Alan Ladd was one of the top actors in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Despite growing up destitute, and moving around a lot, he managed to slowly carve out a career
in the movie industry and became an incredibly popular leading man.
Ladd was known for being handsome, blond-haired, and short.
Reports of his height varied from 5 foot 5 to 5 foot 9.
And while short leading men in quite common in Hollywood now, in those days it was more
common for actors to be on the taller side.
So Ladd’s height was notable in that way.
Sadly though, his rough childhood and his physical traits led him to a life of emotional
turmoil.
While he enjoyed a lot of acting success in the 1940s and into the ‘50s, his life, and
career were during a serious downturn after that.
By the early 1960s, his career had stalled out.
And what’s worse, he had developed alcoholism and intensifying emotional issues that ultimately
led to his early demise.
In this video, we're taking a look at his death and the film that came out afterward,
as well as some interesting stories and facts about this star's life and career.
So join Facts Verse, as we take a look at how Alan Ladd's last screen role was released
after his untimely death.
Alan Ladd was one of the classic movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
While he got somewhat of a late start, in Hollywood terms, he was able to move his way
up the ladder and find huge success.
Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1913, Ladd’s father died of a heart attack when the boy
was only 4.
His mother eventually took him to Oklahoma City, where she remarried.
A couple of years later, the three moved to the Los Angeles area.
It was there that Ladd first had a taste of acting, performing in The Mikado at his high
school.
Amazingly, a talent scout was in the audience for one of his performances and took a liking
to young Alan’s abilities.
As such, he was offered a contract with Universal Pictures as a rising young discovery.
And while that contract didn’t yield much work (and Ladd was eventually dropped from
Universal after they decided he was too short and too blond) it did give him a taste of
success that he was then able to chase.
Ladd Becomes a Hollywood Hit Alan got the acting bug and began auditioning
for roles in town.
And, like, many actors, he had to pay his dues before finding success.
He spent most of the 1930s working steadily, but nothing more than work as an unnamed extra.
He played sailors, soldiers, and other important but unnamed parts with no lines.
But after a decade of toil, he had a breakout role at age 29.
He starred in This Gun For Hire, alongside Veronica Lake.
This immediately turned him into Hollywood's latest hot up-and-comer.
He followed up that movie with a string of successful detective movies.
And while he was never the primary good guy, he became a star for his portrayal of cool
and calculating villains.
So despite never being the lead in a movie, per se, he developed into one of the most
popular leading men in Hollywood during the 1940s.
Ladd’s controversial death Alan lived a wild and tumultuous life.
He experienced the peaks of fame and stardom, yet sank to the intense lows of alcoholism
and other health issues.
By the 1960s, Ladd’s career had all but stalled out.
He had never been truly comfortable with being a movie star in the first place.
For instance, he lacked basic confidence in his looks, despite literally being a face
adored by millions.
He’s on record as saying he had the face of an “aging choirboy.”
He was equally dissatisfied with his build, and once mocked that his body looked like
a featherweight boxer suffering from malnutrition.
He was also full of self-doubt about his talents as an actor.
The combination of these traits, plus his tendency to drink throughout his life, only
pushed him further into the depths of alcoholism.
This, in turn, made him look bloated and less attractive, which made him less likely to
get roles.
So it was a vicious cycle of sorts.
In 1962 he was involved in a strange accident where he ended up shooting himself in the
chest with a handgun.
He was badly injured but survived it.
Ladd later claimed it was a freak accident.
But there was also speculation that he was attempting to kill himself.
Sadly, he didn’t last much longer after the incident.
He died in his sleep in 1964 at age 50 from a mix of alcohol, sleeping pills, and barbiturates.
There was continued speculation that he had killed himself, though it was never ruled
a suicide.
His Posthumous Appearance While Ladd had been having trouble getting
roles in the years before this death, he did manage to work occasionally.
And the roles he did get in those later years tended to do very poorly at the box office.
However, one of his biggest hits was released after his untimely death.
He had a role in “The Carpetbaggers” that he filmed shortly before his death.
The movie came out in theaters after Ladd died, however.
But it ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies of that year.
It was perhaps a fitting ending to a man with a ton of talent and success, but who never
quite felt comfortable with his success.
Before we dive into some more interesting trivia about Alan Ladd’s life, be sure to
give this video a like, and subscribe to Facts Verse if you haven’t already!
Ladd’s Tiny Frame Ladd was known for being one of the shortest
actors in Hollywood and managed to have a strong career in spite of it.
However, being teased a child about it gave him a complex that he never managed to get
rid of.
When Alan initially moved to LA with his mom and stepfather, he was the oldest in his grade.
Yet the family was incredibly poor, so he was quite malnourished and skinny.
Beyond that, he was also quite short.
As such, his classmates took to immediately calling him “Tiny.”
They also constantly teased and bullied Ladd, due to his small stature.
This stuck with Ladd and contributed to his emotional turmoil as an adult.
Though there was at least one good thing about his small frame.
Once he managed to fill out a bit more, his frame was perfect for swimming and diving.
Ladd became so good at both that he actually tried out for the Olympic team.
But sadly, he had a head injury during a practice that soured the experience.
He decided to quit swimming and diving and work on other things.
Since he was already in LA, it made sense to at least try to find work in the entertainment
business.
As a young man, he was able to get a low-level job at Warner Bros., working as a grip.
But his string of tough luck when it came to his body continued at that job too.
Not long after taking the job, he managed to fall off of some scaffolding on the Warner
Bros. lot.
While he wasn’t badly injured, the fall took enough of a physical toll that he decided
to immediately quit the job.
However, he was still enamored of the Hollywood scene, so he set his sights on acting instead
of working behind the camera.
He Met His Wife Via The Radio Ladd was married and divorced in his early
days, and found himself single once again.
He’d gained enough career traction that he’d been cast on a radio show.
He was voicing the parts of a father and a son and was quite adept at both.
At the same time, a former silent film actress and current agent named Sue Carol heard Ladd’s
performance and was impressed.
She particularly liked the way he was able to seamlessly move from one character to the
next and make them both sound convincing.
She set about to meet up with Ladd, to potentially represent him.
Ladd was excited at the possibility and agreed.
But what neither of them knew was that they’d soon be much more than business partners.
They soon became romantically involved, and Carol signed Ladd to her agency.
She became his girlfriend and his industry advocate all in one fell swoop!
A few years later, the two got married.
Reportedly there were some in town who felt this marriage might have been one of convenience,
but Ladd and Carol always insisted it was a relationship built on genuine love.
Ladd’s life and career were, in some ways, a classic Hollywood story.
He came from poverty, and unstable family life.
But he managed to slowly work his way up and achieve stardom.
And yet, this stardom, along with the emotional issues he had throughout his life, ultimately
led to a tragic and early death.
It’s a bittersweet story of a man who, on one hand, was a talented and handsome actor,
and on the other, was a troubled and emotional wreck.
Now it’s time to hear from you.
What’s your favorite memory of Alan Ladd?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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if you haven’t already.
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