Alan Ladd is an American film actor and producer who has appeared in over 70 films. He often played in crime thrillers and westerns. Alan Ladd's life off set was filled with family tragedies. The actor lived for only 50 years and ended his days with suicide.
Alan Ladd was the golden boy in Hollywood. The actor, blond with bright blue eyes, looked great on the screen and played reporters, gangsters, soldiers, sailors. But none of the 50 film works were nominated for prestigious film awards.
Childhood and early years of the actor
Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. was born on September 3, 1913 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA to Ina Rayleigh and Alan Ladd Sr.
His mother immigrated to America from England when she was 19 years old. She raised her son on her own while her father traveled around the country, earning money. Soon a tragedy came to the family: Alan's father died suddenly, leaving the family without monetary income. The boy was 4 years old.
A year later, another misfortune came. Alan accidentally started a fire in the apartment, as a result of which the family lost a roof over their heads.
In search of a better life, Alan and his mother left for Oklahoma. Soon the boy's mother met a painter and married him. The stepfather moved the family to California in search of a better job. At the age of 8, Alan started working part time picking fruit, delivering newspapers and sweeping floors to help the family make ends meet.
The boy was sent to high school, where Alan began to participate in school plays. Despite his fragile appearance, the young man went in for sports, distinguished himself in swimming and athletics. A year later, in 1932, Alan Ladd went to participate in the Olympics. However, in training, Alan was injured and was removed from participation in a sports event.
Even during the economic crisis of the 1930s, Alan Lad did not sit without work. He was a petrol station operator, hot dog seller, lifeguard.
Actor career in Hollywood
By force of circumstances, Alan Ladd got into the realm of show business. At first he was entrusted with small roles in radio plays, and then Ladd got the opportunity to participate in theatrical productions.
In 1937, tragedy again came to Ladd. First, he lost his stepfather. And then the mother, who borrowed some money from her son, bought the poison and drank it in the back seat of his car. This caused Alan a mental trauma, which made the actor addicted to alcohol.
Ladd later took a job at Warner Bros. Luck smiled at Alan, and after supporting roles he was cast as a reporter in the 1941 classic Citizen Kane. Thanks to the tenacity and perseverance of the agent and former actress Sue Carol, Alan was invited to take part in more prominent roles.
The next year, a breakthrough came in the career of a novice actor. Alan Ladd was offered to play a hitman named Raven in the thriller Gun for Hire. After this image, the young and handsome actor woke up famous.
This was followed by films: the crime drama The Glass Key, the main roles in the crime detective The Blue Dahlia and the thriller Saigon.
Proposals to appear in films came one after another.
In 1949, Alan Ladd embodied the image of Jay Gatsby on the screen in the film adaptation of Francis Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby.
A few years later, the picturesque western "Shane" appeared on the big screens, where Ladd played the positive role of a horseman, who meets one family and becomes its protector from the imperious villain Riker.
In 1957, Alan Ladd starred with Sophia Loren in the melodrama Boy on the Dolphin. In it, the actor embodied the image of a scientist named Jim Calder, who is trying to investigate the rarest ancient golden statue found by a girl on the seabed. An interesting fact is that Alan Ladd turned out to be shorter in life (168 cm) than Sophia Loren (175 cm), and the director had to go to different tricks on the set to make Ladd's character seem taller. For his work in this film, Alan Ladd received the largest fee in his career - 290 thousand dollars.
The last film work of the American actor was the melodrama "Bigwigs" in 1964.
Alan Ladd's personal life
The Hollywood actor has been married twice. At the very beginning of his film career, Alan Ladd met Maryory Jane Harold, whom he married in October 1936. From this marriage, the couple had a son.
A few years later, Ladd met Sue Carol of Jewish origin. She became his agent and in every possible way promoted the aspiring actor in Hollywood. A romantic relationship began between them, despite the fact that Sue was seven years older than Alan.
Alan Ladd divorced his wife and married Sue Carol in 1942. From the second marriage, the actor had two more children. The couple lived together until the death of the actor.
In addition to filming, Alan Ladd actively invested in real estate finance. He also owned a large poultry farm and sold chicken eggs. Ladd also owned a large hardware store.
Death of Alan Ladd
The actor's life was filled with family tragedies, as a result of which Alan Ladd became addicted to alcohol. This bad habit affected the appearance of the handsome actor: extra pounds appeared, his face became swollen. Due to alcoholism, the actor was less invited to participate in the filming in the 1960s.
Throughout his life, Alan Ladd also suffered from the complex due to his height. In many romantic scenes in cinema, the actor had to be put on a box.
In 1962, Alan Ladd tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a pistol.
Two years later, Alan Ladd mixed alcohol, barbiturates, and sleeping pills. The outcome was fatal. The actor was found at home on January 24, 1964. The true reasons for the actor's suicide are unknown. Alan Ladd was 50 years old.
