Allen Granberry Thurman
United States Senator from Ohio
In office March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1881
Preceded by	Benjamin Wade
Succeeded by	John Sherman
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office April 15, 1879 – December 5, 1880
Preceded by	Thomas W. Ferry
Succeeded by	Thomas F. Bayard
Personal details
Born	(1813-11-13)November 13, 1813 Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
Died	December 12, 1895(1895-12-12) (aged 82) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mary Dun Thomplins Thurman
Profession	Politician, Lawyer, Judge, Secretary

Allen Granberry Thurman (November 13, 1813 – December 12, 1895) was a Democratic Representative, Ohio Supreme Court justice, and Senator from Ohio, as well as the nominee of the Democratic Party for Vice President of the United States in 1888.

Early years[link]

He was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to Pleasant Thurman and Mary Granberry Allen Thurman. Both his parents were teachers; his father also a Methodist minister. In 1815, his parents emancipated their slaves and moved to Chillicothe, Ohio. He attended the academy run by his mother, and then studied law as an apprentice to his uncle, William Allen (who later became a Senator from Ohio). At the age of eighteen, Thurman worked on a land survey, and at twenty-one became private secretary to the Governor of Ohio, Robert Lucas. In 1835 he was admitted to the Ohio bar and became his uncle's law partner. In 1837 his uncle entered the Senate. On November 14, 1844, Thurman married Mary Dun Thomplins (or Tompkins), and they were the parents of three children.

Career in government[link]

Congressman[link]

The same year he was elected to the House of Representatives as its youngest member. He generally supported the majority of the Democrats on all issues except internal improvements, on which he tended to vote with the Whigs. He supported the Polk Administration's conduct of the Mexican-American War, spoke in favor of the 54°40' northern limit to the Oregon territory, and voted for the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery from the territory gained from Mexico. Ironically, his support for the latter was due to anti-African-American prejudice, as he wanted to reserve this territory for white settlement. After a single two-year term, he left the House voluntarily to resume private law practice.

State Supreme Court Justice[link]

In 1851 he was elected to a four year term (February 1852 – February 1856) on the Ohio Supreme Court,^[1] the last year as the chief justice. He then returned to private law practice in Columbus. Thurman spoke out against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and opposed the pro-slavery Lecompton constitution for Kansas. In 1860 he was a supporter of Stephen A. Douglas for President. He never accepted the right of a state to secede, but he felt it was unwise to fight a state that had already left the Union, so during the American Civil War, he was opposed to Lincoln's policies, especially on emancipation. While he supported the war effort, he encouraged compromise and a political settlement.

Candidate for Governor[link]

Cleveland/Thurman campaign poster

In 1867, he ran for Governor of Ohio, on a platform opposed to extending suffrage to blacks, but lost to Rutherford B. Hayes in a close election.

Senator[link]

The Ohio voters chose a Democratic state legislature, however, which selected Thurman as Senator for the term beginning in 1869. He there became a strong opponent of the Republicans' Reconstruction measures. In 1873 Thurman crafted a strategy that led to Ohio choosing once more a Democratic legislature, and electing Thurman's uncle William Allen as governor. The legislature elected Thurman to another term in the Senate. During the twelve years he served in the Senate, he became the leader of the Democrats in that body.

In the 1876–1877 electoral college crisis, he helped to arrive at the solution of creating the Electoral Commission to settle the controversy, and ultimately served as one of the members of the commission, as one of the five Senators (one of the two Senate Democrats, and one of the seven Democrats altogether). As a Democrat, he voted with the seven-member minority, in favor of the Samuel J. Tilden electors in all cases, but the Republican majority prevailed in all the votes, and Thurman's 1867 gubernatorial opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, became President. (One of the House of Representatives' members of the Commission, fellow Ohioan James Garfield, was to become the President four years later, after being chosen by the now-Republican Ohio legislature to succeed Thurman.)

In the Senate, Thurman served on the Judiciary Committee, becoming its chairman when the Democrats won control of the Senate in the 46th Congress. He also became President pro tempore of the Senate briefly, serving as president of the Senate because of the illness of Vice-President William A. Wheeler, before Ohio chose a Republican legislature, which would not reelect Thurman. They first chose Garfield, but on his election to the Presidency, selected John Sherman to succeed Thurman beginning in 1881. Garfield did appoint Thurman as American representative to the international monetary conference in Paris.

Candidate for Vice President[link]

Thurman was put forth as a favorite son candidate in the Democratic presidential nominating conventions in 1876, 1880, and 1884. In 1888, he was selected by the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, as his vice presidential running mate, because Vice President Thomas Hendricks had died in office. The Cleveland-Thurman ticket won more popular votes than the Harrison-Morton ticket, but it did not carry enough electoral votes.

Thurman died at home in Columbus and is buried at Green Lawn Cemetery.

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Allen G. Thurman

• Allen G. Thurman at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2009-03-23
• "Allen G. Thurman". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7052066. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 

v t e United States Senators from Ohio Class 1 Smith Meigs Worthington Kerr Ruggles Morris Tappan Corwin Ewing Wade Thurman Sherman Hanna Dick Pomerene Fess Donahey H. Burton Huffman K. Taft Bricker Young R. Taft, Jr. Metzenbaum DeWine S. Brown Class 3 Worthington Tiffin Griswold Campbell Morrow Trimble E. Brown Harrison Burnet Ewing Allen Chase Pugh Chase Sherman Matthews Pendleton Payne Brice Foraker T. Burton Harding Willis Locher T. Burton McCulloch Bulkley R. Taft, Sr. Burke Bender Lausche Saxbe Metzenbaum Glenn Voinovich Portman

v t e Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Chase • Crittenden • Burrill • Smith • Van Buren • Berrien • Rowan • Marcy • Wilkins • Clayton • Grundy • Wall • Berrien • Ashley • Butler • Bayard • Trumbull • Edmunds • Thurman • Edmunds • Hoar • Pugh • Hoar • Platt • Clark • Culberson • Nelson • Brandegee • Cummins • Norris • Ashurst • Van Nuys • McCarran • Wiley • McCarran • Langer • Kilgore • Eastland • Kennedy • Thurmond • Biden • Hatch • Leahy • Hatch • Leahy • Hatch • Specter • Leahy

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v t e Ohio's 8th congressional district Wilson Stanbery Mclene Ridgway Vanmeter Thurman Taylor Corwin Stanton Shellabarger Johnston Hubbell Hamilton Beatty Lawrence Keifer Finley Keifer Little Kennedy Hare Strong Lybrand Warnock Ralph D. Cole Willis Key R. Clint Cole Fletcher Mouser Fletcher Smith Betts Powell Kindness Lukens Boehner

Keith Thurman
Statistics
Real name	Keith Thurman
Nickname(s)	One Time
Rated at	Light Middleweight Welterweight
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1988-11-23) November 23, 1988 (age 23) Clearwater, Florida
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	16
Wins	15
Wins by KO	14
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	1

Keith Thurman (born November 23, 1988 in Clearwater, Florida) is a professional boxer and is considered one of the best prospects in the Welterweight division.^[1]

Amateur career[link]

Thurmans's first amateur fight was in 1997. Thurman finished his amateur career with 101 victories (76 KO's), he won 6 National Championships including the 2006 PAL National Championships. In 2008 Keith lost to Demetrius Andrade at the 2008 US Olympic Trials and won the Silver Medal.^[2]

Pro career[link]

On July 23, 2010 Keith beat the undefeated Stalinn Lopez, the fight was on TeleFutura.^[3]

Professional record[link]

15 Wins (14 knockouts), 0 Losses, 0 Draw
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	14-0-0	Quandray Robertson	KO	3 (6), (2:40)	September 18, 2010	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Win	13-0-0	Stalinn Lopez	KO	2 (6), (1:17)	July 23, 2010	Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California
Win	12-0-0	Leonardo Rojas	TKO	2 (8), (2:07)	November 28, 2009	Pepsi Coliseum, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Keith Thurman from BoxRec

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2010)

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This article is about the country music singer. For the actress and choreographer, see Debbie Allen.

Deborah Allen (born Deborah Lynn Thurmond on September 30, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American country music singer. Since 1976, Allen has issued 12 albums and charted 14 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, most notably the 1983 crossover hit "Baby I Lied" which reached #4 on the country charts and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Allen has also written No. 1 singles for herself, Janie Fricke and John Conlee, Top 5 hits for Patty Loveless, Tanya Tucker and Top 10 hits for The Whites and others.

Early Life & Rise to Fame[link]

Allen was born Deborah Lynn Thurmond in Memphis, Tennessee and was strongly influenced by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Ray Charles, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the current music which was being played in Memphis on WHBQ and WDIA, as well as country greats such as Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. At 18, Allen moved to Nashville to begin pursuing her career in music. She worked a short stint as a waitress at the local Music Row IHOP restaurant. While there one day, Deborah met Roy Orbison and songwriter Joe Melson. Two weeks later, Orbison and Melson, who admired her spunk, decided to hire Allen as to sing background on a couple of Orbison tracks.

Allen also auditioned for and landed a job at the Opryland USA theme park. She was soon chosen by Opryland as a featured soloist and dancer for a state department exchange tour of Russia starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.^[1]

Upon her return from Russia, Deborah gravitated to the Nashville offices of Waylon Jennings, the Tompall & the Glaser Brothers and John Hartford where her close friend, Marie Barrett, worked as a secretary. There she met her soon-to-be songwriting mentor, poet, playwright, artist and songwriter Shel Silverstein. After watching her perform during a happy hour show at the Spence Manor on Nashville's famed Music Row, Shel advised Deborah to pursue songwriting as an extension of her creativity and career path.

Allen also began to pursue a singing career in her own right when she was chosen to be a regular on Jim Stafford's ABC summer replacement series. She went on to serve as an opening act for many of Stafford's personal appearances. Jim and producer Phil Gernhard brought Deborah back to Nashville to record a CB radio novelty record called "Do You Copy." It was recorded live and was released as a single on Warner Bros. Records. Although she appreciated the opportunity to record with Stafford and Gernhard, Deborah was disheartened that after waiting patiently for two years to record her first record, it was a novelty tune. She decided to move back to Nashville to follow her true musical direction.^[2]

In 1979, while singing at a private party, Deborah was discovered by producer Bud Logan, who invited her to sing on five unfinished duet tracks by the late country legend Jim Reeves. Three of these songs were "Don't Let Me Cross Over," "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" and "Take Me In Your Arms and Hold Me." All three duets were released as singles, and made the Top 10 on the country charts for Reeves' longtime label, RCA Records. Deborah was billed as "The Mystery Singer" on the first release, an innovative promotion by label head, Joe Galante.

Career peak: 1980s[link]

In 1980, Allen signed with Capitol Records. Her debut album for the label was 1980's Trouble in Paradise. The album produced her initial solo hits "Nobody's Fool" and "You Make Me Wonder Why," the latter became Allen's highest charting single from the album, peaking at #20. Subsequent chart singles included "You Look Like the One I Love" (a song she had co-written) and "After Tonight," co-written by Troy Seals. At the same time, Deborah had written a song called "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby" with Bruce Channel and Keiran Kane. Although she pleaded with her record label, Capitol, to let her record it and release it as a single, they refused. With the encouragement of music publisher Don Gant, Janie Fricke's producer, Jim Ed Norman, heard "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby" and recorded it with Fricke. The single became Deborah's first No. 1 single on the Billboard charts as a songwriter, affirming Allen's belief that songwriting was the way to create a successful future for herself.

In 1983, Deborah moved to RCA Records, where she achieved her greatest success, releasing the album Cheat the Night. The first single from the album became Allen's signature song, "Baby I Lied," which peaked at #4 on the Billboard country chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #26 in January 1984. The song also climbed into the Top 10 of the Adult Contemporary charts. Allen followed the crossover hit with the country single "I've Been Wrong Before," which went to #1 on the Cashbox country chart in the spring of 1984. Later that year, "I Hurt For You," also from Allen's breakthrough album, became a Top 10 country hit. In 1984, she recorded "Let Me Be the First," the first album to be digitally recorded in -- and released from -- Nashville. In 1984, Allen made the charts once again with "Heartache and a Half" (written by Allen with Rafe VanHoy and legendary Muscle Shoals songwriter Eddie Struzick).

In 1987, encouraged by her label, RCA, to explore and expand her musical horizons, Allen released a single penned by Prince (musician), under the alias Joey Coco, called "Telepathy." An album of the same name was also released. In 1987, Allen released her last single for RCA, "You're the Kind of Trouble."

Comeback & Life Today[link]

Without the constraints of a major label, Deborah was free to be indepndently creative, nurturing her success as a songwriter. After the #1 co-written hit, "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby" and the Tanya Tucker hit "Can I See You Tonight," Allen scored another #1 for Janie Frickie called, "Let's Stop Talking About It," as well as the #1 John Conlee release, "I'm Only In It For The Love," which she co-wrote with Kix Brooks and VanHoy.

During this time, Allen began to explore the songwriting influences in her deep Southern roots, recording the album Delta Dreamland which she co-produced and financed on her own. She received rave reviews from the Nashville music industry for its raw honest emotion and earthy production.

Soon, the ever tenacious Allen was able to make a deal with Giant Records to release the album under their label in 1993. That same year, she had single release from the album with the song "Rock Me (In the Cradle of Love)". Although "Rock Me" charted at #30 on the Billboard charts, the record seemed to reach a much larger audience and status by virtue of the hit video that accompanied its release. The video of "Rock Me" was filmed on Deborah's own 16mm Ariflex SR film camera and edited on her own Sony editing machine. Again Deborah's tenacity and do it yourself attitude paid off when she received The Music City Summit Award for her co-producing and co-directing skills. Deborah's hands on approach to her music and career was her salvation in a business that can be so easily fickled and swayed by the ever-changing flavor of the month.

Allen also had one other charting single from the "Delta Dreamland" album with, "If You're Not Gonna Love Me". This landmark album served to show Allen as a new person, with more depth as a writer, as well as a more sensual image and a bluesy new style.

Allen's 1994 album, All That I Am, which was co-produced by Deborah and label head, James Stroud, was also well received with her single release"Break These Chains". Since the release of her two Giant Records albums, Allen has remained a popular songwriter and one of the most revered vocalist in Nashville.

In addition to Allen's personal albums, Deborah contributed to the soundtrack of the 1993 film "The Thing Called Love". She sings a rollicking version of the closing song "Blame It On Your Heart" (also covered by Patty Loveless) and the memorable Don Schlitz ballad "Ready and Waiting".

Once again, it was time to regroup and start anew, which Deborah did with her new co-publishing deal and record deal with Curb music publishing and Curb Records. Through her connection with LeAnn Rimes who was intent on meeting Deborah when she came to Nashville at age 13 to pursue a record deal of her own, Allen wound up with five songs recorded by the young talented Rimes. Two songs on the multi-platinum "Blue" album and Three songs on Rimes' "Sittin' On Top Of The World" album.

Shortly after Deborah's success with Rimes, her song, "We Can Get There" would up on four million selling Coyote Ugly Soundtrack sung by Mary Griffin.

Allen continues to perform all over the world and is extremely active today in her songwriting and producing. Her new album was released through Delta Rock Records and GMV Nashville on August 16, 2011. The album is titled "Hear Me Now". The first single from "Hear Me Now" is "Anything Other Than Love," co-written by Gary Burr. The album also contains Allen's song "Amazing Graceland," a moving tribute to Elvis Presley. Both songs are currently available as pre-release tracks on iTunes and other digital outlets.

Allen's publishing companies, Delta Queen Music and Delta Rose Music is currently co-published with partner, Delta Rock Music. She is represented by Raymond Hicks of Rolling Thunder Management.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Deborah Allen Website
• Authorized Deborah Allen Baby I Lied Home Page, Founded 1998

John George Agar (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death. He also starred with Lucille Ball in the 1951 movie The Magic Carpet.

Life and career[link]

Agar was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lillian (née Rogers) and John Agar, Sr., a meat packer.^[1] He was educated at the Harvard School for Boys in Chicago and Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois and graduated from Trinity-Pawling Preparatory School in Pawling, New York, but did not attend college. He and his family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1942, following his father’s death. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps, and he was a sergeant at the time he left the army in 1946.

He was Shirley Temple's first husband from 1945 until their 1950 divorce. They worked together in Fort Apache and Adventure in Baltimore. His marriage to Temple lasted five years and they had one daughter together, Linda Susan Agar, who was later known as Susan Black, taking the surname of her stepfather Charles Alden Black. Following his divorce from Temple, Agar was married in 1951 to model Loretta Barnett Combs (1922–2000). They remained married until her death in 2000. They had two sons, Martin Agar and John G. Agar III.

Death[link]

Agar died on April 7, 2002 at Burbank, California of complications from emphysema. He was buried beside his wife at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

Agar made six movies with John Wayne: Fort Apache, Sands of Iwo Jima, Big Jake, Chisum, The Undefeated and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

He is mentioned in the Frank Zappa song "The Radio is Broken" from the album The Man From Utopia (1983).

Filmography[link]

• The Naked Monster (2005)
• The Pandora Directive (1996) "Thomas Malloy"
• Body Bags (1993) (TV) "Dr. Lang"
• Invasion of Privacy (1992) (TV) Old Convict
• The Perfect Bride (1991) (TV) Gramps
• Nightbreed (1990) Special Appearance
• Fear (1990) (TV) "Leonard Scott Levy"
• Miracle Mile (1989) "Ivan Peters"
• Attack of the B-Movie Monster (1985) "Dr.Ferguson"
• Mr. No Legs (1982)
• King Kong (1976) "City Official"
• Big Jake (1971) "Bert Ryan"
• Chisum (1970) "Amos Patton"
• The Undefeated (1969) "Christian"
• Hell Raiders (1968)
• St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) "Dion O'Banion"
• Night Fright (1967) "Sheriff Clint Crawford"
• Johnny Reno (1966) "Ed Tomkins"
• Waco (1966)
• Curse of the Swamp Creature (1966) "Barry Rogers"
• Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966) "Dr. Farrell"
• Zontar, The Thing from Venus (1966) "Dr. Curt Taylor"
• Young Fury (1965) "Dawson"
• Stage to Thunder Rock (1964) "Dan Carrouthers"
• Law of the Lawless (1964) "Pete Stone"
• The Young and The Brave (1963) Intelligence officer
• Cavalry Command (1963) "Sergeant Norcutt"
• Of Love and Desire (1963) "Gus Cole"
• Lawman episode "The Witness" (1962) "Jim"
• Hand of Death (1962) "Alex Marsh"
• Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) "Capt. Don Graham"
• Fall Girl (1961) "Joe McElroy"
• Raymie (1960) "Ike"
• Invisible Invaders (1959) "Major Bruce Jay"
• Frontier Gun (1958) "Jim Crayle"
• Attack of the Puppet People (1958) "Bob Westley"
• Jet Attack (1958) "Capt. Tom Arnett"
• The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) "Steve March"
• Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) "George Hastings"
• Flesh and the Spur (1957) 'Luke' Random/Matt Random
• Joe Butterfly (1957) "Sergeant Dick Mason"
• Ride a Violent Mile (1957) "Jeff Dunning"
• The Mole People (1956) "Dr. Roger Bentley"
• Star in the Dust (1956) "Sheriff Bill Jorden"
• Revenge of the Creature (1955) Professor Clete Ferguson
• The Lonesome Trail (1955) "Johnny Rush"
• Hold Back Tomorrow (1955) "Joe Cardos"
• Tarantula (1955) "Doctor Matt Hastings"
• Bait (1954) "Ray"
• The Golden Mistress (1954) "Bill Buchanan"
• The Rocket Man (1954) "Tom Baxter"
• Shield for Murder (1954) "Mark Brewster"
• Man of Conflict (1953) "Ray Compton"
• Woman of the North Country (1952)
• Along the Great Divide (1951) "Billy Shear"
• The Magic Carpet (1951) "Ramoth"
• Breakthrough (1950) "Lieutenant Joe Mallory"
• Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) "PFC Peter Conway"
• She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Lieutenant Flint Cohill
• Adventure in Baltimore (1949) "Tom Wade"
• I Married a Communist (1949) "Don Lowry "
• Fort Apache (1948) "Lieutenant Michael O'Rourke"

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Official John Agar Website
• John Agar at the Internet Movie Database
• John Agar at AllRovi
• John Agar at Find a Grave

Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American film actor.^[1]

Early life[link]

Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter. The family then moved again to North Hollywood, California where Ladd became a high-school swimming and diving champion and participated in high school dramatics at North Hollywood High School, graduating on February 1, 1934. He opened his own hamburger and malt shop, which he called Tiny's Patio. He worked briefly as a studio carpenter (as did his stepfather) and for a short time was part of the Universal Pictures studio school for actors. But Universal decided he was too blond and too short and dropped him.^[2] Intent on acting, he found work in radio.

Career[link]

Ladd began by appearing in dozens of films in small roles, including Citizen Kane in which he played one of the "faceless" reporters who are always shown in silhouette. He first gained some recognition with a featured role in the wartime thriller Joan of Paris, 1942.^[3] For his next role, his manager, Sue Carol, found a vehicle which made Ladd's career, Graham Greene's This Gun for Hire in which he played "Raven," a hitman with a conscience. "Once Ladd had acquired an unsmiling hardness, he was transformed from an extra to a phenomenon. Ladd's calm slender ferocity make it clear that he was the first American actor to show the killer as a cold angel." - David Thomson (A Biographical Dictionary of Film, 1975) ^[4]

Both the film and Ladd's performance played an important role in the development of the "gangster" genre: "That the old fashioned motion picture gangster with his ugly face, gaudy cars, and flashy clothes was replaced by a smoother, better looking, and better dressed bad man was largely the work of Mr. Ladd." - New York Times obituary (January 30, 1964).^[4] Ladd was teamed with actress Veronica Lake in this film, and despite the fact that it was Robert Preston who played the romantic lead, the Ladd-Lake pairing captured the public's imagination, and would continue in another three films. (They appeared in a total of seven films together, but three were only guest shots in all-star musical revues.)

Ladd went on to star in many Paramount Pictures' films,^[5] with a brief timeout for military service in the United States Army Air Force's First Motion Picture Unit. He appeared in Dashiell Hammett's story The Glass Key, his second pairing with Lake, and Lucky Jordan with Helen Walker. His cool, unsmiling persona proved popular with wartime audiences, and he was quickly established as one of the top box office stars of the decade.^[6]

In 1946, he starred in a trio of silver screen classics: the big screen adaptation of Richard Henry Dana's maritime classic, Two Years Before the Mast (for which he also received critical acclaim), the Raymond Chandler original mystery The Blue Dahlia (his third pairing with Lake), and the World War II espionage thriller O.S.S..

He formed his own production companies for film and radio and then starred in his own syndicated series Box 13, which ran from 1948-49. Ladd and Robert Preston starred in the 1948 western film, Whispering Smith, which in 1961 would become a short-lived NBC television series, starring Audie Murphy.

In the 1949 version of The Great Gatsby, Ladd had the featured role of Jay Gatsby.

Jean Arthur and Alan Ladd in Shane (1953)

Ladd played the title role in the 1953 western Shane. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It was listed at No. 45 on the American Film Institute's 2007 ranking of "100 Years ... 100 Movies."

Ladd made the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll three times: in 1947, 1953, and 1954.^[2] In 1954 exhibitors voted him the most popular star among British film-goers.^[7]

When former agent Albert R. Broccoli formed Warwick Films with his partner Irving Allen, they heard Ladd was unhappy with Paramount and was leaving the studio. With his wife and agent Sue Carol, they negotiated for Ladd to appear in the first three of their films made in England and released through Columbia Pictures: The Red Beret/Paratrooper (1953); Hell Below Zero (1954), based on Hammond Innes's book The White South; and The Black Knight (1954). All three were co-written by Ladd's regular screenwriter Richard Maibaum.^[8] In 1954 Ladd formed a new production company, Jaguar Productions, originally releasing his films through Warner Bros. and then with All the Young Men through Columbia.

In November 1962, he was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood with a bullet wound near his heart, an unsuccessful suicide attempt.^[2] In 1963 Ladd filmed a supporting role in The Carpetbaggers. He would not live to see its release. On January 29, 1964 he was found dead in Palm Springs, California, of an acute overdose of "alcohol and three other drugs", at the age of 50; his death was ruled accidental.^[9] He was entombed in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Not until June 28, 1964 did Carpetbaggers producer Joseph E. Levine hold an elaborate premiere screening in New York City with an afterparty staged by his wife at The Four Seasons Restaurant.^[10]

Alan Ladd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1601 Vine Street.^[11] His handprint appears in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater, in Hollywood.

Personal life[link]

Alan Ladd's mother was Selina Rowley, born Chester-le-Street County Durham, in late 1888. She used the stage name Ina Raleigh and emigrated to the USA in 1907, aged 19.

He had married a high-school acquaintance, Midge Harrold. Their only child, a son named Alan Ladd, Jr., was born in 1937. Ladd's stepfather died suddenly. Then his mother, who suffered from depression, committed suicide by poison.

In 1942, Ladd married his agent/manager, former movie actress Sue Carol.

Ladd owned properties in Beverly Hills and, in Palm Springs, Alan Ladd Hardware. His son by his first wife Midge Harrold, Alan Ladd, Jr., is a motion picture executive and producer and founder of The Ladd Company. His daughter actress Alana, who co-starred with her father in Guns of the Timberland and Duel of Champions, is married to the veteran talk radio broadcaster Michael Jackson. Another son, actor David Ladd, who co-starred with Ladd as a child in The Proud Rebel, married Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd, 1973-1980. Actress Jordan Ladd is his granddaughter.^[12]

As with many Hollywood stars, Ladd is sometimes described as either a social adherent to, or member of, the gay subculture.^[13] No reliable evidence has been published to substantiate such claims, but they do exist. At least one gay historian has gone so far with speculation as to suggest that Ladd's suicide attempt(s) may have been related to unsubstantiated sexual questioning.^[14]

Reports of his height vary from 5'5" to 5'9" (from his military records) (1.65 to 1.75 m), with 5'6" (1.68 m) being the most generally accepted today.^[2][15]

Filmography[link]

Features[link]

Short subjects[link]

• Unfinished Rainbows (1940)
• Meat and Romance (1940)
• Blame It on Love (1940)
• American Portrait (1940)
• I Look at You (1941)
• Training Film No. A-3: Military Training (1941)
• Letter from a Friend (1943)
• Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform (1943)
• Skirmish on the Home Front (1944)
• Hollywood Victory Caravan (1945)
• Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party (1946)
• Eyes of Hollywood (1949)
• Grantland Rice Sportlight No. R11-10: A Sporting Oasis (1952)

Box Office Ranking[link]

For a number of years, film exhibitors voted him among the top stars at the box office.

• 1946 - 8th (Britain)^[16]
• 1947 - 7th (Britain)^[17]
• 1949 - 7th (Britain)^[18]
• 1951 - 17th (USA),^[19] 8th (Britain)^[20]
• 1952 - 16th (USA)^[21]
• 1953 - 4th (USA)^[22]
• 1954 - 6th (USA)^[23], 1st (Britain)^[24]
• 1955 - 17th (USA)^[25]
• 1956 - 25th (USA)^[26]

References[link]

External links[link]