biography
Born Cornelia Ford in The Bronx on July 1, 1923, actress Constance Ford attended St. Barnabas High School, a Catholic girls school in New York, during the depths of the
Great Depression. Following graduation, she began modeling for the Harry Conover modeling agency while a student at Hunter College. She made quite a splash
when cosmetics firm Elizabeth Arden used a photo of Ford posed with the American flag in an advertising campaign for Arden's "Victory Red" lipstick in 1942.
After completing her studies at Hunter College in 1945, she studied drama at the famed HB Studio in New York, which at the time had just opened. After several
years of stage work, Ford made her Broadway debut in February 1949 as Miss Forsythe, a prostitute, in the original production of Arthur Miller's Death of a
Salesman, which ran for 740 performances.Finding work on early New York-based television programs while acting onstage, in 1952 she was cast alongside James Dean in the Broadway production See the Jaguar, but the drama closed after only five performances. Ford then concentrated on television, acting in a number of popular New York-based programs such as Lights Out and Suspense. In 1954, she accepted the lead role in the short-lived CBS daytime drama Woman with a Past (1954) on which Ford portrayed a young mother whose past involved an illegitimate daughter, but the series was canceled after just seven months. During the following year, she was cast on another CBS daytime drama, Search for Tomorrow, staying on for about a year. As soap operas were usually broadcast live until the late 1960s, Ford's stage training made her a natural in the genre. Moving on to bigger things, her first theatrically released film was the MGM western The Last Hunt (1956; with Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger), shot in South Dakota. After a few more films, including the B western The Iron Sheriff (1957; with Sterling Hayden) the B drama Bailout at 43,000 (1957; with John Payne) and a couple of Broadway plays, Ford set her sights on Hollywood.    
LEFT: Mid 1950s portrait. CENTER A and B: Glamorous late 1950s photos. RIGHT: A 1968 shot of Ford from the NBC series Another WorldIn her mid 30s and no longer a Broadway ingenue, the still-glamorous Ford made a go of it in Hollywood in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her best role came in the Warner Bros. potboiler A Summer Place (1959; with Richard Egan and Troy Donahue). Her outstanding performance as Sandra Dee's bitter, hateful mother got her noticed, and she landed a number of other good film roles. Her early 1960s output includes another turn as a prostitute in MGM's Home from the Hill (1960; with Robert Mitchum and Eleanor Parker), the Warner Bros. romance Rome Adventure (1962; with Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette), and the 20th Century Fox thriller The Cabinet of Caligari (1962; with Glynis Johns and Dan O'Herlihy). With the end of her association with Warner Bros. in 1963, she decided to return to her native New York and take another stab at Broadway in the comedic play Nobody Loves an Albatross, in which Ford portrays a ruthless actress, actually a thinly veiled version of Lucille Ball. After 212 performances, the play closed. Ford's career in films, television, and on the stage slammed to a halt in the mid 1960s. While she had worked extensively in television, guest-starring on numerous programs from 1950 through the early 1960s, even these roles dried up. Needing work, in 1967 she took the role of Ada Lucas, an impoverished hairdresser whose daughter, Rachel, climbed the social ladder into a life of wealth and privilege, on the NBC daytime drama Another World. At the time, Another World was in danger of cancellation, and Ford, along with Robin Strasser in the role of Rachel, was credited with rescuing the show. |
the films of constance fordClimax! (1954–1958 CBS TV Series)
From a 1956 episode of the CBS anthology series Climax! titled The Chinese GameThe Iron Sheriff (1957)
With Kathleen Nolan, Darryl Hickman, and Sterling Hayden in the western The Iron SheriffA Summer Place (1959) 
LEFT: From the Warner Bros. romance A Summer Place with Dorothy McGuire, Troy Donahue, Arthur Kennedy, Sandra Dee, and Richard Egan. RIGHT: Ford turns in an excellent performance as Sandra Dee's frigid, tyrannical motherHome from the Hill (1960) 
LEFT: From MGM's drama Home from the Hill with George Hamilton. RIGHT: With Robert Mitchum and George PeppardThe Untouchables (1959-1963 ABC TV Series)
From a 1961 episode of ABC's The Untouchables titled The Nick Acropolis Story with Lee MarvinClaudelle Inglish (1961)
With Diane McBain in the Warner Bros. drama Claudelle InglishSurfside 6 (1960-1962 ABC TV Series)
From a 1961 episode of the ABC series Surfside 6 titled Little Star Lost. Also pictured is Troy DonahueAlcoa Premiere (1961-1963 ABC TV Series)
With Edward Andrews in a 1962 episode of Alcoa Premiere titled It Takes a ThiefThe Cabinet of Caligari (1962)
With Dan O'Herlihy and Glynis Johns in the 20th Century Fox thriller The Cabinet of Caligari, a remake of the classic 1920 German horror film The Cabinet of Dr. CaligariHouse of Women (1962) 
LEFT: With Barbara Nichols and Shirley Knight in the Warner Bros. prison drama House of Women. RIGHT: Ford as inmate Sophie BriceRome Adventure (1962)
With Suzanne Pleshette in the Warner Bros. romance Rome AdventureThe Caretakers (1963) 
LEFT: As Nurse Bracken, Ford wrestles with Polly Bergen in the drama The Caretakers. RIGHT: With Van WilliamsAnother World (1964–1999 NBC TV Series)
A 1975 promotional photo of Constance Ford as Ada Lucas from the long-running NBC daytime drama Another World. Ford was a cast member from 1967 to 1992later yearsSoon after Ford signed on to portray Ada Lucas on NBC's long-running Another World, the show became that network's highest-rated drama, thanks to Ford's intensity and a great storyline created around her character. She made only one more film, John Frankenheimer's comedy/adventure 99 and 44/100% Dead (1974; with Richard Harris, Bradford Dillman, and Chuck Connors). Otherwise, Ford stayed with the role until 1992, when illness prevented her from continuing. Constance Ford passed away on February 26, 1993 at age 69, after a bout with cancer. She was survived by her niece, screenwriter Katie Ford. |
filmographyFILM
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constance ford television appearances |
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This page premiered March 16, 2012.
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