Take a look at the IMDb staff picks for the best movies and series coming in August.

Staff Picks: What to Watch in August

Get a closer look at the most searched stars on IMDb right now.

These Stars Are on the Rise

Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor turned advertising executive. His father was of Irish and German ancestry, while his maternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Minsk, Belarus. Harrison was a lackluster student at Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge Illinois (no athletic star, never above a C average). After dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he did some acting and later summer stock, he signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia and later Universal. His roles in movies and television (Ironside (1967), The Virginian (1962)) remained secondary and, discouraged, he turned to a career in professional carpentry. He came back big four years later, however, as Bob Falfa in American Graffiti (1973). Four years after that, he hit colossal with the role of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Another four years and Ford was Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Four years later and he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as John Book in Witness (1985). All he managed four years after that was his third starring success as Indiana Jones; in fact, many of his earlier successful roles led to sequels as did his more recent portrayal of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992). Another Golden Globe nomination came his way for the part of Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive (1993). He is clearly a well-established Hollywood superstar. He also maintains an 800-acre ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Ford is a private pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and owns an 800-acre (3.2 km2) ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. On several occasions, Ford has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the request of local authorities, in one instance rescuing a hiker overcome by dehydration. Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Idlewild Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour, he could not afford to continue the training. In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he soloed in. Ford is an honorary board member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.

On March 5, 2015, Ford's plane, believed to be a Ryan PT-22 Recruit, made an emergency landing on the Penmar Golf Course in Venice, California. Ford had radioed in to report that the plane had suffered engine failure. He was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was reported to be in fair to moderate condition. Ford suffered a broken pelvis and broken ankle during the accident, as well as other injuries.

(2000) TV commercial PSA for Earthshare (voiceover).

(2003) TV commercial: Conservation International

(2003) Print ad: Multiple Sclerosis Society

(2006) TV commercial, &quot;The Places You&#39;ll Go,&quot; during Super Bowl XL for ABC.

Spokesperson for EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and Young Eagles Program, replacing legendary <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0947015/?ref_=nmwrk">Chuck Yeager</a>, who broke the sound barrier in the X-1 over 50 years ago.

Stage: While in college in Ripon, WI, he appeared as Mack the Knife in the musical &quot;The Threepenny Opera&quot;.

(2011) Print ads, along with son Ben Ford, for the charitable ideas website www.CreateTheGood.org.

(2011) Print ads for America&#39;s Dairy Processor&#39;s &quot;Got milk?&quot; milk mustache campaign.

(2011) Print ads for America&#39;s Dairy Processors&#39; &quot;Got milk?&quot; milk mustache promotional campaign.

(2011) TV commercial: <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt1800763/?ref_=nmwrk">Uncharted 3: Drake&#39;s Deception (2011)</a>

(December 12, 1988) Guest on &quot;AM Cleveland&quot;.

(May 25, 1989) Guest on &quot;Live on Five&quot;.

(1990) READ by American Library Association

(2014) TV commercial PSA, &quot;Celebrities 2014, For More Than a Decade, Our Country Has Been at War, and as Our Service MembersWere Trained to Wage War, They Were Also Trained to Wage Leadership and Compassion and Teamwork, Our Military Veterans Were Trained to Wage Good. The GotYour6 Campaign is Dedicated to Waging Good&quot; with <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000640/?ref_=nmwrk">Martin Sheen</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0004266/?ref_=nmwrk">Anne Hathaway</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm2829737/?ref_=nmwrk">Gabourey Sidibe</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000148/?ref_=nmwrk">Harrison Ford</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0837177/?ref_=nmwrk">Jason Sudeikis</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000398/?ref_=nmwrk">Sally Field</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0447695/?ref_=nmwrk">Anna Kendrick</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000541/?ref_=nmwrk">Bette Midler</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000335/?ref_=nmwrk">Glenn Close</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000443/?ref_=nmwrk">Goldie Hawn</a>, and <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0177896/?ref_=nmwrk">Bradley Cooper</a>; for GotYour6.org.

(2000) TV commercial for &#39;Lancia&#39; with Portuguese actress <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0160393/?ref_=nmwrk">Ana Cristina de Oliveira</a>.

Other works

Harrison Ford

Contribute to this page

More from this person

More to explore

Recently viewed