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Record #3298
Name :
: Samuel JONES (1898 - 1966)
  aka : Wallace Ford


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 12 Feb 1898

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 11 Jun 1966   Notes : Heart Attack
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Lancashire, Bolton
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialUnited States of America, California, Los Angeles
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 1 Jul 1905
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Southwark

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesIn 1902, Samuel Jones, 3 years of age, was placed in Barnardos Home in London.

In 1905, Samuel Jones, 7, arrived in Quebec, Canada with a group of 163 children (162 boys and 1 girl) en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Placed with a farmer who mistreated him, Samuel ran away. It is not sure when he changed his name, but he became Wallace Ford by the age of 11 when he first set foot on stage, playing in vaudeville and music halls before working his way up to Broadway.

Once there was a film historian who opined that Wallace Ford was in more movies than any other character actor of his prominence. This is unlikely, but Ford was certainly kept busy in roles of all shapes and sizes during his 35-year movie career.

His inauspicious feature-film debut was in Swellhead (1931), a baseball melodrama which lay on the shelf for nearly five years before its release. He went on to play wisecracking leading roles in such "B movies" as Night of Terror (1933), The Nut Farm (1935) and The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1935); the critics paid no heed to these minor efforts, though they always showered Ford with praise for his supporting roles in films like John Ford's The Informer (1935) and Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He occasionally took a leave of absence from films to accept a stage role; in 1937, he created the part of George in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men (1937). As he grew balder and stockier, he remained in demand for middle-aged character roles, often portraying wistful drunks or philosophical ne'er-do-wells. His filmography included, "The Beast of the City" (1932), "Night of Terror" (1933), "The Informer" (1935) co-starring Victor McLaglen, "The Mummy's Hand" (1940), "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942), Alfred Hitchcock's film "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943) co-starring Joseph Cotton, Hitchcock's film "Spellbound" (1945) co-starring Ingrid Bergman, "The Great John L." (1945) co-starring Linda Darnell, "Dead Reckoning" (1947) co-starring Humphrey Bogart, "Harvey" (1950) co-starring James Stewart, and "The Rainmaker" (1956) co-starring Burt Lancaster.

Samuel/Wallace spent 21 years searching for his biological mother, an unusual occurrence in the 1930's. Despite obstacles and hurdles, Samuel did finally find his mother, Catherine Jones, known locally as "Mam Kit," living in an auto trailer beside the river at Northwich, Cheshire, England. She married to a match seller known as Blind Dan. Without the benefits of DNA back then, Samuel went to visit her and, after talking to her for 5 hours, became convinced she was the mother he had sought for so many years.

Samuel/Wallace began his search while on the Broadway stage in 1915. The only clue he had was her name - Catherine Jones. Through his film connections in 1935, Los Angeles police got in touch with Scotland Yard, which in turn, narrowed the search to Lancashire. A letter from a scrap iron merchant at Northwich, Samuel/Wallace was informed about "Mam Kit". Through an aunt, Mrs. Mary Beddoes of Birkdale, Southport, who placed him in the foundlings home in Liverpool originally, he definitely established the relationship with "Mam". Mrs. Beddoes had not seen his mother for thirty years. Samuel said, upon satisfying himself of Catherine Jones' identity, "I'm glad it is all over. I'm going to get a little house in Northwich where my mother and her husband can spend the rest of their days in peace. She has had a hard life".

Wallace Ford ended his film career with his powerful portrayal of Elizabeth Hartman's vacillating father in A Patch of Blue (1965). Wallace Ford / Samuel Jones died of a heart attack on June 11, 1966, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. 
ContributorsCreated : 2008-03-07 12:50:07 / From original database

Last Updated : 2009-02-01 10:48:16 /

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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  10 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
5652 ANDERSON, Rose Ellen1892ENG, LAN, Bolton Jul 1907 : Victorian CAN Waifs & Strays  
7363 ASHBY, Ada A1891ENG, LAN, Bolton Sep 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
8854 BIBBY, Harold1893ENG,    , Bolton Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
14652 DEMAINE, Elsie1902ENG, LAN, Bolton Apr 1913 : Corsican CAN Louisa Birt  
4049 FOGG, John William1898ENG, LAN, Bolton Jun 1910 : Mongolian CAN Middlemore  
6470 HAMER, Gilbert B.1900ENG,    , Bolton May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
3948 HAMPSON, Mary Jane1873ENG, LAN, Bolton May 1889 : Sarnia CAN National Childrens Home  
3298 JONES, Samuel1898ENG, LAN, Bolton Jul 1905 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
6448 ROSTRON, Bessie1877ENG,    , Bolton May 1891 : Sarnia CAN National Childrens Home  
23302 SWIFT, George1892ENG, LAN, Bolton Apr 1904 : Southwark USA Barnardos