanitarian.
The wonderful Janet Leigh, who shared the cover of WW#6 with Monte Hale, and who gave us what was to be one of her last interviews, sadly passed away...in fact, the Western world has recently lost far too many artists. We did our best to remember them all in the "Tombstone Tributes" portion of this issue.
WW is thrilled to feature a rare interview with the incredibly talented Oscar-winner Jack Palance. Like Eli Sallach, L.Q. Jones and Bruce Dern, Jack Palance epitomizes the sniveling supervillain of the West we all love to hate. So effective was Mr. Palance as the man in black in the classic Shane that the general public tends to assume that the very private and often elusive actor is also tough-as-nails off the screen. Well, he is tough! Yet upon reading his story by Cherie Kitzmiller, you'll also come to know him as a funny, kind, and sensitive human being...not to mention a real cowboy!
We've also rounded up former child actor Gary Gray, roped in fun-lovin' cowgal Ruta Lee, and hunted down (all the way to Spain!) prolific Euro-Western heavy, Aldo Sambrell -- three colorful actors with impressive resumes consisting of some of the finest Western films and shows ever created.
In addition, our terrific celebrity writers - F Troop's Melody Patterson and The Big Valley's Peter Breck -- have returned with their charming columns, "Wrapping with Wrangler" and "Cut 'Em off at the Pass", respectively. Hope you enjoy the issue.Until next time, saddle up and wagons, ho!
Ed G. Lousararian
Editor-in-Chief
