Alan Ladd

Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film and television producer. Ladd found success in film the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in Westerns such as Shane (1953) and film noirs where he was often paired with Veronica Lake, such as This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Other notable credits include Two Years Before the Mast (1946), Whispering Smith (1949) and The Great Gatsby (1949). His popularity diminished in the late 1950s, though he continued to appear in popular films until his accidental death due to a lethal combination of alcohol, a barbiturate, and two tranquilizers.

Biography

Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas on 3 September 1913. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh (also known as Selina Rowley) (b 25 November 1888), and Alan Ladd, a freelance accountant. His mother was English, from County Durham, and had migrated to the USA in 1907 when she was nineteen. His father died of a heart attack when Ladd was four. On 3 July 1918 a young Alan accidentally burnt down the family home while playing with matches. His mother relocated to Oklahoma City, where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter (d 1936).

A Boy Named Sue

"A Boy Named Sue" is a song written by Shel Silverstein that was made popular by Johnny Cash. Cash was at the height of his success when he recorded the song live at California's San Quentin State Prison at a concert on February 24, 1969. The concert was filmed by Granada Television for later television broadcast; Carl Perkins played guitar on the performance. The audio of the concert was later released on Cash's At San Quentin album. Cash also performed the song (with comical variations on the original performance) in December 1969 at Madison Square Garden. The song became Cash's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his only top ten single there, spending three weeks at No. 2 in 1969, held out of the top spot by "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones. The track also topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts that same year and was certified Gold on August 14, 1969, by the RIAA.

Shel Silverstein's recording was released the same year as "Boy Named Sue", a single to the album Boy Named Sue (and His Other Country Songs), produced by Chet Atkins and Felton Jarvis.