Publicity Updates - Check this page for future news about Glenn Ford: A Life.

May 1, 2013

Peter and Lynda have sold their home (formerly Glenn Ford's home) in Beverly Hills and are moving to Burbank, California effective July 1st.  Peter's book will continue to be available through his web site and Amazon.com. 

The University of Wisconsin Press has made an arrangement with Audible.com for the release of Glenn Ford: A Life for the release of an audio version of the book. It will be available later this year.

Beginning on October 8th Peter and Lynda will be in Barcelona (Spain), Venice and Rome (Italy) for an extended stay.  We will return home at the end of November. 

July 1, 2011

The link below will take you to the TCM.COM page which daily for the month of July will run six one half-hour radio shows featuring Peter Ford. The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only weekly half hour show (broadcast every Friday 1:00-1:30 P.M. EST on WMPGFM) devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to:

May 7, 2011:

Ford, Peter. Glenn Ford: A Life. Univ. of Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Film Studies). Jun. 2011. c.344p. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780299281540. pap. $24.95. 

There have been several biographies of film stars written by their children; some are infamous, a few are influential, many are bitter, and others willingly embrace the mythology of the famous parent. Peter Ford’s biography of his father, the actor Glenn Ford, is a frank portrait of a conflicted man and a respected star of Golden Age Hollywood. Glenn lived long enough to witness both the steady decline of his fame and the deaths of many of his friends and colleagues and was, on a fundamental level, unable to open his life to his son. Peter succeeds in objectively revisiting his father’s life and work while peeling back without fear the painful layers in their mutual history. What emerges is a fascinating biography of an often overlooked actor who in his long career starred in many classic films, including Gilda, Blackboard Jungle, and 3:10 to Yuma. VERDICT This biography should rank with Maria Riva’s Marlene Dietrich as one of the best examples of a family biography and should appeal to film scholars and film fans alike.—Teri Shiel, Westfield State Univ. Lib., MA

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviewsbook

Really strikes all the right notes. Congratulations!  Peter,  this is a fantastic review!  It will run in the next print issue of Library Journal.  All Best,  Chris Caldwell, UW Press Publicity Manager

May 5, 2011:

A notice from the University of Wisconsin Pres.  The availability of the book in English in all of continental Europe is handled by the UW Press distributor in these markets by Eurospan.  See link:
http://www.eurospanbookstore.com.

In general it takes about 6 weeks from the declared publication of the US edition (May 12) for the books to ship over to the Eurospan warehouse and become available for customer orders. Glenn Ford: A Life should be available on their website in mid to late June.

May 22, 2011:

THE LATEST FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS

Glenn Ford: A Life is available now in stock on line and in book store nationally. Peter and his wife Lynda will be embarking on a PA tour this summer and fall and look forward to meeting you (see the Public Appearances link). If you would like Peter and Lynda to come to your area, please arrange for their transportation, food and lodging, confirm the schedule, and soon they will be on their way to share the many stories of Hollywood Golden Age.  It's going to be a busy summer and fall.  Bless each and every one of you who purchases the book. Peter is looking forward to meeting you and inscribing Glenn Ford: A Life  

January 18, 2011:

THE LATEST FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS

The estimated page count for Glenn Ford: A Life  is 312 pages.  The pages will be composed in the next week or so, and then we will have a firm page count. The book will have 28 photos, a filmography and index.  The paperbacks will be printed near the end of March, and the U.S. publication date is in early May.  We expect that the special, limited run of 300 hardcovers will be ready for you in mid-to-late April.

There will also be an e-book, available on several platforms. The e-book will be available for downloads in April or May.  It will be available in the popular Kindle format, and also in other formats. The format that customers (anywhere in the world) will be able to purchase and download from our own UW Press web page for the book ( http://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4293.htm ) can be read on computers, i-Pads, smart phones, Sony Readers, etc.  There is an explanation (About our e-books) on the book's web page.

All of the following web sites can now take pre-orders now for the book.  There are probably other bookselling sites, including some in other countries, listing it now as well.  The book data and descriptions are posted. So far, the book cover image appears only on the UW Press site, but the cover will show up eventually on the other sites.  They should all be able to ship books in April 2011, or May at the latest.

• UW Press  http://uwpress.wisc.edu (This page isn't searchable on our web site quite yet, so you do have to use this URL to reach the page).

• Amazon (US)  http://www.amazon.com

• Barnes & Noble (US)  http://search.barnesandnoble.com

• Borders (US)  http://www.borders.com

• Chapters/Indigo  (Canada)  http://www.chapters.indigo.ca
  

Our list price for the paperback is US$24.95, but Amazon is currently charging a discounted price of $16.47.  Barnes & Noble (BN.com) is charging  $16.30.  Borders is charging full price (US$24.95).  Chapters in Canada is offering an on-line price of $17.49 Canadian, or a member price of $16.62 Canadian.   We charge full price on our UW Press site.   What price the various vendors charge, and whether and when they change the price, depends on their own business policies.  Sometimes the discount is only for pre-publication orders or just-published books, but the price goes back to list price later. People buying books in an actual store will usually be paying full price, unless there's a coupon or something.

For customers outside the US, prices will vary depending on currency exchange and import costs, etc.  Customers in other countries can ask their favorite bookstore to order the paperback for them, or they can search on their favorite bookselling website, using this information:  Glenn Ford: A Life by Peter Ford, University of Wisconsin Press, Paperback ISBN 0-299-28154-X. 

As to the question if the book will be published only in English, and whether an audiobook version will be available.  Our rights manager, Anne McKenna, will contact foreign-language publishers and audiobook publishers once we have page proofs, inviting them to make us an offer on licensing language or audio rights.  If you like, you could ask your contacts in France, Brazil,  Italy and Germany and other non-English-speaking countries to send you suggestions about which publishers would be ideal choices to publish a translation in French, Portuguese, etc. 

November 1, 2010:

The editing is complete. I have proofed the manuscript and returned it to the Press. All that remains now is for an index to be created based on the final page layout. We have now pre-sold about 80 of the 300 limited edition hardback copies (see May 10, 2010 entry). Anyone who is interested in purchasing one of these special edition should contact us promptly for the details. We are currently planning advanced publicity to herald the forthcoming publication of Glenn Ford: A Life and we shall keep you apprised about future news through this site or you can join our email book newsletter list. Just click on the "Book Notes" link on this website.

July 22, 2010:

The contract between the Press and Peter was executed and the manuscript was sent to copy editing. There was an agreement on the 28 photos and that were submitted to Press for inclusion in the final book and the parties are looking forward to a publishing date of spring, 2011 - most likely in May.

May 10, 2010:

Today the completed and revised manuscript of the Glenn Ford Biography was sent to the University of Wisconsin Press (Press) for final approval. The Press had decided that the book will only be published as a paperback. Peter and his family who wanted at least a few hardback copies for themselves agreed to personally pay for a hardcover with dust jacket edition of 300 copies. In the fall of 2010 a newsletter will be forthcoming about how one might buy this exclusive , inscribed and numbered special edition.

November 1, 2009:

The manuscript has been accepted by The University of Wisconsin Press. The proposed publishing date will be January / February 2011. For anyone who wants to keep apprised of what is happening during the 15 month development process can do so by joining the email list. I will continue to send out a periodic emails when new book related information is available.

July 1, 2009

The book is finally complete!  I'm continuing to edit the contents to conform with a word count that might be acceptable to a prospective publisher.   I know it’s been a long wait for most of you and for that I apologize but there were extenuating circumstances.  I'm pressing ahead diligently.

The finished biography will be composed of fifteen chapters and an epilogue.  It will have photos, a filmography, bibliography and an index.  We are exploring how best to get it published.  In this wretched economy the book publishing market has been one of many industries that have been challenged but we're pressing ahead.  

Thank you for your enduring patience – Peter Ford

September 28, 2008

Announcement: Auction of Eleanor Powell and Glenn Ford Estate: October 4 - 6, 2008

Peter is auctioning allot of his parents' estate with Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas. www.ha.com/entertainment. These are great items that deserve to belong to fans! There is also an interview from Peter Ford discussing these items he's auctioning. Click here to download the catalog in .pdf form.

Peter Ford, author of Glenn Ford: A Life.

August 1, 2008

Hello everyone. I’m back with you again for an update on things concerning my father and the forthcoming biography of his life and career. I know some of you despaired that I might have been wandering in the wilderness somewhere (again) – forever lost, but this spring has brought a great number of things for Lynda and me to deal with, mostly good – some not so good, but I’m sure like all of you we press forward into the wind and I’m writing you now to share some news.

I will try to constrain myself and deal strictly with matters concerning the biography as this is the genesis of why we’re communicating, but if I digress a bit, it’s only because I know that some of you are curious about all things ‘Glenn Ford’ and this book is but one aspect. Let me just say beyond the book there is a lot of other news!

OK, enough of the preamble. The crafting of the book continues unabated but as I mentioned before slowly but surely. My prosaic co-conspirator has still been preoccupied with other pressing things in his creative life but we will get it finished this summer. I would say at this point, based on the finished pages I have in hand, a finish date would reasonably be by October 1st. That is the good news. The problem, if that’s the word, is the added time that a publisher will take to actually complete the proofreading, editing, legal vetting, fact checking, the selection and photo rights process, then having the galley sheets submitted for review and all the other aspects that go into the putting together of a book before a manuscript goes to print and is available in book stores. I have never published anything before but assuming we can get a reputable house to publish the book, which Lee feels we can, it can take six to eight months – or more. My feeling is that a year from today would be a best case scenario for the book to be available for purchase, and more likely next summer, but it will be next year.

I do want to tell you that I solely continue to put together my other book which I previously mentioned which will deal with a number of my father’s films that will not be in a biographical format. This book is nearly finished now and I hope will be an attractive companion to the biography. Whether I can interest a publisher with this project remains to be seen.

Lynda and I leave next weekend to go to Dallas, Texas to do P. R. work on my father’s auction. Most of you know about this pending event, but for those who don’t, let me mention this to you. Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, Texas (www.ha.com) will be offering most everything that we have here in the house that relates to my father’s career (with some of my mother’s memorabilia as well) for auction on the weekend of October 5 and 6. There is no mention of this pending auction on their site yet but there will be soon. The auction will be on line via the Internet about a month before the final bid date, and in-person there will be the opportunity to view the items in Dallas, Texas. I don’t want to say too much about this now as the details are still in formation but in our effort to consolidate the thousands of items we have in the house, we have decided to consign things to this very fine auction company. I will send out another email newsletter with more details on this later this summer but for now be advised that that October 5/6 might be a date to mark your calendars. I’m not suggesting you bid on anything but I think you might be curious to see what is being offered.

Between getting all this material selected, photographed, inventoried, packed and shipped to Dallas, working on the book(s) I'm writing, trying to survive in this horrid economy that we’re all mired in, continuing to be a dutiful husband and father and making plans to sell Dad’s house and trying to figure to where we might move one day, has taken a lot of time and energy. The book remains a top priority however, and through all this I shall do everything in my power to get it done and published as fast as humanly possible.

I could share far more information with you but I won’t burden you with the other family news now. I simply wanted to let you all know that I’m still here, working away on many fronts, so don’t despair – the book will be available and I do apologize that you have had to wait so long. I will make an effort to send another newsletter in September when the book situation might be clearer and I will certainly have a lot more ‘auction’ news by then.

Blessings to all of you and we’ll ‘talk’ again at the end of the summer.

September 1, 2007

The Glenn Ford Biography should be complete next year after many false starts. While the book has taken far too long to write the problems have been manifested by numerous unanticipated events, not the least of which was Glenn's passing on August 30, 2006. Peter is working diligently with a new co-author (who's name will be known to many of you) to help shape the story. It is anticipated that the long wait for the Glenn Ford biography will be over soon. The details about the book, the co-authorship and other pertinent information will be sent to everyone who has requested to be added to the "book notification list" in an email/or post depending on your requirements next year.

August 17, 2007

GLENN FORD AMONG STARS WHO'LL ENTER KANAB'S 'WALK OF FAME' - from deseretnews.com

"With his rugged good looks and his great love of horses, Glenn Ford -- who died last year at age 90 -- was a natural for the Westerns that were so popular during the heyday of his acting career.

And many of those Westerns were shot in Kanab, including "The "Desperadoes" in 1943 and "The Long Ride Home" in 1967.

While filming "The Long Ride Home," Ford told the Deseret News that he was happy to be in Kanab because he believed "movies must be done on location wherever possible. The public has become too smart and too wise. They know when you're faking a scene."

Although he was in virtually every film genre, Ford said, "Westerns are among my favorites. I like to ride. Have done a lot of riding ever since I was down in Kanab to make a movie 26 years ago. I say if you can't ride a horse you have no business doing a Western."

Lynda and Peter Ford at Western Legends Roundup Film Festival Kanab, Utah, August 2007 click on photo for larger view

In honor of Ford's work in Kanab and his body of work in Westerns, Ford will be among the inductees to Kanab's "Little Hollywood Walk of Fame" at this year's Western Legends Round-Up, to be held next Thursday through the following Saturday.

The festival, which is the largest event in Kane County, is designed to "develop, promote and preserve the heritage and culture of the area," says Steve Mower, this year's executive director. "More than 200 movies were filmed here, mostly Westerns."

On hand to accept the Walk of Fame plaque in his father's honor, as well as one for himself, will be Peter Ford, an actor in his own right, who appeared in "The Long Ride Home," "Smith!" and other Westerns and TV shows with his father."

FULL STORY: Deseret News

August 1, 2007

Warner Brothers Entertainment has announced that a DVD boxed set of Glenn Ford films will be released next summer. The details of which four films and their availability will be known before the end of the year. Peter Ford has been asked to participate in the back story on these releases, as he had done on Blackboard Jungle and Plunder of the Sun.

May 1, 2006

Glenn Ford turns 90 and is feted by TCM! On May 1, Turner Classic Movies cable channel is offering up a four-movie birthday salute.

November 1, 2005

Wildest Westerns magazine #7 hits the stands. This Special Issue sports a rugged, full color portrait of Glenn Ford as the subject of the magazine's seventeen-page, in depth article about Glenn's western movie legacy. Featuring an exclusive interview with the star, and over forty photographs, the piece took Publisher Ed Lousararian (working closely with Peter Ford), almost a year to research and complete. For more information on this issue--sure to become an instant collector's item--please go to http://www.wildestwesterns.com/

October 21, 2005

Peter Ford will present Rhonda Fleming with an award for her Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment in Western Film at the Reel Cowboys 8th Annual Silver Spur ceremony at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California. In 1951, Ms. Fleming starred opposite Glenn Ford in The Redhead and the Cowboy--a well received Western adventure. She speaks candidly about her experience making the picture in Glenn Ford: A Life, coming soon.

May 23, 2005

The Globe weekly newspaper features a two-page spread on Michelle Vogel’s new book, Children of Hollywood. Peter Ford is one of the personalities spotlighted. His write-up includes a charming photo of him at age three with his parents in the yard of their Beverly Hills home.

May 8, 2005

Home Media Retailing magazine reviews the DVD release of The Blackboard Jungle and praises the commentary supplied by Peter Ford along with cast members Paul Mazursky, Jamie Farr and Assistant Director Joel Freeman.

March 27, 2005

At the beautifully restored Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood at 5pm, The American Cinemateque will host a screening of The Blackboard Jungle to salute the 50th anniversary of the release of the film, and the consequent impact of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock," by Bill Haley and the Comets. The evening will also call attention to the DVD release on May 10th of the film from Warner Home Video. The screening will be accompanied by a Q&A featuring cast members Paul Mazursky and Jamie Farr, assistant director Joel Freeman, all five surviving members of the original Comets, and Peter Ford, who will, naturally, mention his writing of Glenn Ford: A Life. Also on the bill that evening will be the rarely seen "Rock Around the Clock," the feature film Bill Haley and the Comets made to exploit the success of their groundbreaking record.

March 24, 2005

Peter Ford is featured in a prominent piece by Susan King in the Los Angeles Times about the anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock," the current screenings in New York and Hollywood of The Blackboard Jungle, and the DVD release of the film.

March 20, 2005

In New York City, a screening of The Blackboard Jungle at the Museum of Modern Art at 8pm will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film and it's legendary opening song. A Q&A session with cast member Paul Mazursky, Peter Ford, and all five surviving members of the Comets will follow the screening.

November 21, 2004

Hollywood's Home Movies, a two hour special, was broadcast on the A&E cable network. Peter Ford shared charming, never-before-seen home movies of his parents Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell. On camera, he recalled the sad day when the Ford's Beverly Hills neighbor, Charlie Chaplin, accidentally ran over the family German Shepherd, Bill.

June 25, 2004

Issue #625 of Goldmine magazine (celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of rock n' roll), hits the stands with Peter Ford's article about the surprising role he played in getting "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" placed in his dad's powerful movie, Blackboard Jungle.

June 1, 2004

Now Dig This, a British pop-music magazine, features Peter Ford discussing "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock," as well as the upcoming DVD release of Blackboard Jungle--for which he was interviewed with two of the picture's "delinquents," Jamie Farr and Paul Mazursky--and the writing of Glenn Ford: A Life.

May 1, 2004

The book is promoted prominently as part of an 88th birthday salute to Glenn Ford on the popular NewsMax.com

April 26, 2004

The National Enquirer features a two column article on the book, concentrating on just a few of the revelations about Glenn's relationship with Rita Hayworth. The Enquirer calls Glenn Ford: A Life a "blockbuster new biography."

December 14, 2003

Peter Ford and Christopher Nickens are interviewed about their collaboration by Walden Hughes and radio legend Frank Bresee for Yesterday USA Superstation, broadcast to over thirty countries.

October 12, 2003

American Profile magazine mentions the book in their Q & A section.

February 11, 2003

Shortly after Peter Ford and Christopher Nickens agree to collaborate on a biography of Peter's father, Army Archerd makes the first official announcement of Glenn Ford: A Life in his daily Variety column.