Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-born actor who held dual Canadian and American citizenship. His career lasted more than 50 years. Although he played many different roles, Ford was best known for playing ordinary men in unusual circumstances. He was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age.
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford was born on May 1, 1916 in Sainte-Christine-d'Auvergne, Quebec, the son of Hannah Wood (née Mitchell) and Newton Ford, an engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Through his father, Ford was a great-nephew of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and also related to U.S. President Martin Van Buren. In 1922, when Ford was 6, the family moved first to Venice and then to Santa Monica, California; Newton became a motorman for the Venice Electric Tram Company, a job he held until he died at age 50 in 1940.