BLACKBOARD JUNGLE....

Superman Actor Glenn Ford Dies at 90

THURSDAY AUGUST 31, 2006 08:00AM EST

Handsome leading man Glenn Ford – Rita Hayworth's gambler love interest in Gilda – was found dead in his Beverly Hills home by fire department paramedics just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. He was 90 and had suffered several strokes in recent years.

Ford's career spanned five decades and several genres, from romances and crime dramas to comedies and westerns. Besides the 1946 Gilda, his most memorable roles were in 1953's The Big Heat, 1955's The Blackboard Jungle, 1963's The Courtship of Eddie's Father, 1965's The Rounders and 1978's Superman, in which he played Jonathan Kent, the adoptive father of Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve).

"It comes to mind instantly what a remarkable actor he was," Sidney Poitier, Ford's co-star in The Blackboard Jungle, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. "He had those magical qualities that are intangible but are quite impactful on the screen. He was a movie star."

Born Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford in Quebec, Canada, Ford moved to Southern California with his family when he was eight. A 1930s career in West Coast theater led to his being signed to a 14-year contract by the imperious Columbia Pictures boss, Harry Cohn.