Ford Rainey

Ford Rainey
Born	Ford Rainey August 8, 1908(1908-08-08) Mountain Home, Idaho, U.S.
Died	July 25, 2005 (aged 96) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other name(s)	Ford Rainey
Spouse(s)	Sheila Hayden

Ford Rainey (August 8, 1908 – July 25, 2005) was an American film, stage and television actor.

Biography

Early life

Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna (née Kinkade), a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey.^[1] Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. He first acted on the stage while in high school. Growing up in the outdoors and learning to ride horses helped him in his career as a tough-guy film presence later in life.

Like many young actors, he worked odd jobs including logger, fisherman, fruit picker, carpenter, clam digger and working on an oil tanker before becoming a successful actor. He worked as a radio actor as well as a touring stage actor before breaking into films. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

Career

Rainey was a familiar face in motion pictures, including his 1949 film debut White Heat, Perfect Strangers, The Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen and Two Rode Together with James Stewart. He guest starred on The Adventures of Kit Carson, Bonanza, The Invaders, The Brothers Brannagan (in the 1961 series finale "The Hunter and the Hunted"), Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, and The Untouchables, and he co-starred in the acclaimed television movie My Sweet Charlie. The tall austere, authoritative-looking actor was a natural at playing leaders. He co-starred with Robert Young in the unsuccessful CBS television series Window on Main Street in the 1961-1962 season, having portrayed the role of newspaper editor Lloyd Ramsey. Rainey also appeared as the father of The Bionic Woman (credit pictured).

Rainey played a general on M*A*S*H, and a judge on both The Waltons and Matlock. He played presidents on Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Later television appearances, in the 1990s and 2000s, include showing up on ER and recurring roles on Ned and Stacey and The King of Queens. He could also be seen in some commercials in the middle 1970's until 1980's like REACH brand toothbrushes; a Johnson & Johnson product. Also during that time, he was part of Trinity Square Repretory Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

Personal life

Ford Rainey was a bachelor until the age of 46 when, in 1954, he married Sheila Hayden and settled in New York, where sons Robert and James were born. The family moved to Malibu, where a daughter, Kathy was born. Rainey remained in Malibu with his wife while he acted and enjoyed hobbies such as beekeeping and bird breeding until his death on July 25, 2005 of a stroke, at age 96. The marriage was a happy one that lasted nearly 51 years.

References

External links

• Ford Rainey at the Internet Movie Database