To the left is the grave stone of John and Mary Ford. He was very proud that he was made an Admiral in the U.S. Navy. "1896-1979 Portland Me- Hollywood Mary Ford 1896-1979 His beloved wife of 59 years"
Due to my fascination with John Ford I have a built a library of his biographies as follows:
Pappy: the Life of John Ford by Dan Ford. This was written by his grand son and is the first biography I read. It's my favorite and the most sympathetic
Searching for John Ford A Life by Joseph McBride. The most extensive and the most researched . This bio corrects other bios that were victims of Ford's habit of "story telling"
John Ford by Peter Bogdanovich. Yes, that Peter Bogdanovich was a great admirer of John Ford and became his friend toward the end of Ford's life.
About John Ford by Lindsay Anderson. Anderson also became of friend of Ford in his later life.
John Ford a Biography by Andrew Sinclair
John Ford by Joseph McBride and Michael Wilmington
Print The Legend....The Life And Times of John Ford by Scott Eyman
John Ford.... Hollywood's Old Master by Ronald L. Davis
John Ford... The Man and His Films by Tag Gallaagher
John Ford Made Westerns.....Filming the Legend in the Sound Era
J.A. Place has written two books on John Ford's films called:
The Western Films of John Ford &
The Non-Western Films of John Ford
There are three other books that touch extensively on John Ford's life:
Katharine Hepburn by Barbara Leaming. This book goes into the relationship between Ford and Hepburn. Dan Ford, John's grand son ,denies parts of this bio. But as was said in Ford's film "The Man Who Shot liberty Valance" "When Legend becomes fact print the legend"
Company of hero's My life As An Actor In The John Ford Stock Company by Harry Carey,Jr
Tis Herself by Maureen O'Hara. Maureen talks about John Ford's obsession with her and makes allegations about Ford's sexual orientation. She ends by writing this about John Ford:
"Who was John Ford the man? To figure that out we must make sense of all his contradictions and reconcile the personal conflicts that he buried deep within himself and surrounded with walls built of secrecy, lies and aggression. This labyrinth was built stone by stone, like the Pyramids, and I don't believe the old man ever wanted to be found out or exposed in any way. An enigma? Absolutely---and of his precise making. .....he loved me very much and even thought that he was in love with me. Sadly, Mary Kate was only a character in a movie( The Quiet Man) and could never be his salvation..... So as I conclude my thoughts on John Ford, I reaffirm my respect, admiration, and friendship for him by saying "I love you too Pappy""
An "Enigma" maybe that's why he is so fascinating, "Print the Legend!"
Orsen Wells: "John Ford was my Teacher"
