Alan Ladd.

Cheryl Ladd of Charlie’s Angels is not Ladd’s daughter but was his daughter-in-law, married to his son David for seven years.

Ladd turned down the role of Jett Rink in Giant 1956 played by James Dean and Spencer Tracy’s role in Bad Day at Black Rock 1955.

Ladd ranked tenth in the Motion Picture Herald popularity poll in 1947, then ranked #1 from 1948 to 1950.

In 1954, Ladd and Barbara Stanwyck won top spots in Modern Screen‘s Star of Stars Award as the most popular actors of the previous decade.

From the mid-1930s, Ladd attended meetings at George Cukor‘s house. A fan of the 1926 version of The Great Gatsby, he starred in the 1949 remake to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor.

Ladd was voted one of the top ten stars in 1947, 1953, and 1954.

In 1943, Modern Screen magazine ran 16 stories on Ladd across 12 issues.

Ladd was the second actor to portray Jay Gatsby in a major film, after Warner Baxter 1926, followed by Robert Redford 1974 and Leonardo DiCaprio 2013.

Ladd fathered Alan Ladd Jr. with first wife Marjorie Harrold, and Alana and David Ladd with second wife Sue Carol. He is the grandfather of Jordan Ladd.

Ladd’s former Palm Springs home is featured on bus tours, and an office building there bears his name.

To compensate for his 5’6 height, Ladd often stood on boxes or ramps. While filming Boy on a Dolphin 1957 with 5’8 Sophia Loren on sand, the crew dug a trench for Loren to stand in.

Ladd received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1601 Vine Street on February 8, 1960.

In 1945, Modern Screen readers ranked Ladd fourth in popularity.

In 1956, Ladd proposed a TV series based on his radio show Box 13, but it didn’t sell. He later hoped to reunite co-stars William Bendix and Veronica Lake for a big-screen version.

Ladd was a chain smoker.

Ladd was a staunch Republican who campaigned for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952.

Ladd’s father, an accountant, died when Ladd was four.

In Botany Bay 1952, Ladd’s character is keelhauled, a punishment rarely suffered by a Hollywood leading man.

Ladd’s parents were Selina Ina Raleigh and Alan Harwood Ladd. His father was born in Wisconsin to a Colonial American family of English descent, and his mother was English.

As a child, Ladd’s playing with matches set the family home on fire, resulting in his father’s death.

Ladd’s characters endured floggings in two movies: Two Years Before the Mast 1946 with 10 lashes and Botany Bay 1952 with 50 lashes.

Ladd studied at the Ben Bard School of Acting.

Ladd played Dan Holiday on Mutual Radio’s Box 13 from 1948 to 1949.

Ladd and his co-star Veronica Lake both died at age 50 from alcohol-related causes.

A photo of Ladd’s flogging in Two Years Before the Mast appears on the cover of the 2004 book Lash! The Hundred Great Scenes of Men Being Whipped in the Movies.

Ladd’s second wife, Sue Carol, was also his agent and convinced Paramount to cast him as Raven in This Gun for Hire 1942. They remained married until his death and had two children, David and Alana.

Ladd’s daughter Carol is married to film executive John Veitch.