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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  30 Entries        
Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 285 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
3007 ABBEY, Bertha1890ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3006 ABBEY, John1887ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3161 ABBEY, Thomas1892ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3036 ABBOTT, George1894ENG, MDX, London Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3168 ADAM, Isabella1897SCT,     Jul 1910 : Southwark CAN Quarriers  
3172 ADAM, Margaret1899SCT,     Jul 1910 : Southwark CAN Quarriers  
22563 ADDIS, Frederick1893ENG,     Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
5680 ALCORN, Margaret-Ann Irwin1897SCT, LKS, Glasgow Jul 1910 : Southwark CAN Quarriers  
11090 AMBROSE, Frederick Wm1895ENG,     Jul 1905 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
17069 ANDREWS, John 1888ENG,     Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
12637 ANGLIS, Philip George1886ENG, LND, Lewisham Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN National Childrens Home  
10199 ANTRAM, Harold1893ENG,    , Islington Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
9063 ARNOLD, Arthur G1894ENG,     Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
16738 ARNOLD, Percy Alexander1894ENG, LND, Paddington Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
22885 ARNOLD, Thomas1890ENG,     May 1905 : Southwark CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
12638 ASHDOWN, Pitman W1890ENG,    , Edmonton Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN National Childrens Home  
17306 AULD, Florence Christison1900SCT, MLN, Edinburgh Jul 1910 : Southwark CAN Quarriers  
10015 AYRE, David1891ENG, DUR, Durham Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
22672 AYRES, Frederick1895ENG,     May 1905 : Southwark CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
22019 BARKER, JOSEPH HENRY1893ENG,     Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
18459 BARNES, A E1892ENG,     1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
18517 BARNES, F1893ENG,     Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
18536 BARNES, Frederick1893ENG,     1904 : Southwark CAN Unknown  
11091 BARNES, Henry Barber1895ENG,     Jul 1905 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
18808 BARNES, William H1895ENG,     Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
23526 BARTLETT, Jessie Matilda1896ENG,    , Portsmouth, Hampshire, Nov 1904 : Southwark CAN   
10264 BEADELL, Frank1893ENG,     Jul 1905 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
18902 BEARD, Joseph C.1888ENG,     Jul 1905 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
20723 BEDDOW, Frank1891ENG,     Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
10919 BEDDOW, Stephen1899ENG,    , Lambeth Apr 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 285 Entries        
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  30 Entries