Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Ford, 88, according to his son, Peter, spent time today watching the television coverage of the late president’s tribute at the Ronald Reagan Library.

“I can tell you he had tears in his eyes,” recounted Peter Ford, who chatted with his father about his friend Ron on behalf of NewsMax.

“Dad doubled-dated with Nancy and Ron before they were married,” Peter recounts. “I hadn’t realized just how far back our two families' relationship went. I guess there’s not another family in Hollywood whose friendship goes back farther.”

Noting that he played with Reagan’s son Michael when they were kids, Peter recalled that his father, like Reagan, also started off as a Democrat, “before he saw the light.”

Peter said that his father and Reagan became part of the “stalwart conservatives” in Hollywood that included other luminaries such as Clark Gable, James Cagney and Robert Taylor.

Glenn Ford recalled for NewsMax that he worked with then-Nancy Davis – before she met her famous husband – in a 1949 film entitled “The Doctor and the Girl.” It was Nancy's first big-credit film.

“We are proud of him and his service to the country,” said Ford. “We need men like him today.”

Ford was a rising star, one of a small group of actors who would become film immortals, but he cast it aside to answer his country’s call.

In 1942, at the age of 26, Ford, already headed for superstardom, left the glamour and big money of Hollywood behind and joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a private.

Thirty-five years – and three wars – later, he would retire as a highly decorated Navy captain.

And he would go on to superstardom, making over 100 films, some of them blockbusters, and co-starring with filmdom’s greatest immortals.

On this day in 1916, Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford was born in the province of Quebec, Canada.

He got an early start as an actor, first appearing on stage at age 4 in a community production of "Tom Thumb's Wedding."

Among his films were the blockbusters "Gilda," "The Big Heat" and "The Blackboard Jungle" and the lesser-known but equally fine movies "Ransom," "Convicted," "So Ends Our Night," "The Green Glove," "Lust for Gold," "3:10 to Yuma," "The Rounders," "Don't Go Near the Water," "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" "and Love Is a Ball."

As a Marine in World War II, Ford helped build safe houses in France for those hiding from the Nazis and was among the first Americans to enter the infamous Dachau concentration camp at war’s end.

He also served two tours of duty in Vietnam, often under enemy fire, and is the only actor to have served with both the Green Berets and the French Foreign Legion.

In 1943, while in the Marines, he married the beautiful and famed dancer/actress Eleanor Powell. They had a son, Peter Newton Ford, in 1945 and were divorced in 1959.

Peter and his wife, Lynda, have three children: Aubrey, Ryan and Eleanor.

Today Glenn is retired and, according to his son, Peter, who with his wife and family live with him in his home in Beverly Hills, keeps up with current events and is helping Peter and co-author Christopher Nickens put the final touches on their forthcoming book, "Glenn Ford: A Life in Film," due out later this year.

Peter is a former Los Angeles radio host who keeps active in politics and civic affairs in Southern California. And Glenn Ford's political interests will be carried on by Peter's son Ryan, who plans to eventually run for office in California.

"Dad is fine," Peter told NewsMax.com. "Considering that he’s 88, he’s doing well. His doctor said he’s got the constitution of a 50-year-old. He’s in remarkably good health.

Peter told NewsMax.com in a prior interview that his dad keeps a close eye on the news, and that his favorite source is Sean Hannity, who he greatly admires.

According to his son, "There are only three male stars from the 1930s who are still alive – Dad, Ronald Reagan and Mickey Rooney – who started in the '20s. All the other great stars – Van Johnson, Kirk Douglas and the others – date back to the '40s."

In 1976, Ford co-starred with such film greats as Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, James Coburn, Eddie Albert and Hal Holbrook in the film classic "Midway," which told the story of one of history’s greatest naval victories.

Ford played Adm. Raymond Spruance, who led the U.S. naval forces in a battle that spelled the beginning of the end for Japan’s naval air power.

It was a fitting role for Glenn Ford, a fierce patriot who his son describes as "one of those Ronald Reagan, true-blue American types."

As America faces the tough fight against terrorism, Glenn the patriot had this advice for his fellow Americans: "Let's never forget that to remain free we must always be strong. That's an important lesson I learned in my Navy career in World War II. National defense must be the top priority for our country. If you are strong, you are safe. Now is the time for every American to be proud. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. If we are not brave, we will not be free."

Editor's note: