Vintage original 22.25 x 7 in. personalized canvas backing from actor GLENN FORD'S director's chair. Printed on a piece of dark brown canvas, his name has been stenciled in yellow on both sides--but his first name was misspelled as "GLEN." The interior side slightly faded as one would expect since Mr. Ford's back would rest against this backing. It is in very fine condition without any tears, stains, or other flaws. Silent Cinema Inc. (the seller here) guarantees the authenticity of this item as belonging to Glenn Ford whose biography appears below.

Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's, who had a career that lasted more than 50 years. Although he played in many genres of movies, some of his most significant roles were in the film noirs Gilda (1946) and The Big Heat (1953), and the high school angst film Blackboard Jungle (1955). However, it was for comedies or westerns which he received acting laurels, including three Golden Globe Nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy movie, winning for Pocketful of Miracles (1961). He also played a supporting role as Clark Kent's adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, in Superman: The Movie (1978). Five of his films have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Gilda (1946), The Big Heat (1953), Blackboard Jungle (1955), 3:10 to Yuma (1957) and Superman: The Movie (1978).


A director's chair is a lightweight chair that folds side-to-side with a scissors action. The seat and back are made of canvas or a similar strong fabric which bears the user's full weight and can be folded; the frame is made of wood, or sometimes metal or plastic. The seat and scissors members work together to support and distribute the sitter's weight so that the seat is comfortably taut. The back is usually low and the chair usually has armrests. The stereotypical image of a movie director on location includes one of these chairs, hence the name. Victor Papanek describes this chair as an excellent design in his book Design for the Real World as it is simple and ideally suited to its function. The design goes back to coffer-makers' chairs of the 15th century and eventually to the Roman curule chair.

 

The modern American style director's chairs were introduced by the Gold Medal Camp Furniture company, founded, owned and operated by William Gittings and the Gittings Family. In 1892, the Gold Medal Classic design won an award for excellence in casual furniture design in the lead-up to the 1893 World's Fair Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Gold Medal Directors Chairs are now manufactured in Tennessee by The Lord's Table, Inc