Ford Rainey

Infobox actor


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Ford Rainey
birthdate = birth date|1908|8|8|mf=y
birthplace = Mountain Home, Idaho, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|2005|7|25|1908|8|8
deathplace = Santa Monica, California, U.S.
othername = Ford Rainey
homepage =
academyawards =
spouse = Sheila Hayden

Ford Rainey (August 8, 1908 – July 25, 2005) was an American film, stage and television actor.

Biography

Early life

Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna (née Kinkade), a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/80/Ford-Rainey.html Ford Rainey Biography (1908-) ] ] Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. He first acted on the stage while in high school. Growing up in the outdoors and learning to ride horses helped him in his career as a tough-guy film presence later in life.

Like many young actors, he worked odd jobs including logger, fisherman, fruit picker, carpenter, clam digger and working on an oil tanker before becoming a successful actor. He worked as a radio actor as well as a touring stage actor before breaking into films. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

Career

Rainey was a familiar face in motion pictures, including his 1949 film debut "White Heat", "Perfect Strangers", "The Sand Pebbles" with Steve McQueen and "Two Rode Together" with James Stewart. He guested on "Bonanza", "Gunsmoke", "Perry Mason", "The Bionic Woman" and "The Untouchables", and he co-starred in the acclaimed television movie "My Sweet Charlie". The tall austere, authoritative-looking actor was a natural at playing leaders. He co-starred with Robert Young in the unsuccessful CBS television series "Window on Main Street" in the 1961-1962 season, having portrayed the role of newspaper editor Lloyd Ramsey.

He played a general on "M*A*S*H", and a judge on both "The Waltons" and "Matlock". He played presidents on "Lost in Space", "The Time Tunnel", and on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea". Later television appearances, in the 1990s and 2000s, include showing up on "ER" and recurring roles on "Ned and Stacey" and "The King of Queens".

Personal life

Ford Rainey was a bachelor until the age of 46 when, in 1954, he married Sheila Hayden and settled in New York, where sons Robert and James were born. The family moved to Malibu, where a daughter, Kathy was born. Rainey remained in Malibu with his wife while he acted and enjoyed hobbies such as beekeeping and bird breeding until his death in 2005 of a stroke, at age 96. The marriage was a happy one that lasted nearly 51 years.

References

External links

*imdb name|0707077