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Steven Ford

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For other people named Stephen Ford, see Stephen Ford (disambiguation).

Steven Ford
Steven Ford at the unveiling of a model of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) at the Pentagon in January 2007
Born
Steven Meigs Ford

(1956-05-19) May 19, 1956 (age 68)
East Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
EducationT. C. Williams High School
Alma materUtah State University
California State Polytechnic University
OccupationActor
Parents

Steven Meigs Ford (born May 19, 1956) is an American actor, and son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford.

Early life

Steven Ford with his mother, Betty Ford, in 1976

Ford was born in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, the third child and youngest son of former President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford. Ford graduated from T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 13, 1974, at which his father, then Vice President, gave the commencement address.[1] Ford attended Utah State University, studying range management;[2][3] while his older brother Jack studied forestry there. Ford also attended California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, where equine studies was his major field of study.

Career

Ford was cast in the film Grease (1978) as Tom Chisum, but dropped out before filming began and was replaced by Lorenzo Lamas, citing stage fright.[4] Ford joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 1981, creating the role of Private Investigator Andy Richards.[5] He was a regular member of the cast from 1981 to 1987 and briefly from 2002 to 2003.[5] Ford has since appeared in minor roles in a number of films and television series, including Escape From New York,[6] Babylon 5: In the Beginning, Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, Starship Troopers, When Harry Met Sally...,[5] Heat, Contact, Transformers. From 1992 to 1993, he hosted the short-lived series Secret Service.

Personal life

Ford serves on the board of trustees for the Gerald R. Ford Foundation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He describes himself as a "moderate Republican" and a "fiscal conservative." He also acknowledged that he suffered from alcoholism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although he still takes on occasional acting assignments, he spends most of his time raising money for charitable organizations and giving speeches and motivational talks to student groups on alcoholism.[7]

He has never been married. In 1991, he announced his engagement to Laura Carlos.[8] Later, he said that the marriage plans didn't go forward as he was working on his sobriety.[9]

On February 14, 1980,[10] he filed a lawsuit in California to determine if he was the legal father of a boy named Lawrence, born on December 16, 1979,[10] to Joy Malken.[11] He also filed for custody and/or visitation rights.[10] There was "a complete and amicable settlement" very shortly afterward, details being kept private.[12][13]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Cattle Annie and Little Britches Deputy Marshal
1981 Escape From New York Secret Service #2
1982 Young Doctors in Love Soap Cameos
1986 The Eleventh Commandment Tom Leary
1989 When Harry Met Sally... Joe
1990 Twenty Dollar Star Jim
1995 Heat Officer Bruce
1996 Eraser Knoland
1997 Midnight Blue Detective Dobkin
1997 Contact Major Russell
1997 Starship Troopers Lt. Willy
1997 Against the Law Lt. Bill Carpenter
1998 Babylon 5: In the Beginning Prometheus First Officer TV movie
1998 Armageddon Nuke Tech
1999 The Rage: Carrie 2 Coach Walsh
2001 Black Hawk Down Cribbs
2007 Transformers Four Star General (final film role)

Further reading

  • Wead, Doug, All the President's Children, Atria Books, New York, 2003, ISBN 0-7434-4631-3

References

  1. ^ https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0023/1686403.pdf
  2. ^ Deseret Morning News|President cherished his ties to Utah
  3. ^ Salt Lake Tribune - President Ford: Tremonton family stays close Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Gliatto, Tom; and O'Neill Anne-Marie. "Grease Is the Word: Twenty Years Later, the Stars Are Still True to Their School", People (magazine), April 13, 1998. Accessed September 13, 2011. "'I always felt Jan was the person most like the audience,' says Jamie Donnelly, 50, who dyed her prematurely gray hair to play the pigtailed Pink Lady. 'She wasn't as cool as the other ones.' The Teaneck, N.J., native now lives in La Canada, Calif., with her husband, screenwriter Stephen Foreman, son Sevi, 10, and daughter Madden Rose, 8."
  5. ^ a b c "Any Questions?". Soap Opera Weekly. February 13, 2007. p. 13.
  6. ^ Ford plays "Secret Service [agent] #2" guarding the President on Air Force One.
  7. ^ "CNN.com".
  8. ^ "Passages".
  9. ^ http://www.ncaddnj.org/2008/pdf/StarLedger2005Walk.pdf[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ a b c "Steve Ford Asks Child's Custody", The Modesto Bee, February 23, 1980
  11. ^ Steven Ford Files Paternity Suit in California, New York Times, February 22, 1980, p B8
  12. ^ Ford Suit Settled, New York Times, February 29, 1980, p B6, column 3
  13. ^ "People: Jul. 20, 1981". Time. July 20, 1981. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
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