LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Harrison Ford: George Lucas
built 226 days ago
Leading man Harrison Ford's craggy features and powerful physical presence have enhanced some of Hollywood's most successful blockbusters of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Together, his films have grossed more than $3 billion, making him one of the biggest box-office draws ever. Under contract first to Columbia and then to Universal during the 60s, the admitted perfectionist opted out of the business and turned to carpentry, acting only occasionally before appearing as a drag racer in George Lucas' "American Graffiti" (1973)....
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Harrison Han Jabba Ford was born in Amritsar to Mr Model T Ford and Mrs Georgeta Bianchina-Ford (Nee Solo). There, he learned how to ride cows around his farm, and soon became national cow-riding champion at the age of 12. His education was rather stunted, though, and by the age of 15 he could barely calculate the square root of minus one, let alone recite pi to 100,000 places. This unfortunate situation did not deter his parents from seeing the talent within. They taught him to paint with his toes while playing the lute with his tongue. This got him several gigs with such notables as Ella Fitzgerald and Count Chocula.
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After Blade Runner, Ford returned to the familiar character of Han Solo in Return of the Jedi. Actually, Ford did not want to do Return at first. He wanted Han Solo to die, thinking it would be valiant for the character. Han Solo had a decidedly smaller role in the third installment than in the previous ones; the third movie focused mostly on Luke Skywalker and provided little character development for Han. The reason Han Solo was encased at carbonite at the end of Empire was because George Lucas was unsure if Ford would sign for the next movie, which he did, in the end, after much prodding from Lucas. The film, naturally, was a huge success.
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At that point, Ford decided that carpentry was more satisfying work than the shallow, tedious sitcom bits he was doing. By then he had a reputation as a top-notch carpenter, so he had plenty of work. He constructed a recording studio for Sergio Mendes, a sun deck for Sally Kellerman, and after The Godfather proved a huge hit, Ford was hired for an expansion of Francis Ford Coppola's office. A few months later, Ford was an actor again, working for producer Coppola and director George Lucas, playing the hot-rodder who raced Paul Le Mat in American Graffiti. He almost turned the role down, though -- carpentry paid better.
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Ford's luck as an actor began to change when a casting director friend for whom he was doing some construction helped him get a part in George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973). The film became an unexpected blockbuster and greatly increased Ford's familiarity. Many audience members, particularly women, responded to his turn as the gruffly macho Bob Falfa, the kind of subtly charismatic portrayal that would later become Ford's trademark.
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A Columbia Pictures talent scout spotted Ford at a Laguna Beach stage production and signed him to a contract under Columbias New Talent program, the studios attempt to make movie stars out of good-looking, unknown young actors and actresses. The stubborn, opinionated Ford was fired from Columbia after only 18 months and immediately signed a contract at Universal. After a series of minor roles in forgettable movies by both studios, Ford was working as a self-taught carpenter when he got the chance to audition for the low-budget coming-of-age movie American Graffiti(1973). In this surprise commercial success, Ford played a secondary role alongside stars Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss. The most important aspect of that film... was that it marked Fords first collaboration with director George Lucas.
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