Post-war film star Glenn Ford dead at 90

LOS ANGELES, Aug 31 (Reuters) Actor Glenn Ford, a handsome and quiet character actor who made his mark in big films like ''Gilda'' and ''The Big Heat,'' died in his Beverly Hills home, police said. He was 90.

Beverly Hills Police Department said in a statement yesterday that paramedics were called to Ford's home in the afternoon and found the actor dead.

The cause of his death was not immediately known.

Ford was an actor who never quite attained the superstar status he sought, but nevertheless won the hearts of millions of cinemagoers in a wide variety of roles.

Many critics thought he was underrated and one, David Shipmann, wrote, ''He is a good -- if not the best -- example of that second-string group, the dependable and efficient actor.'' Ford made his mark on Hollywood with low-key appearances in more than 200 movies, and became one of the most enduring stars of the silver screen.

Away from the cameras, Ford led an intensely private life, shunning nightspots in favor of a quiet home life.

Although most frequently appearing in Westerns, Ford played a variety of quietly intense heroes and villains and is best remembered for his non-Western roles.

His career began in 1939 and was highlighted by starring roles in ''The Big Heat'' in 1953, in which he played a cop out to avenge his wife's murder; ''The Blackboard Jungle'' in 1955, in which he played a teacher; and ''The Teahouse of the August Moon'' in 1956, in which he played a U.S. soldier in Japan.

After his first movie, ''Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence,'' Ford made a number of low-budget dramas before joining the US Marine Corps in 1942.

After returning from World War Two, he starred in his first big budget film, the romance ''Gilda,'' with Rita Hayworth in 1946. The movie was a hit and Bette Davis confirmed his leading-man status by picking him to star with her in ''A Stolen Life,'' released the same year.

Ford teamed with Hayworth again for ''The Loves of Carmen'' (1948) and ''Affair in Trinidad'' (1958) and played one of his best villains, a sadistic lawman, in ''The Man From Colorado'' (1948).

POPULAR DESPITE CAREER DECLINE Ford remained a top box-office draw through the 1950s but even when his career declined in the 1960s, his popularity with audiences remained as fixed as his reserved screen personality and wry smile.

The unsuccessful remake of ''Cimarron'' in 1960 started his career slide into B-movies and low-budget productions such as ''A Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1962), ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' (1963) and ''The Money Trap'' (1964).

Ford himself compared his enduring popularity to that of other strong-but-quiet stars of his generation, such as Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda.

''It's the way we say our lines,'' Ford said. ''We don't memorize them, but take the sense and alter the lines to fit our own personalities.'' Ford was born Gwyllyn Ford in Quebec, Canada, on May 1, 1916. At age 7, he moved with his family to Santa Monica, California, where he worked as a stable boy for cowboy humorist and actor Will Rogers.

After high school, he drove buses and worked as a salesman while planning an acting career.

Ford was married four times -- most notably to actress Eleanor Powell, from 1943 to 1960.

He is survived by his son Peter, 61, also an actor.

REUTERS MS BST0855