Why Famous:John Ford was a legendary film director whose career spanned the silent era through to the 1960s. Throughout his career Ford was particularly associated with westerns such as "The Searchers" (1956).
Ford won a record 4 Best Director Academy Awards, including one for "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) and "The Quiet Man" (1952).
In 1941 his film "How Green Was My Valley" famously beat "Citizen Kane" to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
1920-07-03 Film director John Ford (26) weds Mary Smith (25)
Historical Events in the Life of John Ford
1934-09-28 "Judge Priest" film directed by John Ford, starring Will Rogers is released
1935-09-06 "Steamboat Round the Bend" film directed by John Ford and starring Will Rogers released weeks after Rogers' death
1940-01-24 "The Grapes of Wrath", directed by John Ford and based on John Steinbeck's novel of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell, is released
1941-10-28 "How Green Was My Valley" based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn, directed by John Ford and starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara premieres in New York (Best Picture 1942)
1952-07-21 "The Quiet Man" film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara is released in the UK
1956-03-13 "The Searchers" American western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood is released
David Lean
Jill Soloway
Peter Jackson
Philippe de Broca
Richard Linklater
Stanley Kubrick