Alan Ladd biography
Alan Ladd history
Alan Ladd facts
Alan Ladd video clips
Alan Ladd photos
Alan Ladd story
Alan Ladd discography
Alan Ladd photographs
Alan Ladd bio
Alan Ladd info
Alan Ladd curious
Alan Ladd images
Alan Ladd quotes
Alan Ladd films
Alan Ladd filmography

[h3]Born to an English mother in Arkansas, icy-cool actor Alan Ladd’s father died when he was only four.[/h3]

Moving to California as a child, Ladd became a gifted sportsman, and also took to performing in school productions. He excelled in swimming and athletics, and in 1931, he decided to train for the 1932 Olympics. Training didn’t last long, however, as an injury would prevent him from participating in the Olympic trials.

Struggling to enter the acting profession, Ladd supported himself in a number of odd jobs – including as a gas station attendant, a hot dog vendor and a lifeguard.

His first real foray into show business came in radio, where he played small parts, and he then moved into local theatre. It was as a grip and bit-player that Ladd began to enter the film-world in his late teens. He was appearing regularly in minor film parts by the mid 1930s.

In 1936, he married Marjorie Jane Harrold. A year later the couple gave birth to their first child, Alan Ladd, II.

Ladd’s early film work consisted of mostly minor parts, such as the role of a reporter in Orson Welles’ 1941 classic, “Citizen Kane.”

He met Hollywood agent and former screen actress, Sue Carol, around this time. She helped him get work and promoted him around town, landing him a major part as an assassin in the 1942 film, 'This Gun for Hire', opposite Veronica Lake. After divorcing his first wife, Ladd and Carol married in 1942.

The visual combination of Ladd and Lake proved so popular that they were paired for several other films, including 'The Blue Dahlia', 'Saigon' and 'The Glass Key'.

Ladd’s films remained on the Top Ten box-office list in 1947, 1953, and 1954, as he played a succession of action-packed, tough-guy roles.

It was in the classic Western, 'Shane', in 1953, where Ladd truly excelled himself, in an uncharacteristically honest role, showcasing both his visual magnetism and subtle style.

Most of his films during the 1950s were seen by critics as clichéd bare-chested bar room movies, and his star was falling by the early 1960s.

Ladd continued to make films up until his early death, aged 51, in 1964.
Alan Ladd biography



- Due to a clerical error, Ladd was inaccurately included in the cast credits for 'Born to the West' (1937) in studio publicity material. In fact, he was never in the film, despite the fact that it often shows up in his credits and even on the video box!
Alan Ladd biography



1932 Once in a Lifetime

1936 Pigskin Parade

1937 Hell Town (Born to the West)

1937 Hold ‘Em Navy

1937 The Last Train From Madrid

1937 Souls at Sea

1938 Come on Leathernecks

1938 Freshman Year

1938 The Goldwyn Follies

1939 Goose Step/ Beasts of Berlin

1939 Rulers of the Sea

1940 Captain Caution

1940 Gangs of Chicago

1940 The Green Hornet

1940 Her First Romance

1940 The Howards of Virginia

1940 In Old Missouri

1940 Light of the Western Stars

1940 Meet the Missus

1940 Those Were the Days

1940 Wildcat Bus

1941 Cadet Girl

1941 Citizen Kane

1941 Gangs, Inc./Paper Bullets/ Crime,

1941 Great Guns

1941 Petticoat Politics

1941 The Reluctant Dragon

1942 The Glass Key

1942 Joan of Paris

1942 Lucky Jordan

1942 Star Spangled Rhythm

1942 This Gun for Hire

1943 China

1944 And Now Tomorrow

1945 Duffy’s Tavern

1945 Salty O’Rourke

1946 The Blue Dahlia

1946 O.S.S.

1946 Two Years Before the Mast

1947 Calcutta

1947 My Favorite Brunette

1947 Variety Girl

1947 Wild Harvest

1948 Beyond Glory

1948 Saigon

1948 Whispering Smith

1949 Chicago Deadline

1949 The Great Gatsby

1950 Branded VHS

1950 Captain Carey, U.S.A

1951 Appointment With Danger

1951 Red Mountain

1952 The Iron Mistress

1953 Botany Bay

1953 Desert Legion

1953 Paratrooper/The Red Beret

1953 Shane

1953 Thunder in the East

1954 The Black Knight

1954 Drum Beat

1954 Hell Below Zero

1954 Saskatchewan

1955 Hell on Frisco Bay

1955 The McConnell Story

1956 Santiago

1957 The Big Land

1957 Boy on a Dolphin

1958 The Badlanders

1958 The Deep Six

1958 The Proud Rebel

1959 The Man in the Net

1960 All the Young Men

1960 Guns of the Timberland

1960 One Foot in Hell

1961 Duel of Champions/ Orazi e Curiazi

1962 13 West Street

1964 The Carpetbaggers
Alan Ladd biography