Alan Ladd Biography

Fast Facts

• While playing with matches as a child, he burned down the apartment where he and his mother lived
• By the time he was 8, he had jobs picking fruit, delivering newspapers and sweeping floors; poverty also led to his suffering from malnutrition-related stomach ailments
• Opened a hamburger shop after graduating high school called Tiny's Patio; "Tiny" had been a nickname in school due to his height
• His introduction to the entertainment industry included working as a grip for Warner Brothers; as he gravitated to small film roles, one included his portrayal of a faceless reporter in Orson Welles' 1941 classic Citizen Kane
• After making a name for himself as a screen bad guy, he took on what proved to be his best-remembered acting part, as an honest (and troubled) character in the title role in the 1953 classic Shane
• Was among the top money-making stars in 1947, 1953 and 1954
• Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and his handprints and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre