Hey, Ford Fans!
I’m not talking about the car company—I’m talking about Indiana Jones and Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford—recognized the world over for such extremely famous roles. Born in Chicago, Harrison attended summer camp not too far from home (and not too far from Everything Summer Camp) at Camp Napowan in Wisconisn.
Sandwiched between two beautiful lakes in the Pine Woods of Central Wisconsin, the excellent Camp Napowan has offered its campers the beautiful scenery of piney foliage and serene bodies of water for the last 65 years. Harrison’s camp experience focused on outdoor education. He was rather active in the Boy Scouts of America and ended up receiving the second-highest rank there is, Life Scout.
After his time at camp and his education—completed at Ripon College in Wisconsin—he went on to pursue a career as an actor. He moved to Los Angeles in 1964 looking for work. For a long time, he didn’t have much luck, but he collected a slew of bit parts on his résumé.
He was hired by George Lucas, creator of ‘Star Wars’ to read lines with the actors who were auditioning for parts in the original Star Wars films. George Lucas eventually realized the talents in Harrison as well as those auditioning. He was cast as Han Solo.
Starring in each of the original trilogy films of Star Wars, Harrison is surprisingly reprising his role as Han Solo in the new Star Wars movie, ‘The Force Awakens’! Harrison isn’t the only returning cast member from the old movies, though—these films will also star Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO).
But back to Harrison—along with a whole bunch of other films, he also stars as the rugged archeologist, Indiana Jones in the ‘Indiana Jones’ trilogy, a split project between George Lucas and director, Steven Spielberg. While his role in Star Wars declared him a star, his role as Indiana confirmed his superstardom.
Camp did Harrison good. What will it do for you? Enjoy the trailer for ‘The Force Awakens’ below and, as always, thanks for reading.
- John