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JULY 13,
1942 |
Harrison Ford is born in Chicago, Illinois. The older of two sons of an advertising executive and homemaker, Ford grows up a shy
schoolboy in suburban Chicago.
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1960 |
Ford enrolls at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, 75 miles northwest of Milwaukee, where he takes his first drama classes.
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SUMMER 1964 |
Ford leaves college without a degree and quickly finds work as a summer stock performer at a local Wisconsin theater. He marries former classmate Mary Marquardt in the middle of the season.
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FALL 1964 |
Ford and his new wife move to southern California. He lands a role in a play at the Laguna Beach Playhouse but has difficulty finding parts in the subsequent months and supplements his acting income by working as a carpenter.
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1966 |
An audition with Columbia Pictures' head of new talent nets Ford a seven-year contract worth $150/week. Unimpressed by Ford's portrayal of a bellhop in the film "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round," the studio executive revokes the contract and the actor inks a new pact with Universal Studios -- this one for $250 a week.
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1970 |
Acting on a tip from a casting director, Ford meets with Patricia McQueeney, an agent specializing in up-and-coming actors.
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1973 |
Ford plays Bob Falfa, a bad-tempered drag racer, in "American Graffiti," a coming-of-age drama directed by George Lucas.
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1977 |
Thousands flock to see "Star Wars," the first in a sci-fi series directed by Lucas. Ford wins rave reviews for his portrayal of Han Solo, a reckless but resolute star-pilot.
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1979 |
Marquardt and Ford divorce after 15 years of marriage. Both remain close to the couple's two sons.
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1981 |
Ford plays the role of Indiana Jones in Stephen Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." His performance as an archaeology professor with a thirst for adventure certifies Ford's star status.
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1983 |
Ford marries Melissa Mathison, screenwriter of the Stephen Spielberg hit "E.T."
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1985 |
Ford earns his first and only Oscar nomination in "Witness" as a Philadelphia cop seeking to solve a murder and later save his own life in Amish country.
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1993 |
In between two roles as the Tom Clancy-created CIA hero Jack Ryan, Ford earns his third Golden Globe nomination for portraying a prison escapee out to prove his innocence in "The Fugitive."
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1994 |
UCLA honors Ford with its Spencer Tracy Award and National Association of Theatre Owners/ShoWest names Ford its "Star of the Century."
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1995 |
Ford earns his fourth and most recent Golden Globe nomination for his role in "Sabrina," playing a rich businessman who gets caught in a love triangle and falls for the daughter of the family's chauffeur. Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatrical roasts Ford upon giving him its prestigious "Man of the Year" award.
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1997 |
Ford takes on his most powerful role yet -- president of the United States -- thwarting a host of terrorist hijackers in "Air Force One." He earns a People's Choice award for his performance.
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2000 |
The American Film Institute honors Ford with its 28th Lifetime Achievement Award.
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2001 |
Ford ends his 18-year marriage with Mathison, with whom he had one daughter and one son. One year later, he begins a romantic relationship with "Ally McBeal" star Calista Flockhart, 36.
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