Alan Ladd

Trivia of Alan Ladd (3 September 1913 – 29 January 1964)

*His father was an accountant who died when Alan Ladd was 3.On 1937, Ladd's mother, who was staying with him following the breakup of a relationship, asked Ladd for some money to buy something at a local store. Ladd gave her the money, thinking it was for alcohol. She purchased some arsenic-based ant paste from a grocer and died by suicide by drinking it in the back seat of Ladd's car.

*Alan Ladd's road to stardom had consisted of a series of unsuccessful attempts. Too blonde, too short, Hollywood's standards were implacable. He decide to move towards radio, where his fine baritone voice caught the attention of former actress Sue Carol, who would later become his wife. From that moment on, his film career took off and the rest.He continued to deliver wonderful performances such as the one in the noir radio series Box 13.

*He and Veronica Lake made seven movies together: The Blue Dahlia (1946), Duffy's Tavern (1945), The Glass Key (1942), Saigon (1947), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), This Gun for Hire (1942) and Variety Girl (1947). In Variety Girl (1947), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) and Duffy's Tavern (1945), they appear as themselves.

*Ladd's most famous role came in 1953 in 'Shane', playing the starring role of the mysterious gunman who uses his skills to help a family of settlers in their battle with a land baron. The last scene has become legendary with the young boy plaintively crying "Shane! Come back!" as the heroic Ladd rides into the sunset. The movie is considered a Western masterpiece and retains its powerful impact to this day.'Shane' marked the highpoint of Ladd's career

*He so badly wanted the title role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) that he personally pressed his case with director David Lean, but Lean cast Peter O'Toole in the part.

*In a 1961 interview, Ladd was asked, "What would you change about yourself if you could?" He replied tersely: "Everything".Ladd was a sensitive, troubled man with a history of alcoholism. He was nothing like the tough, wily he-men he portrayed on film.Throughout his life, Ladd suffered a series of illnesses and accidents. He also suffered badly from insomnia and found solace in sedatives and an ever increasing dependence on alcohol.

*In November 1962, he made an unsuccessful suicide attempt and was found unconscious after shooting himself. The incident was covered up as an accident by the studio. His death from an overdose in January 1964, although suspected to be suicide, was officially ruled to be accidental.He died at age 50 years old.