Harrison Ford: Looking At The Star’s Life Through Photographs

Jul 13, 2021

Harrison Ford is known for starring in one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. He has created an immensely successful career for himself, pursued his hobbies and passions to the fullest extent and started a beautiful family along the way. He has starred in a plethora of great films, earned his pilot’s license and has advocated as an environmentalist. Harrison has been married a few times and has a few children, biological and adopted. While he is very well known in the land of Hollywood, Harrison has managed to keep his personal life, especially the lives of his children, pretty under wraps.

Harrison was born July 13, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. He lived humbly and graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1960. He began pursuing his love for the entertainment industry during this time, working with the school’s radio station WMTH. Harrison was the first student to voice a broadcast on the station as well as being the first sportscaster.

He went on to pursue a degree in philosophy at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. Harrison was known for being shy, so he looked for activities to help push him out of his comfort zone. He was also a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He took a risk and engaged in his first drama class in the last semester of his senior year. This is what led to Harrison’s fascination with acting. He decided to travel to Los Angeles, California, to try to get a radio voiceover job. He wasn’t successful but stayed in the state in hopes of pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.

We're taking a look back at his accomplished life and career. 

Columbia Pictures’ talent program signed Harrison with a $150-per-week contract and helped him attain small uncredited roles. He remained uncredited until 1967 when he landed a part in “A Time For Killing.” Harrison’s work with Universal Studios began around this time as well, leading into the late 1970s. He kept struggling to get roles and keep the roles he managed to attain. If he was lucky enough to do both of these things, then he seemed to struggle to receive credit for said roles. Finally, the stars aligned and Harrison secured an audition with George Lucas for a role in “American Graffiti.”

This helped his career pick up a bit and he began landing larger roles in the 1970s. Harrison’s previous work with Lucas led him to what could be considered the most successful role of his career. He was cast as Han Solo in the “Star Wars” franchise. The first film was a groundbreaking success, expanding Harrison’s career as well as castmates Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. The film received widespread acclaim and recognition.

Lucas was working on a collaboration with another film director, Steven Speilberg. This companionship catapulted Harrison into yet another led role in an insanely successful movie franchise, “Indiana Jones.”

Harrison has become a household name and continues to shape the acting industry today. It’s no surprise that he’s been awarded for his longevity and hard work in the field. He received his first and only Academy Award nomination for his part in the movie “Witness.” The actor has also received Golden Globes nominations and awards. He also received the AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 2000.

The actor has also gotten involved with a few nonprofit organizations. He is the vice-chairman of Conservation International, an American nonprofit environmental organization. The group’s main intent is to protect nature. Harrison has also shown his life for archaeology not just on the big screen, but in his everyday life. He currently serves as the General Trustee on the Governing Board of the Archaeological Institute of America.

Harrison started accepting more diverse supporting roles in 2013 and ventured out into other movie genres, like thrillers. He then reprised his role as Han Solo in the 2015 movie, “Stars Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.” While the acting may have come easily to the star, the filming was not such a smooth process. Harrison suffered an ankle injury while filming and was airlifted to a hospital.

Harrison has suffered quite a number of injuries because of his love of aviation. The star is a licensed pilot of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. He has worked with a number of instructors to master his passion. Harrison has even provided emergency helicopter services in Wyoming on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, he was involved in a crash on October 23, 1999. While piloting the aircraft over the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California, Harrison accidentally dropped it too low in altitude for the helicopter to recover power. The helicopter ended up hitting the ground. Luckily, Harrison nor the instructor suffered any injuries although the aircraft was severely damaged.

Another incident happened many years later where Harrison was not able to come out completely unscathed. He made an emergency landing on March 5, 2015, due to engine failure. Harrison suffered a broken pelvis and ankle during the accident, as well as some other minor injuries.

While mastering the world of acting and partaking in his hobby of flying, Harrison found time to settle down and start a family. The star has actually been married three times. His first wife was Mary Marquardt. The couple had two children together. He had two more children with his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison.

Mathison was born June 3, 1950 in Los Angeles, California. She joined the entertainment industry with some help and encouragement from family friends. Her family was friends with Francis Ford Coppola, a central figure in American filmmaking, directing, producing and screenwriting. Coppola offered Mathison a job as his assistant on the set of “The Godfather Part II,” which she happily took. He also encouraged her to write “The Black Stallion,” Mathison’s screenplay based on the book by the same name. The work caught Speilberg’s attention, eventually helping launch Mathison’s career.

Mathison went on to work with Speilberg on a few other films. Her most notable work was “E.T: the Extra Terrestrial,” which gave both Mathison and Speilberg incredible recognition. The film earned the screenwriter the Saturn Award for Best Writing and a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Mathison’s final film credit was her third piece of work with Speilberg, “The BFG.” The acclaimed screenwriter passed away on November 4, 2015, in Los Angeles from neuroendocrine cancer.

Harrison married his current wife, Calista Flockhart, in 2010. Flockhart had previously adopted a boy named Liam prior to their marriage, adding yet another addition to the star's family.

Happy birthday, Harrison Ford! What's your favorite Ford movie? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this on to your loved ones!