Alan Ladd
Film
Hot Springs

 Full Name: Alan Walbridge Ladd, Jr.
Born: September 3, 1913 in Hot Springs, Arkansas
 Died: January 29, 1964 in Palm Springs, California
   Father of: Alan Ladd Jr., David Ladd and former actress Alana Ladd

                                       

Alan Ladd’s early life was anything but easy. His mother, Ina Raleigh, was an English immigrant and his father, Alan Ladd Sr., was an accountant who traveled frequently. When Alan was four, his father died, leaving him and his mother financially unstable. Dreaming of a better life, Ina and Alan moved to Oklahoma City, where Ina remarried. Soon after, the family decided to move to California in search of better employment opportunities. High school was a positive experience for Alan and he became involved in sports and participated in school productions.

However, Alan was still a long way from entering the world of Hollywood film-making. Before becoming an actor, Alan worked a number of odd jobs and was a gas station attendant, hot dog vendor and lifeguard. Starting in the entertainment business, Alan played small parts in radio shows and local theatre productions. For two years, he also worked as a grip on the Warners lot. In October 1936, he married Marjorie Jane Harrold, and in 1937 Alan Ladd Jr. was born. Alan's early film work was mostly minor parts, such as the role of a reporter in Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941).

Despite Alan’s initial troubles getting noticed in the Hollywood community, the persistence of his agent, former screen actress, Sue Carol, helped the actor get more important roles in films. Carol became Alan’s second wife in 1942. That same year the actor got his big break with Paramount’s This Gun for Hire, in which he played a paid killer.

The response to the film was so favorable that Alan instantly became a star. His co-star in the film, Veronica Lake, matched his look so well that the studio teamed them for several other productions that were extremely popular with movie-goers. Among them were The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia and Saigon.

Through the mid 50s, Alan remained with Paramount, making a number of films where he played dynamic, action-packed roles. The western Shane gave him the opportunity to play an honest character troubled by conflicting emotions. Alan’s magnetism and his beautiful portrayal of the character made the movie one of his classics. After Shane, Ladd continued making films until his death at age 51. Alan Ladd’s blond good looks, charisma and stoic presence were apparent in all the movies that he made. It is this magnetism that will keep him in the memory of the audiences who loved him.