 Allen Ladd. Allen Walbridge Ladd, Jr., nicknamed Laddy, was born September 3, 1913 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. His mother, Ina Raleigh, was an English immigrant. His father, Allen Ladd Sr., was a traveling accountant who died when Allen was four. At age five, he burned their apartment down playing with matches, and his mother moved them to Oklahoma City, where she became remarried to a house painter. They decided to move to California, a la grapes of wrath, in hopes of better employment opportunities. Allen was malnourished, undersized, and nicknamed Tiny. He was eight years old. He picked fruit, delivered papers, and swept stores. As a child in California, Ladd became a gifted sportsman, and also took to performing in school productions. In high school, he discovered track and swimming. By 1931, he was training for the 1932 Olympics, but an injury canceled his plans. He opened a hamburger stand called Tiny's Patio, and also worked part-time as a grip at Warner Bros. Studios. Struggling to enter acting, Ladd supported himself in a number of odd jobs, including a gas station attendant, a hot dog vendor, and a lifeguard. His first real foray into show business came in radio, where Allen played small parts. He then moved into local theater. In his late teens, he entered the film world as a grip and bit player. He was appearing regularly in minor film parts by the mid-1930s. He married his friend Marjorie Jane Harreld, nicknamed Midge, in 1936, but couldn't afford her, so they lived apart. In 1937, they shared a friend's apartment. Midge delivered Allen Jr. and his destitute alcoholic mother moved in with them. A few months later, Allen Ladd witnessed his mother's agonizing suicide from ant poison. In 1941, he landed the small part of the reporter in Orson Welle's classic, Citizen Kane. Ladd's coloring and five-foot-six frame were regarded by Hollywood as not quite right for movies, so he worked hard at radio. It was around this time that he met Hollywood agent and former movie actress Sue Carroll. She helped him get work, promoted him around town, and was instrumental in landing him a major part as an assassin in the 1942 film This Gun for Hire, starring opposite of Veronica Lake. The visual combination of Ladd and Lake proved so popular that they were paired for several other films, including the Blue Dahlia, Saigon, and the Glass Key. After divorcing his first wife, Ladd and Carroll married in 1942 and remained so until Allen's death. They had two children together, Alana and David. Ladd portrayed Dan Holliday on mutual radios Box 13 from 1948 to 1949. This show was also syndicated. Ladd's films remained on the top ten box office list in 1947, 1953, and 1954 as he played a succession of action-packed tough guy roles. It was in the classic Western Shane in 1953 where Ladd truly excelled in an uncharacteristically honest role, showcasing both his visual magnetism and subtle style. Most of his other 1950s films were cliche, bare-chested, barroom type movies. By the end of the 50s, liquor and a string of so-so movies had taken their toll and his stardom was waning by the early 1960s. In November 1962, he was found unconscious, lying in a pool of blood with a bullet wound near his heart. On January 29, 1964, at the age of 51, Allen Ladd was found dead, apparently due to an accidental combination of alcohol and sedatives. Information for this audio clip came from your audio series descriptions moderator, Roger Hoenbrink. This audio clip is provided by the Old Time Radio Researchers Group, a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving radios past. If you are interested in assisting to preserve radios' golden past so that future generations might also enjoy it, we urge you to look into membership in the Old Time Radio Researchers Group. I'm your announcer, Doug Hopkinson.