Harrison Ford

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Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford was born to the proud parents of Dorothy Nidelman and Christopher Ford on Wednesday, July 13, 1942. His birth came almost six months after their marriage on February 3, 1942. Days later, he was named Harrison Ford in honor of his maternal grandfather. Most of his young life, he preferred that people call him by his grandfathers name, Harry.

He had a brother named Terence. Terence and Harrison, or Terry and Harry, as they were better known, grew up in Chicago and attended the Graeme Stewart Elementary School. In grade school, a class mate remembered him as sort of a prankster or a wisecracker. As Harrison grew into a teenager, he had little trouble earning pocket money. He briefly worked on a yacht, helping cook for the heirs to Chicago's powerful Swift Meat Packing Company. His longest-running job was at the Evening Pipe Shop and it was there that Harry started smoking himself. When he graduated from Main East High School, in the class of 1960, another of his classmates stated, "No one would ever have believed that he would be a movie star. You just would never, ever have guessed it."

In the autumn of 1960, Harrison stared school at Ripon College. His first month at Ripon was filled with hazing events, wearing "beanies," taking part in grease pole fights and other mischievous freshman pranks. He spent the next four years in the fraternity house, South Hall, where forty or so students shared rooms which were watched over by a housemother. Harrison played guitar and played in a band named The Brothers Gross, which played at college bashes. He still worked part time at the pipe shop during vacations. He would supply all of his buddies with pipes at cost. Harry loved to smoke a Calabash, ...

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...olo. Lucas kept auditioning other actors. Fred Roos arranged for Harrison to do some carpentry work in the location where Lucas was auditioning. After seeing Harrison day after day and getting him to read parts against other characters, Lucas began to realize the Harrison was perfect for the Hans Solo part. When Star Wars was released it was a masterpiece. Harrison's career took off major after Star Wars.

At the same time his career took off, his marriage to Mary fell apart. The time spent apart took a toll on the marriage, and they ended up getting a very amicable divorce. Ford then met screen writer, Melissa Mathison, who he began seeing after his divorce from Mary Marquardt. Melissa later became his wife in 1983. They have two children together: Malcolm and Georgia. They were divorced in 2002. Harrison Ford now lives with his love interest, Calista Flockhart.

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