Alan Ladd, Actor, Dies at 50; Appeared in 150 Movie Roles; Became Famous for Part of Killer in ‘This Gun for Hire’ —Was Hero of ‘Shane’ (Published 1964) (2024)

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Jan. 29 (AP)—Alan Ladd, the film star, was found dead today in his home here, apparently of a heart attack. He was 50 years old.

In view of the circ*mstances of Mr. Ladd's death, Deputy Coroner Robert L. Drake said that an autopsy would be performed tomorrow.

Surviving are his widow, the former Sue Carol; a son by his first marriage, Alan Jr., a daughter, Alana, and another son, David, and a stepdaughter, Mrs. Carol Lee Veitch.

Alan Ladd was neither a brilliant Broadway actor lured to the motion pictures nor a soda jerk snatched from a Kansas drugstore. He was a child of Hollywood, ambitious to get into pictures.

As an actor he was famous for being a cold, calm killer or a cold, calm good guy, who was nearly a bad guy. The Ladd screen smile was never gay, always cynical and cool, and one studio press agent wrote that his eyes “go through you like two icicles.”

He made the trenchcoat his symbol.

That the old fashioned motion picture gangster with his ugly face, gaudy cars and flashy clothes was replaced by a smoother, better looking and better dressed bad man was largely the work of Mr. Ladd.

He became an Instant success in.1941 when he appeared as a psychopathic killer in a low budget sleeper, “This Gun for Hire,” which also starred Veronica Lake, who was to be his screen romantic interest in many other pictures.

In all,. Mr. Ladd appeared in about 150 movies.

Alan Walbridge Ladd was born on Sept. 3, 1913, in Hot Springs, Ark., but his family moved to North Hollywood when he was 7.

He was graduated from North Hollywood High School, where he had been a swimming and track star. and immediatelywas discovered by talent scouts from Universal Studios.

Universal made him a member of a small group of youngsters the studio hoped, by proper training, to convert into movie stars. After two weeks, this experiment was disbanded and Mr. Ladd was dropped by the studio. Another young man named Tyrone Power was a member of the group and he also was dropped.

Mr. Ladd then went to work for The San Fernando Valley Sun‐Record, but still desirous of being an actor, he took a job as a studio “ grip”—laborer—which he held for two years.

But no director dangled a fat contract in front of the handsome laborer and no feminine star demanded that he become her leading man so Mr. Ladd retired from manual labor and enrolled at the Bard Dramatic School.

Mr. Ladd's big break came in 1939 when he met Sue Carol, a motion‐picture actress turned agent. She heard him on a radio program and signed him as one of her first clients.

His first motion picture part was in 1939 as a seasick voyager in “Rulers of the Sea. ” But it was. “This Gun for Hire ” that made him famous.

Mr. Ladd and Miss Carol were married on March 15, 1942.

A number of critics sought the explanation for Mr. Ladd's quick popularity. Bosley Crowther of The Times said, “apparently it is his tight‐lipped violence that his fans love. ”

A New Yorker critic wrote that Mr. Ladd seemed “to be an agreeable killer ... a different kind of mug, smooth and with even a parlor manner. ”

In “The Glass Key ” in 1942 Mr. Ladd played a killer who redeemed himself at the end of the picture and for a reward won Miss Lake. In “Lucky Jordan ” in 1943 he was a killer who, seeing his evil ways joined the Army and became a good soldier.

Among his better pictures were “The Great Gatsby ” and ” Shane. ”

His portrayal of the gunfighter in “Shane ” is generally regarded as one of the best performances ever given in a Western movie.

‘Carpetbaggers His Last'

He served in the Air Force in World War II and came out of it as much in demand as ever. His last picture was completed last summer, “The Carpetbaggers, ” fil.med at Paramount, where Mr. Ladd's career started.

Mr. Ladd was a slim 150pounder who stood only 5 feet 7 inches tall and often had to stand on a box while playing love scenes on the screen.

He had his own company, Jaguar Productions, and invested heavily in real estate. At one time he had 5,000 chickens producing eggs which he sold to markets. At his death he owned a large hardware store in Palm Springs.

Mr. Ladd was considered an expert on firearms, and certainly much of his film career was associated with guns and violence, but one nearly killed him in 1962.

He was cleaning a gun at his Hidden Valley ranch when he tripped. The gun went off, wounding him seriously.